I can't get no Satisfaction ! (Sorry, long post)

[katz-in-boots]

Background: I was on approx 30 per day of 2mg menthol cigs. My goal was to find something to stop my smoking, which I did from day one! I started on White Cloud full strength - talk about spinning out! Light was still too much, then down to Ultra Light. Too much really, but okay. From there I've gone down to 0mg and am on my 5th brand/type of ecig, with #6 (Vapor 4 life) arriving any day now - it was ordered while craving so will be 4mg nicotine. I did try to change order to 0mg but it was too late.

So now my experiments have led me to Elusion (which don't seem to have any comparable model), a generic KR808D-1 from HG, then E8s which I threw away because they just burned my lips so bad. Cigarti are KR808D-2s. V4L are another KR808D-1.

Thing is that I am on 0mg but am really not enjoying it. I'm getting loads of vapor and loads of flavour, but I'm really not getting any throat hit or any satisfaction. I keep wanting a real cigarette. I tell myself that failure is not an option, but the cravings aren't going away

I love vaping, and really love the guilt free chain-vape experience of 0mg, but I need some satisfaction if I am going to make this stick long-term. I guess my husband is driving the 0mg thing, he wants me to quite vaping. Wish he'd just be happy I quit cigarettes and accept I might need nicotine for a while.

So where to from here? Back to the evil Nicotine monster, or is there a cartomizer that'll give me real TH and satisfaction without nicotine?

 

[onlybereaved]

There are arguments that throat hit and nicotine don't necessarily go hand-in-hand.

You can vape on no-nic blends and get throat hit (again, people will argue that)...

I would honestly suggest getting yourself a proven/tested and true/quality PV.

Try different volts, try low-res, but be willing to invest in a quality PV to avoid wasting time/money on frustrating low-end vaping.

With that being said, I can go grab my maverick-510 and pull on a no-nic tobacco blend and get a throat hit. But I would much rather use a 3.7 on low-res or straight up use a 5v modd...

Good luck, wish I was able to outright resolve your situation - keep us posted on the outcome

 

[CBB]

People have added pepper extracts to add throat hit.

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/general-e-smoking-discussion/3829-throat-hit-14.html

 

[sam12six]

Katz, I so sympathize about your husband. In my own family, the ones who always greeted me with, "Have you quit smoking yet?", have now changed their tune to, "When are you going to quit using that doohickey?"

In answer to your question, everybody's different. If it were me and I wanted to quit altogether, I'd stick to zero nic and treat it as a cigarette - meaning no chain vaping, but rather a trip to the porch for a few puffs. The lack of satisfaction would make the trips to the porch feel pointless and that might work for me. On the other hand, I'm not personally worried about it. I've given up the near certain death and the certain health problems and still puff on some nicotine as part of my daily stress control.

I don't see my needing a hit of nicotine to wake up as any different than the people who need a cup of coffee to wake up. I have friends who go through 64 ounces of Mountain Dew every day. My 4ml of ejuice is cheaper and almost certainly healthier than that.

 

[Cat_in_the_Playground]

Wow. I think I would be frustrated if my hubby were not thrilled that I had quit smoking. Quitting is such a major accomplishment - you should be congratulated. So, CONGRATS! I know because I started vaping in Jan, but wasn't able to quit the analogs until March. I'm not married, but my parents were the ones to keep pushing the quitting issue. When I told them about my ecig, they were excited, but I could sense a bit of hesitation in their voice. But, when they were over last Saturday and asked how my smoking was going and I told them I quit - they were thrilled. I can tell they would like me to quit vaping, or at least vape 0 nic, but they are just happy I quit smoking that they will leave it at that and be happy for small miracles.

I don't think you are going to find a cart, atty or carto that is you are going to find as satisfying as an analog, b/c your body isn't craving the TH - its craving nicotine (IMO). If you are at the point that it is either using nic juice or analogs, then the decision seems simple to me - nic juice + vaping.

