First three days without analogs
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Your cravings will diminish, but it will take time and you have to remain resolute. BTW, the sky will not fall if in the beginning you have a smoke with your morning coffee or one after supper as you switch from smoking to vaping. Just remember what a fellow ECF member said to me...addiction is cunning and patient. It will set up obstacles hoping you stumble. Just keep on vaping.
Very interesting discussion. The varying predisposition to addiction and the different manifestations of it intrigue me. What makes it so easy for some to quit? Not just smoking but alcohol, pills, hard drugs? Is it really just (brain) chemistry as some would posit?
Throughout my life I have seen (and participated in) very different experiences of addiction. What aspects kept me returning? How are my experiences different from other people?
My (latest) anecdote to add to the list:
My wife and I have been trying to quit smoking for over a year now. A couple of months back she turned to a cig-a-like while I went cold turkey. I tried her pen but it did nothing for me and it only worked for her while she was at work. We slipped within a week. Off and on we would cut back and then try to quit. We never lasted longer than a week. Then three weeks ago she asked if we could go into a vape shop. We talked, we sampled and (close to $250 later) we walked out with a new resolve to quit, an eGo One (hers) and a Kanger Subox Mini (me). On the advice of the guy behind the counter we started at 3 mg/mL. 3 worked for me. She quickly figured out that 3 wasn't going to work for her and returned the next day for some 6. Then three days later for some 12. Then some 18. She said it cut the cravings but she never really felt satisfied. We wandered into another vape store and walked out with a 50w iCandy and a Triton for her. Closer. She no longer vapes continuously (I think this past week she is down to about 5-7 mL per day vs roughly 12-15mL per day when she used the eGo) but still bums the occasional cig (about 1 or two a week) and (so far) always regrets it because of the taste. Logically, I think to myself, "If she remembers it tastes bad, why does she reach for it?" What isn't she getting from vaping? How can we find that piece? And then I remember it has only been three weeks. The habits are still there. Give her time.
I smoked off and on (mostly on) for more then twenty years. She has smoked less than ten. But I'm one of the lucky ones where vaping has allowed me to stay away from the cigs with almost no cravings. Why is/was it so much easier for me? I may never know.
I know my/our story is only another anecdote. Another story of the complicated dance to free ourselves from habits we "know" hurt us. And even if studies show that vaping is harmful in some way, I will always be grateful it has been here to at least free us from cigs.
Throughout my life I have seen (and participated in) very different experiences of addiction. What aspects kept me returning? How are my experiences different from other people?
My (latest) anecdote to add to the list:
My wife and I have been trying to quit smoking for over a year now. A couple of months back she turned to a cig-a-like while I went cold turkey. I tried her pen but it did nothing for me and it only worked for her while she was at work. We slipped within a week. Off and on we would cut back and then try to quit. We never lasted longer than a week. Then three weeks ago she asked if we could go into a vape shop. We talked, we sampled and (close to $250 later) we walked out with a new resolve to quit, an eGo One (hers) and a Kanger Subox Mini (me). On the advice of the guy behind the counter we started at 3 mg/mL. 3 worked for me. She quickly figured out that 3 wasn't going to work for her and returned the next day for some 6. Then three days later for some 12. Then some 18. She said it cut the cravings but she never really felt satisfied. We wandered into another vape store and walked out with a 50w iCandy and a Triton for her. Closer. She no longer vapes continuously (I think this past week she is down to about 5-7 mL per day vs roughly 12-15mL per day when she used the eGo) but still bums the occasional cig (about 1 or two a week) and (so far) always regrets it because of the taste. Logically, I think to myself, "If she remembers it tastes bad, why does she reach for it?" What isn't she getting from vaping? How can we find that piece? And then I remember it has only been three weeks. The habits are still there. Give her time.
I smoked off and on (mostly on) for more then twenty years. She has smoked less than ten. But I'm one of the lucky ones where vaping has allowed me to stay away from the cigs with almost no cravings. Why is/was it so much easier for me? I may never know.
I know my/our story is only another anecdote. Another story of the complicated dance to free ourselves from habits we "know" hurt us. And even if studies show that vaping is harmful in some way, I will always be grateful it has been here to at least free us from cigs.
Yes, that is a good read ..... I see the researchers in the article are still somewhat puzzled as to all of the pathways of nicotine addiction. Indeed, the phenomenon of tobacco addiction is more complex than it appears on the surface.
Thanks for sharing as that was an interesting and informative story. Yes, through the years, I also have wondered about strange differences similar to what you have mentioned in regards to people seeming to have varied levels of dependency.
