I am having a dreadful time

Status
Not open for further replies.

marre

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Mar 4, 2012
311
318
TN
Hey Mike

A lot of us know what you are going through. I smoked 1.5-2 packs a day for 42 yrs. The first 3 times trying to vape didn't work for me either. When I finally found a set up that was satisfying I still smoked, vaped, smoked, vaped. I started keeping a PV next to my pack and starting trying to make a conscience effort to go for the PV instead of the pack. The PV didn't always win - actually lost out alot - just couldn't imagine giving up the cigarettes! But then I started making myself take a drag off of it before I lit up. Next thing I knew I
was using the PV more and more and lighting up less and less.

One morning I take off for work and half way there, realize I forgot my pack of cigarettes and only have my PV. I panicked!! But then thought calm down, if you can't make it through the day with only the PV, you can always run to the store and get a pack....well, I made it through that day and from then on just made sure i reached for my PV instead of the pack....Haven't lit up since about the middle of March - and I don't miss it!

Hang in there - you can do it!! :laugh:
 

John D in CT

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Feb 27, 2012
1,576
860
Connecticut
Quit buying Marlboro reds. Buy menthol cigarettes. Buy menthol juice for your PV. When you absolutely must, smoke a small amount of menthol cigarette. Then put it out and resume with your PV using menthol juice.

Mike -

I don't think that you need to buy any more cigarettes at all; or at least you won't once you have a really good vape going. I say this because I think - based on science, logic, and reason - that you will enjoy a good vape better than you think you are enjoying cigarettes at the present time. I say this because it has been my experience that most people - when they are vaping with good equipment and a juice that they love, at a nicotine strength that is neither "too high" nor "too low", but is instead "just right", at a voltage/wattage that for a particular juice is neither "too high" nor "too low", but rather "just right" (think "Goldilocks"), that they will "probably" (with a historically high percentage rate from my experience) find that they actually prefer vaping to smoking, and will therefore simply vape instead of smoke, since it has also been my experience that homo sapiens tend to opt for the more enjoyable in lieu of the less enjoyable, unless they are intent on harming themselves, or have some sort of mental block about doing that which they might just enjoy more, but are somehow afraid of doing simply because it might be a jarring change for them, or otherwise cause them to resist forces outside of their own neural network that are urging them to opt for this arguably more pleasurable activity in place of that to which they are accustomed.

But of course, I could be just plain wrong about any or all of this ... in which case .... never mind.

*****

Oops ...... forgot to add something that just might be important .......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arUVpcGIIiA
 
Last edited:
Hey Mike

A lot of us know what you are going through. I smoked 1.5-2 packs a day for 42 yrs. The first 3 times trying to vape didn't work for me either. When I finally found a set up that was satisfying I still smoked, vaped, smoked, vaped. I started keeping a PV next to my pack and starting trying to make a conscience effort to go for the PV instead of the pack. The PV didn't always win - actually lost out alot - just couldn't imagine giving up the cigarettes! But then I started making myself take a drag off of it before I lit up. Next thing I knew I
was using the PV more and more and lighting up less and less.

One morning I take off for work and half way there, realize I forgot my pack of cigarettes and only have my PV. I panicked!! But then thought calm down, if you can't make it through the day with only the PV, you can always run to the store and get a pack....well, I made it through that day and from then on just made sure i reached for my PV instead of the pack....Haven't lit up since about the middle of March - and I don't miss it!

Hang in there - you can do it!! :laugh:


Truly, you and I are one.

I have been going through the same routine. Go to work, panic if I didn't have enough, etc.

When I woke up this morning, I knew I made a mistake and quit the analogs too soon. No smokes around, getting snappy. Quick... hit the e-cig.... little better - hit it again and again and again. Getting better

30 minutes later I was settled and now working towards my first 24 hour milestone.

Thanks for writing.
 
Mike -

I don't think that you need to buy any more cigarettes at all; or at least you won't once you have a really good vape going. I say this because I think - based on science, logic, and reason - that you will enjoy a good vape better than you think you are enjoying cigarettes at the present time. I say this because it has been my experience that most people - when they are vaping with good equipment and a juice that they love, at a nicotine strength that is neither "too high" nor "too low", but is instead "just right", at a voltage/wattage that for a particular juice is neither "too high" nor "too low", but rather "just right" (think "Goldilocks"), that they will "probably" (with a historically high percentage rate from my experience) find that they actually prefer vaping to smoking, and will therefore simply vape instead of smoke, since it has also been my experience that homo sapiens tend to opt for the more enjoyable in lieu of the less enjoyable, unless they are intent on harming themselves, or have some sort of mental block about doing that which they might just enjoy more, but are somehow afraid of doing simply because it might be a jarring change for them, or otherwise cause them to resist forces outside of their own neural network that are urging them to opt for this arguably more pleasurable activity in place of that to which they are accustomed.