Each person goes through the quitting process differently. Some people can quit and vape no nic soon after starting vaping/quitting smoking. Some people can't (I know I can't). I know I thought I would be able to go to no nic juice right away. Turns out, I was kidding myself. I have a friend who got her PV the same time I did. She had the same expectation. She still hasn't been able to quit analogs. I know my first goal was to quit analogs. Finally, I can put a "check" in that box. I'm vaping 11-12mg juice. Once my 12mg juice is gone (I have a lot of juice to go through), I'll try to move to 6-8mg juice. But if the time comes and I can't go down, then I'll go back to 12mg and just be happy I'm not smoking. I'll get down to 0nic. I don't know when that will be, but I'm confident it will happen. I just have to do it at my own pace.

I'm guessing your husband was never a smoker? I don't think a non-smoker can truly appreciate how difficult quitting is. I would just try asking him to be more supportive as you go through this process. It is a process. When vaping, you are not inhaling those 4,000+ chemicals and carcinogens.

I say if its between going back to nic juice versus smoking - go with the nic juice. Explain to your husband that you are trying, but it is going to take some time and his support would mean a lot. Celebrate the small accomplishments with you and be happy for you.

 

[Cat_in_the_Playground]

I don't see my needing a hit of nicotine to wake up as any different than the people who need a cup of coffee to wake up. I have friends who go through 64 ounces of Mountain Dew every day. My 4ml of ejuice is cheaper and almost certainly healthier than that.

I agree! Everyone has their vice.

 

[intriqken]

First of all...did you smoke when you first met your husband? When you dated? When you got married?
If you did, then he should shut up because this is who you were and are and who he fell in love with,
If he married you thinking that you would become someone else, he is a fool and very selfish wanting to mold you into something he has made up in his own mind.
Next,,,,I vape zero nic when I am just wanting to enjoy the vape experience and a nic juice when I need or want the extra hit, While nicotine does have some negative effects on your health (increased heart rate and blood pressure) it also has some benefits they are only now beginning to discover, First and foremost is in the individuals sense of well being by releasing chemicals in the brain to bring forth those feeling, They already know that it helps with depression and are now discovering how it can help prevent Alzheimer's among with other things.
Finally, to increase TH without adding nicotine, you could try adding some pure grain alcohol to your juice, Most liquor stores carry the brand Everclear @ 150 proof, If grain alcohol isn't available in your area you can also try adding some vodka instead,
Finally, congratulations and getting off of analogs, Your health and your husbands health are better because of it, And from what you say, you will probably outlive him anyway, He is going to worry himself to death,

 

[techtony]

Please don't set yourself up for failure... the only person you should quit for is yourself, when you're ready. If you have outside forces pressuring you, you might stress out and go right back to the cancer sticks.

My wife had the same mentality, that is, until I broke down what nicotine by itself really is, and how harmful or not it can be. too many anti smokers associate nicotine with tobacco. there is nicotine in other things by nature, tomatoes and eggplants for example.

 

[CyberDj]

I had a pack of light cigarette before going vaping. After a few months still I require juice with 12-18mg nic. This poison is very addictive so dont expect getting rid of it one day to another. I also tried the 0mg jouices and had the same thing - vapor, feeling great but dying for a cigarette.
What I suggest (and currently am doing) is to have 0 in your carto and have another one with 18mg. When I am starving for a cig, I switch to the 18mg for a few puffs.

 

[ma811]

I smoked 1ppd for 20 years, & 2 ppd for another 20, been vaping for 2 months, and I have no intention of giving up nicotine. The most harmful thing about analogs is the smoke which conains tar, particles of it go into lungs & stay there. My hubs is so glad I'm not "smoking", he's not concerned about the nic either.

 

[pack21]

In my first days of vaping, i was felling the same, special with cart., but them i buy a tank System, and start to have more satisfaction.....of course Drip gives good satisfaction, but we cant not all the time drip out the house.

so Tank System is a good solution to improvement the satisfaction needed.

 

[Mael$†я♂m]

Hi Katz ,
Its not only the nicotine in cigs you will be going back to . Having a low level of nicotine in your system is not such a bad thing compared to all the chemicals & particulate matter in smoke .

I just started vaping 2 days ago using 16 -18 strength "medium" I guess . Seems to cut the craving, but in the morning I have to bring the nic level up . I may get a high level "coffee" flavor .... Quitting does not have to be a tooth grinding hell .

I purchased a mod with low resistance carto's & attys . Gives a stronger feel .

My spouse gave me some static about replacing the cigs till I told her "I AM NOT SMOKING HONEY POO KINS ". & gave her a good smooch . No more static.. well less . Hey , its worth a shot . You can do this !

