On 13th September, I stumbled upon this forum and discovered vaping. I had never heard of it before then. I posted a long story about my health problems and the fact that in addition to health I needed to quit smoking because of cost. Cost is a big deal to me because I am unemployed and I just received my last unemployment check. I'm not going to go into the whole story again but I was basically asking for advice on a starter kit because I only had one shot at getting it right and I really wanted this to work for me. One of the suppliers on this forum, John from Intellicig in UK, offered to send me a free starter kit. He is sending me the new and improved EVO and I'm super excited about it. He advised me to order juice from a supplier in the US for my own benefit so he wasn't even trying to get my business - just helping me out. I find that to be a rare quality these days and I cherish an experience like that when it happens.
I discussed juices with one of the US suppliers he suggested and said supplier, who wishes to remain anonymous, had also read my post and offered to send me some free samples to help get me even further. The shipment from the US supplier arrived Tuesday but I didn't realize it was sitting in my mailbox and wasn't in a rush for it anyway since I haven't received the Intellicig shipment yet. I have been really sick with a nasty cold this week and my sister had a baby on Tuesday - I was kind of stewing in misery from the cold and the fact that I had to sit out on the birth. I was supposed to be her "coach" through the birthing process and I'm still very disappointed I couldn't do that. I was there for my nephew's birth and being there for my niece's birth was to be a bright spot in an otherwise very stressful and dark existence for me right now.
Anyway, as sick as I am, true to form, I was still puffing on those darn analogs even though it felt like inhaling pure fire down my throat and into my chest and every cigarette made my sinuses clog up even more. Every time I smoked, I had to take at least a half an hour of coughing and laboring just to settle back into being generally miserable instead of actively miserable. I passed my time by reading this forum extensively and asking a few questions here and there. I had run out of analogs around 8:30pm. On my way out the door to buy more (9pm), something drew me to the mailbox. I opened it up and there was a much smaller package than I was expecting sitting in the narrow box. I opened it right in the lobby of the apartment building lol. Inside I found, not only an assortment of juices, but a Joye 510 with 2 atomizers, 2 batteries and a charger!!! I was caught off guard and delighted. I rushed back up to my apartment and pulled it out. I found both batteries held a charge already. I plugged one in anyway, just in case. It took me a minute to figure out that you have to actually SCREW the battery into the wall charger but I got it after a few minutes.
Then I tried vaping for the first time. It was shocking how close it felt to smoking. I coughed and got a little buzz from it off the first couple of hits. The anonymous supplier had sent 18mg and 24mg and I believe the starter carts were 24mg. I also received some empty bottles and some VG and 0nic to cut with. I haven't really tried cutting it yet but I will. I ended up playing with the 510 for about 6.5 hours when my bf woke up and asked me if I had refilled the analogs. I showed him the 510 and asked if he wanted to try it (he caught my cold and was in the peak fever stage of it). No, he won't try it and went to get some analogs. Oh well, he's always been resistant to change but I usually win in the end ;-).
When he got back, I had a little panic moment when I realized I had gone close to 7 hours without smoking a real analog! I lit one up. Remember, I was sick so I couldn't taste either the vapor or the smoke. But I was really amazed that the smoke felt almost identical to the vapor I had been playing with for the last 7 hours - except it BURNED in a bad way, made me cough uncontrollably, made me sick to my stomach, caused my sinuses (including my ears) to clog up and lots of pressure in my head and chest started to build. I thought to myself, if I keep smoking these I won't get to see my niece until she's 3 or 4 weeks old! Then I went to bed.
My lung function has been declining all year and I'm pretty sure I've developed asthma. Add no health care and the cold/flu to that fact and it's amazing that I was able to make any vapor at all. I have read about how it takes a couple days to break in an atomizer and how you might get a burnt taste at first until the factory primer wears off but the illness acts as a blessing in disguise on that note because I can't taste or smell anything. Well, I couldn't taste or smell anything that is. I haven't had an analog in 24 hours and in spite of my cold, I am smelling things that even nonsmokers cannot smell. WTF?
