Hey there! Total noob with a few questions

[bulletproof]

Hey all, happy holidays!

First off... wow, thanks for all of the super-detailed information you've all helped to amass here. I didn't expect much when I started searching for information on e-cigs but, lo and behold, I found this forum and was totally amazed.

So, here's my story:
I quit smoking cold turkey just under three weeks ago (woo!). Had been smoking for about 4 and a half years, peaking at about a pack a day (which is where it was when I quit). Kinda made the decision to quit on a whim -- had my last one at 4 am on December 2nd, and decided I was tired of feeling like crap all of the time.

After quitting, I got pretty depressed and have been ever since. Quitting didn't cause this, but it certainly amplified it! I know I've made the right choice, but I constantly find myself doubting whether or not it's worth it.

Anyway, I guess I went about this in a backwards fashion: I feel like most people start vaping, THEN quit analogs. Heh. In any event, this is what I'm wondering (and I understand this is all pretty subjective; just looking for opinions):
-- If I were to start vaping now, would that be like taking a step backwards?
-- Would vaping, potentially, cause me to go back to cigarettes? If there is a strong possibility that this is a yes, how would I go about minimizing that risk?
-- Is there any merit in vaping 0mg juice? My general thought is... I'd like to simulate smoking without getting hooked on nicotine again, since I've already gotten through the physical withdrawal stages and whatnot. Is it worth it at all?

IF vaping would not be a terrible idea for me, I'm looking for an automatic e-cig that is roughly the same size/shape as a normal cigarette. After doing a bit of research on the forums, I was thinking of going with a KR808D-1. Any thoughts or alternative suggestions?

Sorry for throwing out so many questions! Just don't want to risk messing up my quit. Thanks in advance, y'all!

 

[phorbin]

I think maybe vaping could help you out here bullet. If you think it will make the transition easier, then it probably will, you're half way there. In your situation, i would recommend a low nic level to start (maybe 6 or 8mg). Its low enough to minimize (but not eliminate!!) the risk of addiction, but high enough to satisfy those occasional cravings you might still be getting. From there its a pretty easy jump down to zero nic and quitting all-together. On the other hand, if you've made it this far, maybe just quit, or start with zero nic and see if the "hand-to-mouth" part is enough to satisfy you. Hope that helps,


Phorbin

 

[dormouse]

I have no idea on the psychological part - i.e whether vaping could lead back to smoking. I would be a bit concerned about the dreaded no-charged-battery or equipment failure etc. if you were dependent on vaping. There are people on the board that vape 0 nicotine so they would have a better idea than me.

KR808D-1 is a bit fatter than a cigarette but it's probably the best choice if you want the convenience of pre-filled cartomizers. There are a couple of different kinds of cartos for it. One kind is hotter on the lips (at Vapor4Life those are their Premium carts - real hot) and more TH, the other kind (Boge? aka Coolcarts at Vapor4Life) are supposed to be less hot on the lips. I like the Coolcarts/Boge cartos better.

 

[cipher]

Bulletproof,

Congrats on the cold turkey. Never could do it myself for long. Anyways, when I gave up the cigarettes for vaping 100%, i was a moody, depressed, achey, etc you know what for about 5 weeks. And that was when I was (and still am) vaping 18mg to 24 mg ejuice. I suspect your withdrawing from the other crap that's put into the cigarettes. Will it help to vape? Very possible. Should you use 0mg nic juice? If you've been off of nicotine for over 2 weeks, I'd suggest yes, 0mg nic would be good for you. Will the act of vaping help? Only you would know that if you take it up.

 

[texasgranny]

Bulletproof, maybe and then maybe not.
No one can be truly in your shoes.
If your having some withdrawls or thoughts on going back, answer would be probably yes on vaping.

Nic content is easy to control with vaping. Many vape here and they state they are on 0 nic...
That works for them.

I am not experienced on many models of PV's, but most and I say most..not all...cigarette look alikes
don't perform well in the vaping experience.
There are many reasons for that. Read and spend some time here and watch some YouTube videos.
There is a video on just about every model of PV out there.
But to each his own on that aspect.

Good Luck to you and just ask some more questions if needed.