 

[jamie70]

Hi,

Sounds like you have a lot of willpower. If you want throat hit get e-juice with higher PG content. I personally don't intend to give up nicotine any time soon. Just vape and get un-addicted to everything else that is in analogs - later you can work on nicotine if you want to.

 

[cookiebun]

Hi Katz.
Don't knock your self out over the nic just yet. You need to get your hardware and juice sorted out first. Once you have that figuredout you can work on lowering the nic.
Since you have a KR808D-1 you might want to try some different cartomizers.
I've fount that I prefer these:
KR808d-1 Cartomizer : Cartridge Atomizer | Cigarette Cartridge Pack | Blank Cartomizer | Cigarette Cartridges
They give me just the right throat hit and lots of vapor .
I tried these:
Boge Blank KR808 Soft Tip Cartomizers - Avid Vaper
and found they were a bit to intense for my tastes. Someone who smoked strong king sized cigs like Luckys or Camel straights might like them.
V4l has 2 types of carts, WOW and Cool Carts. I don't care for either. If i had to go with one of those I'd choose the WOWs. They give more vapor and TH but not as much as the ones I mention above. I'd only recommend the Cool Carts to someone who wanted little vapor or TH .
Juice makes a difference as well. I get a lot more satisfaction from the juice I ordered from Juicy Vapor and Velvet Vapor than the prefilled carts that came with my kit or the premixed juice I got from V4l.

I want to get down to 0 nic as well but plan to do it over several months. My husband, who has never smoked, bought my first kit as a gift and has been very supportive. He was very understanding that I needed to get my juice and hardware figured out first before I could put down the analogs. I continued to smoke a few analogs a day in the first 3 weeks of vaping and he didn't get angry once. I'm sorry your husband is not the same.


edit
I forgot to mention adding one of these:
http://www.avidvaper.com/products/Short-510-|-901-|-KR808-Delrin®-Drip-Tip.html
was a great help as well.

 

[randyith]

Hey Katz,

I really think your husband is being unreasonable. Add some nic to your juice. He won't be able to tell if you are smoking 0mg or 26mg. Congrats and good luck.

 

[swedishfish]

Hey Katz,

I really think your husband is being unreasonable. Add some nic to your juice. He won't be able to tell if you are smoking 0mg or 26mg. Congrats and good luck.

Yea, I do too. My doctor doesn't have a problem with vaping.

 

[jp1000]

I can't add too much to what folks have already said but just wanted to add my two cents in that you have to do what you and not anyone else thinks is right. My Doctor is Thrilled! that I have quit smoking analogs and told me that he is fine with vaping. The nicotine will sort itself out over time with reductions you choose to make based on how you feel. My personal take is not to rush it with 0 nic unless that's what you want to do.

 

[Rosa]

Doesn't your husband have any vices at all? Does he drink coffee or soda? Does he eat red meat? Any of those are going to be as bad or worse for you than nicotine> maybe if he had a crash course in nicotine he wouldn't be such a stickler about it:

• nicotine helps your concentration and mental focus
• nicotine is a stimulant on par with caffeine
• nicotine does not cause cancer
• nicotine aids in the prevention of alzheimers and parkinsons disease
• nicotine ALONE is not significantly addictive, only when used in tobacco products does it become very addictive. (using your e-cig will actually make you less addicted than before)


Good luck!

 

[DC2]

Back to the evil Nicotine monster?

If you yourself believe that nicotine is an evil monster (which it is not) then you are only giving him fuel for his fire.
It sounds like time to educate yourself about nicotine, and then educate him.

 

[clark8876]

Hi Katz, my wife used to smoke 2mg Menthol as well but found she needed 18mg menthol juice to keep her happy. Each person is different and remember that the 2mg they refer to in the analogues is the TAR content, not the nicotine content of the cigarette. So I'd try upping the level.

As others have said, nicotine is no worse for you than caffeine. Whenever I've had someone comment about my continued use of the PV with nicotine, I've offered them a challenge.
"I'll make you a deal. I'll give up my nicotine if you give up your caffeine. You can never have a cup of coffee again, not one, or anything that contains caffeine. How about it?"

They usually go quiet about that point.