I dual used for the first few days before I cut out the smoking at first this past March. Then, after a week or two of only vaping, I had a couple of cigarettes on different days. That's been sort of how it's been for me, a stretch of time just vaping, and then a period of time where I might have a cigarette on various days.
I'm coming off the last period of having a cigarette here and there, and I'm having a rougher time putting them behind me (or so it seems to me now). I'm probably going to try some WTA juice as was mentioned previously in the thread and elsewhere in the forums.
Congrats on quitting the analogs! Try to stay off of them but if you slip up, just think of all the ones you haven't smoked! That's a great victory.
Today is day two for me of no cigs. I dual used for a week then just decided that I refuse to buy a pack of smokes. I was around some friends who smoked and bummed one or two. Now, I'm back home. My wife is trying to quit cold turkey, but she never smoked like me. 4 or 5 a day vs. my pack and a half a day habit. I completed my day without asking if she even has any... My father quit cold turkey and told me the first four days were the roughest. So, I'm pushing through... Part of what's keeping me going is not denying myself a cigarette but challenging myself to see how long I can go without one. I tell myself if it gets bad enough, I'll grab one. This thread and this group is so helpful and encouraging!
I allowed myself a few cigarettes a day at key times (upon awakening, after each meal, and one in the later evening) for a few days when I first started vaping. Then my pack was gone and I never bought another. I had read that the chemical cocktail in tobacco was not only addictive in itself, but allowed quick crossover of the blood-brain barrier, something that e-cigs do not do. So I figured I might be in for some withdrawal symptoms for a while, and I did somewhat for a couple of weeks or so. But I found it easy to bear as long as I knew I had my nicotine. I figured the slower blood-brain barrier crossover might be more a thing for me in the mornings, when I first got up and didn't have that immediate effect that cigarettes provide. Still, as long as I had my nicotine, I knew I would be okay and I would adjust over time.
I had my nicotine security blanket I guess, lol, and it made the process trivial in light of what I was accomplishing- quitting smoking. I was on pretty high nic ( 26-30 mg), but this was on a little Joyetech 510 starter thing, which I think gets half into your system what mods like MVPs, etc. do. I don't think there's anything wrong with increasing your nic intake if that's what it takes to keep you from smoking or to make the process easier for you. You can later cut back, but that's not a worry for now.
You know, when I was smoking, first thing I did on waking was grab the pack and a lighter and light up before I even had my eyes really open. Now I am so accustomed not to having whatever the cigarette chemical cocktail was rushing into my brain, I find I get up and do a few things before I even think to vape. Amazing for me, as I was the most hard core smoker you would ever be likely to meet. It's all a process, and in the beginning do what you need to do to ease yourself through it. Just my opinion.
I had my nicotine security blanket I guess, lol, and it made the process trivial in light of what I was accomplishing- quitting smoking. I was on pretty high nic ( 26-30 mg), but this was on a little Joyetech 510 starter thing, which I think gets half into your system what mods like MVPs, etc. do. I don't think there's anything wrong with increasing your nic intake if that's what it takes to keep you from smoking or to make the process easier for you. You can later cut back, but that's not a worry for now.
You know, when I was smoking, first thing I did on waking was grab the pack and a lighter and light up before I even had my eyes really open. Now I am so accustomed not to having whatever the cigarette chemical cocktail was rushing into my brain, I find I get up and do a few things before I even think to vape. Amazing for me, as I was the most hard core smoker you would ever be likely to meet. It's all a process, and in the beginning do what you need to do to ease yourself through it. Just my opinion.
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Hi and welcome. I'm a new member as well. I have been vaping for 5 days and have gone from being a 1 1/2 PAD smoker to maybe 5-7 analogs a day. I'm stunned and didn't think I could cut back so drastically without feeling withdrawals. However, I have found it to be pretty easy. I'm still waiting for analogs to taste nasty to me. From here I will try to just cut back one analog a day until I am analog free. Good Luck!!!!
Welcome and congrats for finding a way off analogs! Honestly, you are doing well and you WILL make it off as the cravings recede. Many people here are happy to support you and have genuine wisdom to impart. I saw one reply that you may encounter on and off -- which is that you can allow yourself an analog once or twice throughout the day as you make this huge transition onto e-cigs. I had about half a pack of analogs as I began my vape adventure and smoked maybe one or two for maybe three or four days, but then I switched entirely to vaping after I ran out. I kept my last empty pack of Carltons and just looked at it today as I was cleaning out my junk drawer. It was over four years ago and I'm glad I kept it! Good on you for making it this far and please believe me when I write that you can and will make it off -- each one of us has had a different experience, and you are free to do this YOUR way!
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