I woke up this morning and after coughing and hacking and blowing my nose for about an hour I was ready to smoke but I wasn't looking forward to it until I remembered that my 510 battery had been charging overnight. I started puffing on it. Hours went by while I played with it a few puffs at a time. I've only had a true craving for analogs about 3 times today and vaping a couple extra puffs took the craving away immediately. Sometime around 3pm or so I started smelling stuff. My son came over and made some ramen noodles and the smell was so rich when I walked into the kitchen, it stopped me in my tracks. Ramen noodles have an odor? 8-o
Around 5pm, I tasted/smelled the burnt new atty odor everyone was talking about but it was mild and largely overshadowed by the english toffee flavor I had dripped onto the atty to prime it. Drank some Mountain Dew because my throat was tickly and it was so sweet I almost gagged. Around 7pm - Ate some Wendy's for dinner because both my man and I were too worn out to cook. I never noticed before but I don't really like the double stack from Wendy's. It's like eating fake food. I'm kind of a food snob and I have a feeling that is going to increase dramatically and quickly in the next few weeks. I won't eat fast food burgers except for Wendy's and now the value menu burgers at Wendy's are off limits - yuck. The french fries were surprisingly delectable though
. Too bad I only had the kid size so I could afford the nasty double stack. I would have rather just had a large order of fries and called it good.
About an hour after dinner, I noticed that not only had my lung function increased quite a bit but all the muscles in my body felt strangely energized and good. Almost like I could go for a quick jog to...I don't know, squeeze? the energy out of my legs? LOL! I was still only taking a few puffs at a time on the 510, but after playing around with it all day and learning the longer, slower drag along with the newly discovered lung expansion, I am starting to produce clouds of vapor! I'm sure it has to do with breaking the atty in as well but I have surprisingly more lung capacity in just 24 hours. I could feel that most of the cold was settled in my throat and was getting ready to move to my lungs. The fact that I'm losing my voice was a big indication. I decided to gargle with salt water like my grandma always tells me to do. I gargled about 10 times in a row and long ropes of clear mucous came out each time. Did this until only water came out. My daughter thought I was throwing up because it did make me cough and gag a lot. I coughed up some weird small brown chunks that had to have come from my lungs. Afterward, I felt a hundred times better. I still have a cold but it's barely affecting me now compared to feeling like I was dying yesterday. Hmmm.
In the very beginning, I had one instance of a flooded atty but because of all the reading I have been doing I immediately recognized the problem and rectified it successfully. There IS a big learning curve with these things but it really helps to have read up on it ahead of time. I know that there are people who don't have the opportunity to read before they buy a PV. We all come to this point in different ways. But if you are new to this board and you are thinking about ordering one, I highly highly recommend you spend the time reading and asking questions beforehand. All the reading I've done since the 13th, which admittedly is a LOT because I'm not working right now, made this transition basically seemless. I am really looking forward to receiving the EVO and trying out the automatic as well.
The most amazing thing to me is the lack of craving for analogs and the simplicity of getting rid of the cravings if they do hit you. I've been reading a lot about this happening with other people, but it's one of those things that you have to "see it to believe it." I won't deny I was skeptical. I've tried so many other things and nothing worked like this does. Gums, lozenges, etc would take away the nicotine fit (barely) but not the desire to smoke. I love smoking...well I did anyway lol. No matter what kind of PIA these things might be at times, they really seem like a miracle product.
The cynic in me keeps looking for the catch - are we all going to grow a third eye in 10 years? Do they cause birth defects? What is it? But from what I can tell at this point, the worse drawback/side effect is a lactic acid buildup from PG, which you can eliminate or greatly reduce by drinking extra fluids and taking a B-complex supplement that includes thiamin and/or riboflavin. I happen to know a little about lactic acid because one of the medications I tried early on for one of my illnesses also caused lactic acid buildup. Lactic Acidosis can be serious so it's worth paying attention to and preventing, especially when it's pretty easy to do. Besides, who can't use a good dose of B vitamins? Believe it or not, citrus fruits (and most other fruits) also help. You would think not because they are acidic but they actually have an alkalizing effect in the body. Other supplements that help are elder bark, hops and willow. However, I digress...
Without the generosity of two suppliers who truly have a passion for the products and service they provide and without the generosity of the posters on this forum who spend their time here because they are truly interested in helping other people give up analogs successfully, vaping is something I might have looked at and put on my to-do list - or worse, tried unsuccessfully and gave up on. Of course, smoking is bad for everyone. But I have 4 specific diagnosed illnesses that smoking cigarettes are clinically proven to make worse and no matter what I have tried I have never been able to give them up. I'm only 24 hours into vaping and for the first time I have real hope that something will work. I know I have to stick with it and that I will still go through withdrawals of some sort but I believe I'm well prepared to face that. Especially since I will apparently be able to breathe, which means I will be better able to exercise!
What is worse than cigarettes affecting my health is stress. Stress triggers most of my illnesses when they are in remission and causes them to go into overdrive. So I was caught in a catch 22 - quitting smoking is stressful and not quitting was just a slower death. The stress of not having money to pay my living expenses and not having money to afford the cigarettes had already brought my illnesses out of remission. A week ago I would have seriously said any person who suggested I could give up smoking right now, vaping or not, was clinically insane. Honestly, for the first time since I started getting sick (over a decade ago), in spite of my dire financial circumstances, I feel real hope. I would like to thank my anonymous donor and John from Intellicig for their generosity and compassion for a fellow human being. I give you my word - when I am able, I will pay it forward in every way I possibly can.