But of course, I could be just plain wrong about any or all of this ... in which case .... never mind.

*****

Oops ...... forgot to add something that just might be important .......

I'm Not Crazy, My Mother Had Me Tested - Sheldon Cooper (comic book store) - YouTube

John, you are dead on right.

At some point I couldn't keep crutching the same old "Let me mix the 2 today again" routine endlessly. I have been cutting back, cutting back, cutting baaaaacckkk... But, to go through the day without one of those damn packs in my shirt was almost too much to bear.

Truthfully, I have a happy mix right now. But, here is to show you how spazzy I am about this.

I am literally at the freak out point worrying about one of these eGo (God forbid if both of them went) twists died on me. I find myself driving the car thinking "You need to buy 2 more to have as a "In case of emergency break glass" kind of backup. :D

But, as long as these things are vaping, I have e-juice and am away from Marlboros I am fine.

4 hours to go...
 
Just wanted to say, Welcome Back, sweetie!

Just last week I was wondering what had happened to you...glad to see the prodigal son has returned :) It looks like you affected quite a few people (in a good way), and we're still here, so stay a while, and let's get you on track...

Thank you, you are very sweet and I appreciate your kind words.

I am still around and still am going to do the convention here. Am working on trying to get these out to many more people as well. I honestly believe in them that much.
 

bluebelle

Senior Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Sep 1, 2010
220
71
63
Rochester New York
This is my third attempt to be cigarette free, so I know the struggle all too well. I could have probably smoked cigarette by cigarette with you when I was a full fledged smoker so I know the level you speak of as to dependency on cigarettes.

As has been said too many times to count here, every cigarette avoided is a win. With some of us it just takes longer. I believe everyone's addiction and our individual minds and individual bodies reaction to that addiction are unique issues as unique as we are ourselves are from one another.

Try and be kind to yourself and don't judge yourself based upon others' easier experiences in quitting.

It is not about failing as long as you keep trying in the end.

The approach I have been trying this time is promising myself only one day at a time, sometimes one craving at a time, that I won't smoke. No absolutes/forevers/etc. and setting myself for failure and the guilt that has followed previously.

Good Luck!
 

MiamiMom63

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Feb 17, 2012
2,810
1,960
South Florida
Something important when first starting to vape and quit analogs totally....vape alot! Vape more than you smoked. It actually requires more vaping time to equal the relief you got from smoking cigs. Don't feel worried about vaping too much. If you find that you get over nic'd from vaping too much, then slow it back or lower your nic. Some people do over nic themselves because you have to learn to realize the comfortable zone of nicotine you are taking in since you don't actually have a start and finish point to vaping as you would a cig. And the hardest part (for me anyways) was finding the right flavors that I totally loved. That took me a couple of months. Some may have been luckier than me and found them sooner. And even then, you get tired of the flavors you did love and need to switch up to other flavors. It gets easier though so good luck! And if you ever have a slight burnt taste at all, stop. Try turning your Ego Twist down some and try vaping again. You will find on a new coil head or whatever you are using, that you may be able to vape it nicely at 4.8v but as the coil gets older and more gunked up with the juice, the ohms in the coil will start to drop some and you will eventually have to start lowering the volts on your e-cig while vaping on it. Variable voltage takes a little getting used to but that's the basics for using VV. :)
 

John D in CT

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Feb 27, 2012
1,576
860
Connecticut
Mike -

I have reason to believe that you might be subconsciously sabotaging what can be a very simple and painless transition from smoking to vaping.

I can't stress enough what I consider to be the most awesomely powerful aspect of vaping:

*** With the proper juice and gear, it is more enjoyable than smoking cigarettes ***

*** With the proper juice and gear, it is more enjoyable than smoking cigarettes ***

*** With the proper juice and gear, it is more enjoyable than smoking cigarettes ***

*** With the proper juice and gear, it is more enjoyable than smoking cigarettes ***

In conclusion; *** With the proper juice and gear, it is more enjoyable than smoking cigarettes *** (Well, I suppose that in all fairness, I really should just stick to saying that I've never encountered a case where someone who had a really, really good vape going on, with a really, really good juice, or juices - where "really, really good" is defined as "good enough so that the vape is better than smoking" (and around and around we go - please hang on to your wigs and keys) .......