 

[poundpuppiesrock]

I think maybe vaping could help you out here bullet. If you think it will make the transition easier, then it probably will, you're half way there. In your situation, i would recommend a low nic level to start (maybe 6 or 8mg). Its low enough to minimize (but not eliminate!!) the risk of addiction, but high enough to satisfy those occasional cravings you might still be getting. From there its a pretty easy jump down to zero nic and quitting all-together. On the other hand, if you've made it this far, maybe just quit, or start with zero nic and see if the "hand-to-mouth" part is enough to satisfy you. Hope that helps,


Phorbin

Could not agree more with you Phorbin...the 1st attempt for me was using the patch. Although I did get my nic fix...i did not get the hand to mouth motion and the oral fixation (which is the biggest issue for me). I am now on my 4th attempt in the past 5 years and began chain vaping yesterday. So far so good. Good luck to you Bullet.

 

[bulletproof]

I think maybe vaping could help you out here bullet. If you think it will make the transition easier, then it probably will, you're half way there. In your situation, i would recommend a low nic level to start (maybe 6 or 8mg). Its low enough to minimize (but not eliminate!!) the risk of addiction, but high enough to satisfy those occasional cravings you might still be getting. From there its a pretty easy jump down to zero nic and quitting all-together. On the other hand, if you've made it this far, maybe just quit, or start with zero nic and see if the "hand-to-mouth" part is enough to satisfy you. Hope that helps,


Phorbin

Indeed, hand-to-mouth (and I guess the whole physical ritual) is the hardest part to break! What I'm most fearful of is seeing old friends in the next week and a half, who were there when I started smoking -- and, perhaps, directly led to my chain-smoking. That's a big reason why I started looking into e-cigs. Thanks for the input

I have no idea on the psychological part - i.e whether vaping could lead back to smoking. I would be a bit concerned about the dreaded no-charged-battery or equipment failure etc. if you were dependent on vaping. There are people on the board that vape 0 nicotine so they would have a better idea than me.

KR808D-1 is a bit fatter than a cigarette but it's probably the best choice if you want the convenience of pre-filled cartomizers. There are a couple of different kinds of cartos for it. One kind is hotter on the lips (at Vapor4Life those are their Premium carts - real hot) and more TH, the other kind (Boge? aka Coolcarts at Vapor4Life) are supposed to be less hot on the lips. I like the Coolcarts/Boge cartos better.

Thanks for your insight as well! Never really considered the temperatures of the various cartos. Cute avatar

Bulletproof,

Congrats on the cold turkey. Never could do it myself for long. Anyways, when I gave up the cigarettes for vaping 100%, i was a moody, depressed, achey, etc you know what for about 5 weeks. And that was when I was (and still am) vaping 18mg to 24 mg ejuice. I suspect your withdrawing from the other crap that's put into the cigarettes. Will it help to vape? Very possible. Should you use 0mg nic juice? If you've been off of nicotine for over 2 weeks, I'd suggest yes, 0mg nic would be good for you. Will the act of vaping help? Only you would know that if you take it up.

Good to know that your withdrawal lasted longer than a couple of weeks... I was beginning to think I was the only one. I was willing to deal for a few weeks, but this is becoming unbearable. I'm definitely going to look into the 0mg juice

 

[bulletproof]

Bulletproof, maybe and then maybe not.
No one can be truly in your shoes.
If your having some withdrawls or thoughts on going back, answer would be probably yes on vaping.

Nic content is easy to control with vaping. Many vape here and they state they are on 0 nic...
That works for them.

I am not experienced on many models of PV's, but most and I say most..not all...cigarette look alikes
don't perform well in the vaping experience.
There are many reasons for that. Read and spend some time here and watch some YouTube videos.
There is a video on just about every model of PV out there.
But to each his own on that aspect.

Good Luck to you and just ask some more questions if needed.

If I was going to veer away from cigarette look-alikes, which vapes would you suggest? I'd like to stay away from anything that's TOO futuristic looking (hehe, I hope you know what I mean) and that's still small enough to be easily portable. The portability (i.e. being able to fit in a shirt pocket) was the primary reason I wanted to stay with PVs.

Could not agree more with you Phorbin...the 1st attempt for me was using the patch. Although I did get my nic fix...i did not get the hand to mouth motion and the oral fixation (which is the biggest issue for me). I am now on my 4th attempt in the past 5 years and began chain vaping yesterday. So far so good. Good luck to you Bullet.

Thanks! Good luck to you as well!

 

[Caffusss]

Humm, I quit smoking both times I was pregnant ...the whole time no nicotine. However before I became preg I quit with the gum.. But after I had my babies I started smoking agian. The mental addiction to nic and smoking is extremly strong for me....but I have been vaping since May of this year w no problems smoking.

