Having some problems, could use support

[cherrypopwizkid]

So I'm still trying to kick my addiction to annalogs and I've fallen into a pattern.

Basically I'm smoking analogs and I have the e-cig with me at work. I really hate this and really want to quit. After a few hours I get ......, tear every analog I have left in the pack in half and throw it in the garbage. Then I start vaping. I'm doing good. I think "Hey I could do this, no problem." I'm not stressed, I feel great. The PV is keeping my nicotine cravings under control and I'm fine. I go home and go to sleep. When I wake up the cravings are there and I end up going to the store for analogs.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME??

Why can't I just vape in the morning?? I could even set it up so I don't even have to get out of bed before hitting the e-cig! But I don't, why??

The 36 felt a little strong for me at first but tonight I found out I think its because I'm vaping wrong. I vape like you smoke when you want to stay awake, not like when you want to relax, and you really have to do it like you want to relax. I can't imagine going down a notch because even though the taste is a little bit abbrasive I don't think I would stand a chance at kicking analogs with anything less powerful.

I'm just really frustrated, I want to quit analogs so badly, I could just really use the forums support, encouragement, and advice if you have it.

 

[Mufftrix]

You Will find this mirrors what a lot of us went through!

I found the first one in the morning the hardest to give up but believe me once you manage it for one day it all plain sailing

Just don`t beat yourself up! I was the same, wanted it to happen overnight! but if you cut down even half of what you usually smoke that an achievement in its self!

The trouble is first thing in morning your nicotine cravings are at there highest because you gone all night without any, so analogs give you the instant hit your brain and body needs!

If you just carry on am sure you will be fine!

Mufftrix...............

 

[Grandma Cas]

I was almost the same, I think it has something to do with the way we use smoking (I'll just do this then, have a smoke or finish a meal & a smoke rounds it off) I think a lot of us used the reward idea to convince ourselves it's ok to smoke when we know it really isn't.

When you can get to the idea that vaping is more rewarding than smoking or you're getting just as much enjoyment outa vaping then you will have no trouble stopping the analogs. Just dont beat yourself up in the meantime.

 

[Vicks Vap-oh-Yeah]

I'm going to say the same thing....don't beat yourself up. If you want an analog in the morning, have 1. Just 1. Not 2, not 5, not a pack. Count each and every analog you DON'T smoke as a personal victory over tobacco.

Don't be too hard on yourself, either. The PV isn't the magic bullet, nor is it the holy grail. It's an alternative. It's different than smoking (Better, IMO) and something you have to get used to.

Try thinking of the PV as if you were switching brands of cigs - takes a while to get used to, but you will.

When you're ready to lose those last analogs, your body will tell you.

Until then, remember, we are here for support - you can overcome!

 

[wanderlust]

Some really good advice already provided in this thread. I just want to add that when I started the ecigs I made a decision that this would be my product from now on and mentally conisdered my old preferred smoke gone forever. From that point forward it was just a matter of finding the right combination of hardware and ejuice. At times it was frustrating with small carts and poor battery life but that was the only choice I had left for myself. It was kinda like when I switched to a pipe many years ago. It takes time and patience.

 

[Closet Toker]

I went through the same thing also. I still have analogs once and awhile. Eventually, you should improve, give it some more time. The problem is that burning tobacco has much more than just nicotine in it. There are so many other chemicals produced, and that is what your body craves also.
Vaping liquid is so much more purer, you don't get the "other" chemicals from burning leaf matter.
Hang in there!

 

[LaceyUnderall]

One thing I have learned from my experience, from others around here, and from my customers: Those who pick up the ecig with the intentions of quitting have an extremely hard time. Those who pick the ecig up as an alternative, have a great go at it.

Take your time. Remember that for each tobacco cig you reduce a day, that is an amazing thing. If you were a pack a day smoker and get yourself down to five a day and stay there for six months... bravo to you. If you never give those last five up, who cares! You just reduced your tobacco intake by 75% and that's better then doing nothing!

Be proud of yourself for the small steps and eventually, you might wake up one day and be an "accidental quitter" like many of us.

The first week or two off of tobacco cigs was very difficult for me. I wanted to lick smoke out of the air. My body was craving things other than nicotine and I could feel it, hence thinking that I needed more/higher nicotine. As Toker notes as well: We can't for one minute imagine that after all of these years of smoking, we aren't addicted to a couple of other things in our tobacco cigs. We are naive to think that the only chemical addiction in cigarettes is the nicotine. This "itch" will pass, but you have to wait it out, and if you are doing too much at once... it can all get a bit cumbersome.

 

[D05GTO]

Noticed I had that itch too for a few weeks. I started chain vaping on 4 different PV's in different flavors. Was so busy keeping track of equipment and trying new flavors, I forgot about the cigarettes. Hang in there!

 

[Myth Sammich]

It wasn't easy for me to give up the morning smoke either, but it's been 3 weeks since my last cig now.

I found that the strong urge for a cigarette was just the old habit... the same way that some people cannot start their day without their cup of coffee. The nicotine can be supplied by vapor instead. I just changed my morning routine a bit to make vaping more convenient than smoking would be. With cigs I would traditionally start my day by sitting at my desk for about 20 minutes, taking down 2-3 cigs. Now, I pic up the 510, take a couple large drags, go take care of the morning business in the bathroom, come back and take a few more drags, get dressed, take a few more drags, make the coffee..... and that point I had totally bypassed the urge for an actual cig. My body just forgot. Then it's just regular maintenance with the 510.

I hope that helps a little.....