So ......

bottom line ..........

Please figure out why you are still afraid to let go of the thing that is killing you prematurely (actually; and better still - just make up your mind to just take the simple steps necessary to get a "proper" vape going) - and realize that there is nothing to fear. You do not have to "quit smoking"; it will simply be displaced, in due time (as little time as "immediately", but it can be longer if you allow it to). All you have to do is stop allowing your fear of the unknown to stop you from taking the relatively simple and inexpensive steps required to achieve a vape that will surpass the enjoyment that you are presently getting from cigarettes. Then - from my experience, anyway - you will have two options available to you at any given time from then on; 1) smoking a cigarette or 2) vaping great juices with great devices - or perhaps, more accurately - "sufficiently good" juices with "sufficiently good" devices, with "sufficiently good" meaning that which creates the condition of the vape being superior to the smoke.

Now it seems to me that you are making things unnecessarily hard on yourself by subjecting yourself to the fear that you have expressed that one or more of your Twists will crap out. I recommend that you get about two or three more Twists - any size, I don't care - and about three Vision Spinners - any size, I don't care - and as many Vivi Novas (3.5ml, version 2.5) as you can justify getting, but no less than five in my opinion. You could make a couple of the the 2.0 ml "Mini" size. The get two more chargers so you'll have three of them. That way, if one craps out, you'll still have a spare, in case one charger of two craps out, leaving you with no spare, and thus inducing unnecessary worry that could be avoided for about $13. Then get about 10 different juices, 30 ml each, in about 18mg strength, and maybe 80/20 PG/VG. Thirty-one and a half percent pure VG just sounds like trouble waiting to happen. Get a few different strengths if you feel like it, but I can't see needing anything over 24mg. I just can't. I think you might just find yourself eventually doing just fine with 12mg, or even 6 mg. I don't presently recommend that anyone stop consuming nicotine at a therapeutic level, and all but encourage anyone who does not currently use it to start using it for its benefits to the functioning and well-being of the human brain. I happen to think that other members of the primate family would very likely benefit from nicotine as well, and wouldn't mind seeing primates in the world's zoos being supplied with vaping equipment. (If anyone thinks I am kidding, I am not).

I'm also wondering why you haven't told us yet what attachment or attachments you're using, and why you haven't called or emailed me yet, although I think I have a rough idea.
 

John D in CT

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Feb 27, 2012
1,576
860
Connecticut
John, you are dead on right.

Sorry, nothing more to add .... I just can't see that in print too many times. LMAO!!

Vape that thing, man ... the stinkies are goin' down ..... and don't be shy ... just call me, and we'll kick their sorry asses once and for all.

"Death to tobacco through superior firepower". :vapor: :vapor: :vapor: :vapor: :)
 
Sorry, I tried to log on here last night to celebrate my 24 hour victory and was kicked off probably ten times with a 503 service unavailable message. :glare:

Hardware - here goes.
http://www.sweet-vapes.com/shop?pag...color_plus.tpl&product_id=1261&category_id=38
Liquids
https://www.cignot.com/product_p/bas-nak-31l.htm
https://www.cignot.com/product_p/eco-e30-30m.htm
https://www.cignot.com/product_p/eco-en2-h15.htm

So there are my products that I am currently using.

John, I get what you are saying. Believe me, I do. I am just telling you that different people are wired differently and unfortunately for me, I am hardwired the wrong way.

Yes, I made it through the 24 hour window but I have to tell you for the past 2 nights I have had the most wicked dreams I have ever had since the days of my military service. My legs are thrashing so much in the bed my wife has taken to sleeping in the other bedroom. IOW, these are not panderings of a pity party but a real reaction to my body going through an unhappy time.

OTOH, I can honestly say now that with the use of the eCig and the eCig alone (as well as the help of this community) I have crossed a threshold I thought I would never see - a simple single day without a cigarette. Incredible.

Now, today is number 2. Do I feel any better now than I did yesterday? Nope. :D But, I know that I can get through it with some perseverance.

BTW - you tell me to call but I don't recall a number being posted or PM'd to me.
 

Cookster

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Oct 5, 2011
1,792
1,889
Fla-De-Da
You've got to remember that there are something like 4000-6000 chemicals in cigs, MAOI inhibitors, tons of other crap, that we've been used to having. Our bodies are saying, "..."!!! The nicotine is the least of the problems...

Just attach that PV to your face, and ride it out. And, if you need a smoke, have one. The first couple of days, everything goes a little haywire, flu-like symptoms, a little depression, tiredness, etc. Make sure you're drinking a bunch of water to help dehydration, and to start flushing out the toxins.

