Higher MG or sheer willpower?

[lorraineg57]

I know for some folks, dropping the analogs is easy once they start vaping. This hasn't been the case for me. I've cut back from a pack a day to 1/2 pack a day. For those whom it wasn't immediate, I'm just wondering a higher mg helped you kick the analogs or if it was just sheer willpower?

I'm using 24mg cut to 10-12mg currently. I'd really like to ditch the analogs and just be done with it but they keep calling my name...

 

[Caesarea]

I know for some folks, dropping the analogs is easy once they start vaping. This hasn't been the case for me. I've cut back from a pack a day to 1/2 pack a day. For those whom it wasn't immediate, I'm just wondering a higher mg helped you kick the analogs or if it was just sheer willpower?



I'm using 24mg cut to 10-12mg currently. I'd really like to ditch the analogs and just be done with it but they keep calling my name...

Hi Lorraine,

If you have time, read prr2Freya's thread - she started too high, but in some ways a lot of us who came that route have had to learn to vary the nic intake throughout the day while satisfying ALL our need to puff!! One strength of nic doesn't seem to do the trick, whatever strength it is. We need spikes to meet crave moments, it seems and Low/Zero for ordinary puffing times.

Here's the thread.

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...gured-out-why-i-got-off-ciggies-so-quick.html

Best,

C.

 

[Rexa]

It looks like you're addicted to just the analog itself regardless of your oral fixation and nicotine being substituted with an ecig. You still want a cigarette taste and the typical "draw" that comes with it. Maybe you still want to be able to mingle and relate to analgo smokers too when you're in a public setting. Then again the MG could still be a factor as I am alternating between 18mg and 24mg myself. I went up once I received the SD with the 24mg liquid (which i was scared of at first) and noticed it then really kept my cravings at bay. But regardless of device and liquid used there is some willpower as well.

It's still awesome that you went from a full pack to half a pack.

 

[Caesarea]

Hope Rexa won't mind me saying that experiences vary: some of us have never needed a moment's will power. I only bought an e-cig to save money, with analogs costing me nearly 10 dollars a pack. I had no intention of giving up. The day I began vaping I accidentally gave up analogs - they are all still sitting there untouched, the one I lit that day was retch-makingly foul. When people say well done to me I have to gently decline the compliment. It could indeed be down to starting with a lot of nic or having some High nic handy for the crave moments.

Best,

C.

 

[gep]

My signature line sums it up. It took me months to wean myself completely off analong while I figured how how to keep the "monkey on my back" satisfied with the ecig.

I didn't read the other thread but here's what I did:
Higher Nic level 1st thing in the morning. (Gave up my 1st AM cig to vaping, had an analong if it didn't "take")
Mid afternoon I switched to a lower nic level and alternated with 0 juice for the rest of the day.

What did if for me was the harshness of the analogs compared to the smoothness of the vapor. But that's me.

Don't push it, you'll get there.

Edit: You might try changing your analog brand to something that tastes really nasty.
Also a drop or two of high level juice when the cravings get bad helps too. (Some days, I still start with a drop 18mg on top of my 11, just to kick start the day!)

 

[JustJulie]

Only have a few minutes before I head off to visit Mom , but I wanted to chime in . . . .

The biggest mistake many new to vaping make is starting off with too high a nicotine concentration. That being said, it's become clear (at least to me) that different folks absorb the nicotine differently. For some, a high nic concentration can cause wretched headaches (even if they were heavy smokers), while others are only marginally satisfied with even the highest concentrations of nicotine out there. New research seems to suggest that nicotine in eliquids isn't necessarily being absorbed with the same level of efficiency or perhaps efficacy as with traditional cigarettes with all users.

The advice you see here about varying the concentration throughout the day is good advice. So, for example, if you vape at the current 10-12, then spike your cartridge with a few drops of the uncut 24 mg when the cravings start, that might do the trick. Or you simply may be one of those people who require a higher concentration period.

You may also find that, like me, you're also kind of craving the harshness of an analog. Different models of e-cigs seem to provide varying levels of harshness. For me personally, I find the Dura-C (501) and the Screwdriver provide the harshest vape.

Good luck!

 

[gep]

Only have a few minutes before I head off to visit Mom , but I wanted to chime in . . . .

You may also find that, like me, you're also kind of craving the harshness of an analog. Different models of e-cigs seem to provide varying levels of harshness. For me personally, I find the Dura-C (501) and the Screwdriver provide the harshest vape.

Good luck!

This is also good advice. When I really "feel" like having an analog, I vape my 901 and drip my juice, otherwise, I use my penstyle: vape it a bit, twirl it, vape a bit, clench it between my teeth....it IS my pacifier.

 

[Rexa]

Hope Rexa won't mind me saying that experiences vary: some of us have never needed a moment's will power. I only bought an e-cig to save money, with analogs costing me nearly 10 dollars a pack. I had no intention of giving up. The day I began vaping I accidentally gave up analogs - they are all still sitting there untouched, the one I lit that day was retch-makingly foul. When people say well done to me I have to gently decline the compliment. It could indeed be down to starting with a lot of nic or having some High nic handy for the crave moments.