Love Pandora
I discussed juices with one of the US suppliers he suggested and said supplier, who wishes to remain anonymous, had also read my post and offered to send me some free samples to help get me even further. The shipment from the US supplier arrived Tuesday but I didn't realize it was sitting in my mailbox and wasn't in a rush for it anyway since I haven't received the Intellicig shipment yet. I have been really sick with a nasty cold this week and my sister had a baby on Tuesday - I was kind of stewing in misery from the cold and the fact that I had to sit out on the birth. I was supposed to be her "coach" through the birthing process and I'm still very disappointed I couldn't do that. I was there for my nephew's birth and being there for my niece's birth was to be a bright spot in an otherwise very stressful and dark existence for me right now.
Anyway, as sick as I am, true to form, I was still puffing on those darn analogs even though it felt like inhaling pure fire down my throat and into my chest and every cigarette made my sinuses clog up even more. Every time I smoked, I had to take at least a half an hour of coughing and laboring just to settle back into being generally miserable instead of actively miserable. I passed my time by reading this forum extensively and asking a few questions here and there. I had run out of analogs around 8:30pm. On my way out the door to buy more (9pm), something drew me to the mailbox. I opened it up and there was a much smaller package than I was expecting sitting in the narrow box. I opened it right in the lobby of the apartment building lol. Inside I found, not only an assortment of juices, but a Joye 510 with 2 atomizers, 2 batteries and a charger!!! I was caught off guard and delighted. I rushed back up to my apartment and pulled it out. I found both batteries held a charge already. I plugged one in anyway, just in case. It took me a minute to figure out that you have to actually SCREW the battery into the wall charger but I got it after a few minutes.
Then I tried vaping for the first time. It was shocking how close it felt to smoking. I coughed and got a little buzz from it off the first couple of hits. The anonymous supplier had sent 18mg and 24mg and I believe the starter carts were 24mg. I also received some empty bottles and some VG and 0nic to cut with. I haven't really tried cutting it yet but I will. I ended up playing with the 510 for about 6.5 hours when my bf woke up and asked me if I had refilled the analogs. I showed him the 510 and asked if he wanted to try it (he caught my cold and was in the peak fever stage of it). No, he won't try it and went to get some analogs. Oh well, he's always been resistant to change but I usually win in the end ;-).
When he got back, I had a little panic moment when I realized I had gone close to 7 hours without smoking a real analog! I lit one up. Remember, I was sick so I couldn't taste either the vapor or the smoke. But I was really amazed that the smoke felt almost identical to the vapor I had been playing with for the last 7 hours - except it BURNED in a bad way, made me cough uncontrollably, made me sick to my stomach, caused my sinuses (including my ears) to clog up and lots of pressure in my head and chest started to build. I thought to myself, if I keep smoking these I won't get to see my niece until she's 3 or 4 weeks old! Then I went to bed.
My lung function has been declining all year and I'm pretty sure I've developed asthma. Add no health care and the cold/flu to that fact and it's amazing that I was able to make any vapor at all. I have read about how it takes a couple days to break in an atomizer and how you might get a burnt taste at first until the factory primer wears off but the illness acts as a blessing in disguise on that note because I can't taste or smell anything. Well, I couldn't taste or smell anything that is. I haven't had an analog in 24 hours and in spite of my cold, I am smelling things that even nonsmokers cannot smell. WTF?