 

[Larry45]

Well Bulletproof, you're supposed to do it the other way around...start vaping, and THEN quit smoking. But having said that, with the right setup you can do it. The key is that vaping satisfies you - if it doesn't, you're in trouble. For starters, I would stay away from 0 nic; it's like you're vaping air. I would go with low to medium nic levels. And the other thing is your setup. Most of the cheaper ones I tried a couple years ago just didn't do it - no throat hit, no flavor, no satisfaction. This time when I tried it, I went directly to the Prodigy V3 from Puresmoker and set it up for 6v vaping. INSTANT satisfaction. That was back in September; I took one hit off that V3 and haven't even been tempted to go back to analogs.

So if you really want to commit to this, get yourself a good PV right off the bat and do it right. There are lots of them out there, though I can't imagine any could be any better than the V3. But again, if you get no satisfaction, it ain't gonna work. Get a good mod, try some different juices, find something that you look forward to vaping every time you pick it up. You can do it, my friend. Many of us have walked down the road you're on now and have made those godawful stinkies just a distant memory...

 

[poundpuppiesrock]

If I was going to veer away from cigarette look-alikes, which vapes would you suggest? I'd like to stay away from anything that's TOO futuristic looking (hehe, I hope you know what I mean) and that's still small enough to be easily portable. The portability (i.e. being able to fit in a shirt pocket) was the primary reason I wanted to stay with PVs.


Thanks! Good luck to you as well!

The first go around with e-cigs was with the analog look alike. It did not do it for me. Hubby ordered me the mega tornado and I really like it. The battery is really big (still will fit in your shirt pocket) but does last a good while (just had to swap batteries after chain vaping starting yesterday afternoon at 12:00). Puts out really good vapor. Overall I have been pleased with it. I'm sure their are other types that are better, I just haven't found them, but am happy for now.

 

[texasgranny]

Bulletproof
I wish I could give you suggestions on which PV, but I do not have direct experience with any other than what I have.
I started with a mod....does NOT look like a cig and probably falls into the suspicious looking catagory.
But for me, I wanted something to help stop my 30 yr addiction, which I did in just 2 weeks of vaping!

There are soooooo many posts about different suggestions on different units.

Take the time to read and learn and then just go for it!.
Everyone here, has more than one!!!

Even I am getting my next one....it's going to be a bottom fed juice mod! Talk about looks from the neighbors!

 

[Jessara]

Bulletproof, WOW! I have a great deal of respect for you in quitting the way you have. I smoked for almost 27 yrs, up to 3 packs a day at times. I tried to quit SO many times with nothing but failure in my wake. Until I got my Yeti 510 (just a basic 510). A lot of people here will tell you the 510 is crap because of short battery life, but I LOVE mine. From the amount of smoking you said you did, and the fact you haven't smoked at ALL for the last 2 weeks, AND you want a sort of "cigarette-looking e-cig", a 510 might be all you need to get you over this hump.

Now it IS true that the 510 battery doesn't last as long as the others bigger batteries out there. Mine last about 3-4 hrs of HEAVY chain-puffing (I almost never put it down). The batteries take about 1 hour to recharge. So I have a PCC that I use, which recharges my battery while I'm using the other one. The 510 is about the same diameter as a cigarette, and slightly longer than a 100.

This is just another suggestion to go along with the others you've had so far. In the end, whether you go with a 510 or eGo or Riva or 808 is just a matter of your personal choice.

I would definitely go with at least ONE bottle of very low mg juice (like 6mg) for those moments when you're really having that bad craving. Then have another bottle of 0mg for those times when just the hand-to-mouth is all you're craving. Have an atty/carto set up already for each juice so you can switch them easily when needed.

 

[gadgets4grls]

Hi bulletproof,

Just wanted to chime in with my experience.
I quite smoking 5 years ago but recently, in the last year or so, the urge came back up strongly.
I found out about vaping and I started vaping 0mg. For me at least vaping satisfies the hand to mouth urge and I don't feel any urge to start on the nic again.

I have a Super-T precise 10440 and like it a lot. With a LR510 atty and dripping it works very nicely. Battery doesn't last very long couple hours at most of heavy vaping but for around town its very easy to carry.

I also used a Mako midi which had better battery life but never got really attached to it. Nothing really wrong with it but I found out about the Provari and pre order it. Gave the Mako to the S.O. so it wasn't a waste of money.

I also have on order a provari which I imagine is going to end up being my primary vape but I'll never give up the Precise.

Just my two pennies worth.
Have a happy holiday and congrats on quitting analogs