And, regarding your earlier comment about being paranoid about having backups, I even have emergency backups in our cars.
 

napdog

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Jun 5, 2011
408
351
Kansas City, Mo
Have you ever tried vaping something like unflavored pure VG nic juice? You could get the strength that matches your nic craving, but it vapes really smooth and soft on the throat. It doesn't have any fancy flavor to it (like fake tobacco or fruit, etc), but it's not unpleasant.
Thats a good point. it may be from all those years, and 2 PAD you just don't have any taste buds left. Hence the bad taste. Try the unflavored, and see how that goes. Also a vv device may help alot too. Don't give up.
 

NeMom

Senior Member
ECF Veteran
Dec 5, 2012
93
76
Midwest
Hunter -
Woot Woot! A huge congrats for making it through a full 24 hours without an analog cig. I am so happy for you!!!!
I am working on my fourth day. I have tried and tried and tried to quit. Each time I have failed. I am really hoping that this time it is for good. Even though I am experiencing some minor discomfort and withdrawal symptoms, using the e-cig is by far much easier than all the gum, patches and medications I have tried.

Keep going and make it 48 hours analog free!!! GO GO GO!
 

tracilynnie

Senior Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Aug 2, 2012
220
167
NY
I'd like to share my experience of switching to vaping..

Now to begin with I didn't smoke for all that long, maybe about 5 years total with multiple times quitting and always starting up again. I always found an excuse to smoke.. Too stressed, tired, in pain, needed a break from whatever. Well about mid-summer this year my fiance and I started talking about e-cigs and how he had tried them a few years back. I didn't really have a whole lot of faith in them because as we were having the conversation, we were both smoking and in the car driving to buy more lol..

So a couple weeks go by and we start watching our bank accounts suffer from the ridiculous price of cigs up here and decided it was time to change. We went and bought two starter kits of 901 pen styles and both of us being positive thinkers we figured we were done with analogs. Here's where the first problem cropped up. I chose liquids from the mall kiosk that were supposed to be similar to the brand of analogs I had originally smoked (a menthol blend like a Newport) and I actually did not like the flavor at all but I thought it was supposed to taste bad, it's liquid cigarettes, right? The next problem was that I would only vape at times like I would smoke.. I would walk all the way downstairs and stand outside for 5-10 minutes and vape then go back upstairs and set it aside for a couple hours until I would normally go back out for another. Note: THIS DID NOT WORK! (I did not know at the time that you could vape whenever you wanted.. No rules :p)

That afternoon I went and bought a pack of my old friends...

Count down almost 2 months later and I was still trying but still smoking (sigh...) My fiance had bought a new kit from the same kiosk, the K-go which he loved but I still wasn't feeling it.. At this point he was more or less not smoking while I still was and it was really starting to bother me.

A friend of his at work gave us a sample of a cinnamon liquid he had recently bought and when I tried it... WOW! That evil kiosk had crap for liquid... I was in a whole new world of taste! I started asking for a new kit (the kiosk had moved out of the mall and had opened their own shop and had just got the Firefly in stock.) My fiance made me a deal.. If he bought me the new kit I had to give up analogs for good. I agreed and that kit plus the bottle of Atomic Cinnacide we got from his friend was ultimately what did it for me.

Moral of the story (I'm not being a thread ninja, I promise I have a point LOL) For me it took something new and shiny (I am a girl after all) and a very powerful liquid, something strong enough to wash the nasty stinkies out of my mouth PLUS this forum right here.. I feel like I'm part of an elite group here and I totally love it... I have now been smoke free since August and while it has been a horribly difficult journey, I now sit here vaping on that same Firefly although I have several other new toys now and am here to support you in your journey.. Cheers to getting to 24 hours and wishing you the best as you work towards your 48! :D
 

John D in CT

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Feb 27, 2012
1,576
860
Connecticut
**********

Sorry, I tried to log on here last night to celebrate my 24 hour victory and was kicked off probably ten times with a 503 service unavailable message. :glare:

First time I've ever seen that; ca-ca occurs, for sure.

Hardware - here goes.
http://www.sweet-vapes.com/shop?pag...color_plus.tpl&product_id=1261&category_id=38
Liquids
https://www.cignot.com/product_p/bas-nak-31l.htm
https://www.cignot.com/product_p/eco-e30-30m.htm
https://www.cignot.com/product_p/eco-en2-h15.htm

So there are my products that I am currently using.