 

[David Bruno]

My wife and I were doing great. 4 weeks and no analogs. And then!, we
had to travel six hours out of town for a wedding. We ran into bad storms, floods, road closings, detours into nowhere. I couldn't take my eyes off the road to mess with topping off. We got frustrated. We
pulled into a gas station for directions, and then I saw it, CAMELS !
I bought a pack. My wife doesn't smoke camels and sent me back in for Marlboro Lights. Instant stress fixer. Soon the guilt set in. That was two weeks ago and so far we are back on track, with our 510's. I will say that the analogs tasted bad. You get to like the e-juice flavor.
Dave

 

[wiskybent]

I feel your pain cherrypopwizkid. My wife and I are only one day into this "quitting" thing and this morning was very tough. I actually feel bad because I gave my wife .... for cheating when I didn't. I will appologize to her when she gets home and let her read this thread with such great advise. Hopefully with alot of luck and a ton of will power we will get through this and so will you. I wish I had heard of PV's years ago

 

[daniel2828]

My first e-cig was, unfortunately, from SmokingEverywhere, and it gave me little satisfaction. I continued smoking a pack a day (although still down from 2.5), but I couldn't figure out what the big deal was about these things. From what I had been reading, I had high expectations about e-cigs taking me off of analogs immediately. My atomizer from SE broke down after only two weeks and I ordered a new one. After waiting two weeks, I called them to discover they were backordered and they gave me no indication when a shipment would arrive.

I didn't want to wait indefinitely so I ordered an 801 in the meantime (and eventually a 510). Haven't had an analog since, or desired one, after 40 years of smoking. Best thing to have happen to me after all was that atomizer being backordered or I'd still be on the pack per day most likely. Well, maybe not. When the atomizer from SE finally did arrive after a month of waiting, it was DOA.

Has anyone ever conducted a poll here asking a) I quit immediately after I started vaping; b) I'm weening myself gradually off of analogs while vaping; c) I do both and I enjoy doing both, depending on the situation

I'm new enough here that I don't want to start a poll that might have already been done.

 

[BengalBacker]

I'm just not putting pressure on myself that "I have to quit right now". I've gone from 2, to 2 and a half packs a day for 36 years, down to between a half, and one pack a day without really trying.

I still want a real cigarette when I get up in the morning, and after a meal, so I have one. I figure that just like all of the other automatic triggers that I'm easily replacing with e-cigs, those too will eventually transition.

I'm letting it happen rather than trying to make it happen.

 

[Quitter]

Well I'm a newb - just got my 1st unit (510) and I'd be lying if I didn't say my main objective is to give up analogs forever (see my username). But I know it's a process and has some have mentioned earlier in this thread, it's not going to be a light switch. Every analog I don't do and hit the 510 is a good thing. The goal is to keep replacing them one by one till they disappear forever.

The best thing for me is that I've been a closet smoker which is a real drag on analogs! Sneaking away to where no one can see ies easy. But where no one will SMELL you is much much harder. Then there's the breath sprays etc. The great thing about vaping for a closet smoker is the ease for doing it. Slipping into the bathroom or stealing a few hits in my ofice is no sweat with no smell. I also hate smelling like cigarrettes!! It's such a turn off to non smokers and it always makes me feel ashamed.

Thanks God for discovering vaping!!!

 

[emus]

Don't beat yourself up. If you want an analog then have one. I found that after mixing analogs with e-cigs a few months I just got tired of the analogs. I found some great liquid flavors that analog just can't match. I allowed myself a few analogs per day. Without even trying I just lost desire for the analogs. Maybe you are trying to hard. I did not throw analogs away and know I can have one if I need it; lucky I found I don't need them.
It is so nice to feel the health benefits.

 

[yknotagain]

I think you'll find most of us go through this. Although I haven't had an analog now in over 6 weeks, I refuse to dump the open pack in my car, the 2 unopened packs at home or the carton sitting at my store. If I feel I really need an analog, damnit I'm having an analog.

I still look and my PV's as a tool to help me cut back, not quit. That keeps me going.

 

[Grumpysanta]

I think everyones said it here, just hang in there and it will happen. I was lucky, I went from 20 a day to zero. I sometimes wonder what an analog would be like now but then I smell a smoker and that puts me right off. Hell I'm worse that a non smoker when it come to the smell of smoking now.

 

[jfreeman420]

It's all about changing behavior. My morning routine was like clock work. Wake up, get something to drink. Go to the bathroom and smoke 1 or 2 on the comode. Now I wake up, get a drink, grab my 510 and hit the comode.

It takes a little getting used to but just keep trying.

 

[fjames]

I think I got lucky. When I got my first e-cig I had a full carton plus 3 or 4 packs of analogs. The e-cig was so fascinating I ended up using it a lot and maybe smoked 5 or so analogs a day. I just kept doing that, not really thinking about it.

When I got short on analogs I started wondering what I would do when they ran out. I considered buying just a few packs (no need for a carton at 5 or so a day) so I wouldn't run out. But I decided to just let them run out, and if it was meant to be, I'd end up on a midnight run for more.

Never happened ... a day went by, then 2 then a week and I basically forgot about them. Under high stress once or twice I found myself subconsciously reaching for an analog, but it passed quickly. "Smoke" free for several months now, and I didn't even intend that, but once you see the benefits it's sooo much easier not to smoke.

 

[gashin]

I had the same problem - what solved it for me was willpower and the cost of ecigs vs analogs. I still liked smoking cigs even though I had been vaping for almost 9 months. I finally quit last month because I realized that the benefits of vapes were lost as soon as I lit a cig, both financially and health-wise. So I forced myself to dump the cigs and I don't regret it - I feel WAY better and I no longer smell.... my teeth has actually whitened significantly since I stopped.