I woke up this morning and after coughing and hacking and blowing my nose for about an hour I was ready to smoke but I wasn't looking forward to it until I remembered that my 510 battery had been charging overnight. I started puffing on it. Hours went by while I played with it a few puffs at a time. I've only had a true craving for analogs about 3 times today and vaping a couple extra puffs took the craving away immediately. Sometime around 3pm or so I started smelling stuff. My son came over and made some ramen noodles and the smell was so rich when I walked into the kitchen, it stopped me in my tracks. Ramen noodles have an odor? 8-o
Around 5pm, I tasted/smelled the burnt new atty odor everyone was talking about but it was mild and largely overshadowed by the english toffee flavor I had dripped onto the atty to prime it. Drank some Mountain Dew because my throat was tickly and it was so sweet I almost gagged. Around 7pm - Ate some Wendy's for dinner because both my man and I were too worn out to cook. I never noticed before but I don't really like the double stack from Wendy's. It's like eating fake food. I'm kind of a food snob and I have a feeling that is going to increase dramatically and quickly in the next few weeks. I won't eat fast food burgers except for Wendy's and now the value menu burgers at Wendy's are off limits - yuck. The french fries were surprisingly delectable though
. Too bad I only had the kid size so I could afford the nasty double stack. I would have rather just had a large order of fries and called it good. About an hour after dinner, I noticed that not only had my lung function increased quite a bit but all the muscles in my body felt strangely energized and good. Almost like I could go for a quick jog to...I don't know, squeeze? the energy out of my legs? LOL! I was still only taking a few puffs at a time on the 510, but after playing around with it all day and learning the longer, slower drag along with the newly discovered lung expansion, I am starting to produce clouds of vapor! I'm sure it has to do with breaking the atty in as well but I have surprisingly more lung capacity in just 24 hours. I could feel that most of the cold was settled in my throat and was getting ready to move to my lungs. The fact that I'm losing my voice was a big indication. I decided to gargle with salt water like my grandma always tells me to do. I gargled about 10 times in a row and long ropes of clear mucous came out each time. Did this until only water came out. My daughter thought I was throwing up because it did make me cough and gag a lot. I coughed up some weird small brown chunks that had to have come from my lungs. Afterward, I felt a hundred times better. I still have a cold but it's barely affecting me now compared to feeling like I was dying yesterday. Hmmm.
In the very beginning, I had one instance of a flooded atty but because of all the reading I have been doing I immediately recognized the problem and rectified it successfully. There IS a big learning curve with these things but it really helps to have read up on it ahead of time. I know that there are people who don't have the opportunity to read before they buy a PV. We all come to this point in different ways. But if you are new to this board and you are thinking about ordering one, I highly highly recommend you spend the time reading and asking questions beforehand. All the reading I've done since the 13th, which admittedly is a LOT because I'm not working right now, made this transition basically seemless. I am really looking forward to receiving the EVO and trying out the automatic as well.
The most amazing thing to me is the lack of craving for analogs and the simplicity of getting rid of the cravings if they do hit you. I've been reading a lot about this happening with other people, but it's one of those things that you have to "see it to believe it." I won't deny I was skeptical. I've tried so many other things and nothing worked like this does. Gums, lozenges, etc would take away the nicotine fit (barely) but not the desire to smoke. I love smoking...well I did anyway lol. No matter what kind of PIA these things might be at times, they really seem like a miracle product.
The cynic in me keeps looking for the catch - are we all going to grow a third eye in 10 years? Do they cause birth defects? What is it? But from what I can tell at this point, the worse drawback/side effect is a lactic acid buildup from PG, which you can eliminate or greatly reduce by drinking extra fluids and taking a B-complex supplement that includes thiamin and/or riboflavin. I happen to know a little about lactic acid because one of the medications I tried early on for one of my illnesses also caused lactic acid buildup. Lactic Acidosis can be serious so it's worth paying attention to and preventing, especially when it's pretty easy to do. Besides, who can't use a good dose of B vitamins? Believe it or not, citrus fruits (and most other fruits) also help. You would think not because they are acidic but they actually have an alkalizing effect in the body. Other supplements that help are elder bark, hops and willow. However, I digress...
Without the generosity of two suppliers who truly have a passion for the products and service they provide and without the generosity of the posters on this forum who spend their time here because they are truly interested in helping other people give up analogs successfully, vaping is something I might have looked at and put on my to-do list - or worse, tried unsuccessfully and gave up on. Of course, smoking is bad for everyone. But I have 4 specific diagnosed illnesses that smoking cigarettes are clinically proven to make worse and no matter what I have tried I have never been able to give them up. I'm only 24 hours into vaping and for the first time I have real hope that something will work. I know I have to stick with it and that I will still go through withdrawals of some sort but I believe I'm well prepared to face that. Especially since I will apparently be able to breathe, which means I will be better able to exercise!
What is worse than cigarettes affecting my health is stress. Stress triggers most of my illnesses when they are in remission and causes them to go into overdrive. So I was caught in a catch 22 - quitting smoking is stressful and not quitting was just a slower death. The stress of not having money to pay my living expenses and not having money to afford the cigarettes had already brought my illnesses out of remission. A week ago I would have seriously said any person who suggested I could give up smoking right now, vaping or not, was clinically insane. Honestly, for the first time since I started getting sick (over a decade ago), in spite of my dire financial circumstances, I feel real hope. I would like to thank my anonymous donor and John from Intellicig for their generosity and compassion for a fellow human being. I give you my word - when I am able, I will pay it forward in every way I possibly can.
Love Pandora