Oh i definitely agree with you there. Cigarettes here are 10 bucks a pack also and I accidentally quit as well. If I lived somewhere where cigarettes are dirt cheap I would still be smoking my brains out. Some people do have more willpower (and money) than others so all of that *might* contribute to the varying degrees of each person's success (or whatever you want to label as success because even a few less analogs a day is success to me). How people absorb or adjust to the ecig is different as well. I love the way everything tastes, more that my marlboros. If someone, however, still enjoys the taste of analogs thought regardless of all the liquids they are using that could also be problematic.

Each of us are extremely different and I don't want to come off as saying "it's definitely this or definitely that". Just more like things that should be examined closely.

 

[Myshkin]

everyone seems different. I smoked about 2 packs a day for 16 years, and since the first day i used the vaporizer i havent smoked a analog. I rarely have cravings for analogs. I have had a few occasions where i instinctively reached in my pocket for my pack. In these moments i just take a couple big drags off my ecig and im fine.

Ecigs still take some effort, and you need to have the desire to quit.

 

[Caesarea]

+ 1, Rexa

 

[prr2freya]

Someone should start a social group for those who consider their e-cig as a binky/pacifier to stay off analogs I would sooooo join!

This is also good advice. When I really "feel" like having an analog, I vape my 901 and drip my juice, otherwise, I use my penstyle: vape it a bit, twirl it, vape a bit, clench it between my teeth....it IS my pacifier.

 

[Rhetoric Camel]

I still haven't quit completely, 2 weeks though and I've gone through only 2 packs of cigarettes, used to go through a pack a day. About 2 or 3 analogs a day and the rest is vaping. Although I enjoy the taste of the Turkish Blend nicotine at 24mg more than an actual Camel full flavor, I feel the urge to get atleast two Camels in a day usually in the morning and right before bed. I've gone from spending roughly $45-$50 a week on cigarettes to just the $7-$8 for a pack a week, giving me more money to spend on things I want to buy instead of buying things I need to not freak out (cigarettes).

Keep with it, you might want to vary your mg intake to a higher one, I've only used 24mg, but this friday when I get paid I will finally buy an 18mg, and possibly a sample pack of flavors so I can see what all the fuss is. But I need to buy a couple atomizers and batteries first so I can be sure I have backups just in case.

My girlfriend smokes and it's hard to control the urge of smoking an analog when I hear her light one up. So I take a few drags off my e-cig and I'm good to go. I don't think I'm smoking the e-cig too often because I've had the same bottle of liquid for 2 weeks now and I'm almost half empty, so $30 dollars of liquid for approx 4 weeks of vaping sounds a lot better than $200 dollars for 4 weeks of smoking. I've cut back on smoking not even for health issues, more for money issues.

Good luck and I hope you can drop down to 5 cigs a day and vape more. Don't try to force yourself to quit just ween yourself off of them slowly. It's more than nicotine that is addictive in them, so it's not as easy to just drop. Kind of why I don't think the patch or gum work well for quitting, it leaves a void of something (chemicals in cigs or the smoke, or the flavor, or just the habit of lighting it up or something).

/babbling

 

[Darth.Vapor]

I smoked 1.5-2 packs a day for almost 20 years now and never wanted to quit as I enjoyed smoking... I haven't had an analog smoke since I got my M201 approx 6 weeks ago and took a puff on that... Wasn't difficult for me at all .... It has really convinced me that it wasn't so much the nicotine etc I was addicted to but the act of smoking... I do smoke the high mg liquid but only because that whats I started with and I am happy enough with that.

I'm sure I can smoke the med or low but I feel if I am gonna buy liquid, buy the high stuff - My thinking is it's better value for the money and I can always cut it - It is just a case of getting around to cutting it now!

One strange thing I am noticing however... I used to always have to have a smoke or two every hour !! However, I now notice 2-3 hours may go by when I realize I haven't had a puff yet !! Maybe it is not mainly the nicotine but some other chemical in analogs that also causes addition? I don't know - All I know is I have gone digital and don't feel the need to go back...

 

[Wildsky]

I vaped and smoked for about 2 months till finally quitting the analog, I wasn't intending to quit, but when I noticed how close i was to quitting - I did.

 

[usamare]

I'm suspecting that what you need is more harshness/dryness in your ecig. As some have already pointed out, different ecigs offer different harshness.

What you MAY need is one of the two-piece models. In my opinion, they don't operate as 'cleanly' as the three piece designs, but they do give harsher hits, because they make vapor by running a heated wire through a cotton-like material that is soaked with e-juice. This cotton invariably gets overheated and adds more punch to the vapor.

In my case, I used a Loongtotem v10 (ex-hi nic) for emergency situations (the carts are expensive, so I have good reason when I break one out). Other people use Vapor King and I think the Red Dragon is a two piece as well, there are others too, but the names elude me at the moment.

If you know someone that has one, make them let you try it

Good Luck!!