I can't encourage you enough (evidently) to get exactly what I recommended, in addition to what you already have.

John, I get what you are saying. Believe me, I do. I am just telling you that different people are wired differently and unfortunately for me, I am hardwired the wrong way.

And that is precisely why I am rewiring you. I am not convinced that homo sapiens are as hard wired as you are indicating that you do, but I will concede that it can be a challenge, and can take a "long time", but I think that a great deal of success can be achieved in this area, and that the amount of success is directly proportional to the amount of time that the person who considers himself "hard wired" is willing to devote to the process of exploring the inner workings of his own "mind"; "mind" ... meaning .... as "I" see it ..... simply an apparent manifestation of the chemical processes going on in the trillions of synapses, neurons, dendrites, and other structures (nerves, ganglia, cerebral cortex, pre-frontal lobe, medulla oblongata, amygdala, limbic system (thalamus, hypothalamus, cingulate gyrus, amygdala, hippocampus, basal ganglia, etc.) ... that make up that little marvel of evolution called the human brain.

I encourage you to please not resist, since I want to help you, and I think that I can if you will cooperate as fully as possible, and as time (both yours and mine) allow.


Yes, I made it through the 24 hour window but I have to tell you for the past 2 nights I have had the most wicked dreams I have ever had since the days of my military service. My legs are thrashing so much in the bed my wife has taken to sleeping in the other bedroom. IOW, these are not panderings of a pity party but a real reaction to my body going through an unhappy time.

Please call me as soon as you can, so we can explore what is going on with your brain chemistry. I can reasonably assure you that we can regulate it so that what's going on in your brain has very little to do with the chemicals found either in your cigarettes or in whatever you're vaping, and more to do with other factors.

OTOH, I can honestly say now that with the use of the eCig and the eCig alone (as well as the help of this community) I have crossed a threshold I thought I would never see - a simple single day without a cigarette. Incredible.

I prefer the term "remarkable" to the term "incredible", which of course literally means incapable of being believed. Science, logic, and reason lead me to readily accept your statement that you have gone 24 hours without sucking cigarette smoke into your body. I prefer the term "remarkable" because it can easily be backed up by the simple act of remarking about the thing in question.

Now, today is number 2. Do I feel any better now than I did yesterday? Nope. :D But, I know that I can get through it with some perseverance.

I have every reason to believe that you will feel better, and better, and better. Once we have our chemical intake sorted out, we can delve deeper into our "inner demons", and become as contented as we allow ourselves to be.

BTW - you tell me to call but I don't recall a number being posted or PM'd to me.

I sent this to you on Tuesday, 12/4/12, at 10:15 PM - at least it appears to me that I did, since it's in my Outbox ......

Howdy - Please see my post in your thread.

[XXX-XXX-XXXX] first; if no answer, {XXX-XXX-XXXX]. I'll likely pick right up on either of these lines 99% of the time.

Kiss the ciggies goodbye.

Best regards, John D

*****

(Actual phone numbers redacted according the "Forum Rules" ... at least as I infer/assume them to be, based on past interactions with at least one moderator).


So again - feel free to give me a shout, and as I said before - let's get this party started.

***

"Remarkable" information about the human brain, what "we" are, how "we" think, and such.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Believing...354814047&sr=8-1&keywords=the+believing+brain

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/anatomy/brain/Structure.shtml

http://its.sdsu.edu/multimedia/mathison/limbic/index.htm
 
Last edited:

Riverboat

Vaping Master
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Feb 15, 2012
4,014
3,111
Arizona
A Joy 510 huh, what about a decent Mod, or even an Ego Twist that has VV ? Maybe your not getting enough delivery using the Joy 510 or any of those small stick type Batts. Most of us where able to stop with the small stick batt but being a heavy smoker maybe you need more then just 3.7v and need to kick it up a notch into the mid 4v to 5v and with a good Atty like an HH-357 or Iken i06, just a thought.

Joye 510? lol... you must be kidding...Thats your problem....You have been a member since 2009 and never graduated to the real world of vaping, heres your diploma.... My daily workhorse set-up---Provari VV---HH357 custom 3.0 ohm atomizer---100% VG unflavored 30mg Ultrapure e-liquid.... You will never smoke again once you get a proper rig... I use unflavored high nic juice, never get sick of it and it satisfies the nicotine fix we all crave... I have been at this for 3+ years.... Its the best... A few weeks ago while at the casino my atty died.... After a couple of hours I had to bum a real cig..... YUCK, you will never know how nasty they really are until your off em...
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.

Users who are viewing this thread