Insomnia - too much or too little nic?

[jplanet]

Since I've started vaping on Christmas with my new eGo, I find that it takes me much longer to fall asleep. I noticed posts from others that say that they use lower nic later at night, so I usually have a few analogs instead within a few hours of going to bed. But I still go to bed feeling very restless. Is that because I am having much more nicotine, or am I experiencing withdrawal?

Like many others, I find that I tend to vape much more frequently than I smoked - I am using 24mg juices...I probably drip 2-3 more drops every 45 minutes or so.

 

[WomanOfHeart]

I would say this is probably a combination of both. You could still be going through some withdrawal, plus you're smoking on top of vaping. Nicotine delivery in cigarettes is instantaneous while the delivery from vaping is slower and smoother. I would suggest knocking off the cigarettes (unless you just feel like you really, really need them) and vape instead. Continuing to smoke is only going to make your withdrawal last longer and might be causing you to get too much nicotine, especially since you're vaping 24mg.

 

[ropetrick]

At a guess, I think it's possible that you're experiencing a combination of factors. Certainly nicotine is a stimulant that could keep you awake for a while. But I think restless sleeping is a symptom of withdrawal as well, though I'm not 100% sure. I did experience the same thing, though, and it faded. I still have trouble sleeping right away if I vape a lot right before bed, but overall the effect has gotten much, much better in a fairly short time.

 

[son et lumiere]

I cant sleep if I dont have enough nicotine that day. I go through withdrawl.

 

[jplanet]

Thanks for the replies! Sounds like it still might be a bit of a mystery...When I do finally get to sleep, I have been waking up an hour or two later craving a cigarette - so, I still can't tell if it's because I've increased my addiction to nic, or if it's because I am reducing how much nic I am taking in...Maybe I will use my roommate's blood pressure monitor to see if it increases after I vape for a while...

 

[Jessara]

One thing to keep in mind about vaping vs. smoking...

At first I thought I was vaping wayyyyyy more than I ever smoked because my pv almost never leaves my hand (LOL!). But then I started to put it in perspective.

I usually smoked an analog about every hour. I would sit outside puffing away for about 10 minutes, sucking in every "drop" of smoke I could get out of it, all the way down to the filter (I smoked 100's). Generally speaking, each analog was about 10-12 puffs for me. So every hour I was puffing about 10-12 times (for about 10 minutes). Now with vaping, I hit my pv about every 5-10 minutes.... Let's go with every 5 minutes = about 12 puffs per hour. Wow! Yeah. No difference really - I'm just extending my vaping over the entire hour, rather than puffing an analog for 10 minutes.

As for your nicotine levels - it *may* just be that your body is trying to adjust to the fact that you are getting your nicotine over an *extended* period of time, instead of all at once (as with an analog). With time, it should adjust and you'll be good to go again (and even start to feel better than you have in years(?)).

 

[jplanet]

Thanks, Jessara, you make a good point! Although, right now I am so into the juice flavors, that I am probably chain vaping somewhat! I can't seem to put this thing down sometimes - right now I have a fresh cart soaked with Johnson Creek Tennessee Cured, and it just doesn't want to leave my hand!

It seems to come down to a matter of my body adjusting to whatever I'm doing now, whether it's more, less, or just in a different pattern...even though I still have a few analogs when I first wake up and before I go to bed, I can already appreciate some differences - my clothes and fingers no longer smell like cigs, and the yellow stains on my fingers are gone...now if I can just get off my .... and exercise, I'm sure I will get winded less quickly as well!

 

[nubee]

While I agree it could be a bit of both, I've read many threads were people routinely step down the nic dose for later evening vaping. Many run with 36/24mg during the day and go down to 18/16mg in the evening so they can sleep.

If I had to pick a side I'd go with too much nic keeping you up and move towards the lower nic end.

I myself have settled on 18mg morning/noon/night but I do put it away about a 1/2 hour before going to bed as vaping right up to the bell didn't see to help me sleep.

 

[Jessara]

Hehe, I have my moments of pure chain-vaping too (some of my juice is 24mg, some is 18mg), but I figure it all evens out in the end because there are those times when I'm not vaping at all - like taking a shower, cooking meals, typing long-winded replies to threads (LOL)...

But I do tend to vape my lower nic juices the most and save the 24mg for those times when I'm really needing a nic fix. Eventually I want to get lower and lower doses of nic in my juices, and the ultimate goal is to primarily vape 0mg (but keep some 11mg on stand-by). We'll see how that goes, lol.

 

[ropetrick]

I've read, and suspect it's true, that a component of cigarette withdrawal is withdrawal from other chemicals in the tobacco. If that's the case, it might not just be a question of nicotine levels, which is how I got to the "a little of both" conclusion.

But I'm no scientician, so take it with a grain of salt. ;-)

 

[jplanet]

Hehe, I have my moments of pure chain-vaping too (some of my juice is 24mg, some is 18mg), but I figure it all evens out in the end because there are those times when I'm not vaping at all - like taking a shower, cooking meals, typing long-winded replies to threads (LOL)...

But I do tend to vape my lower nic juices the most and save the 24mg for those times when I'm really needing a nic fix. Eventually I want to get lower and lower doses of nic in my juices, and the ultimate goal is to primarily vape 0mg (but keep some 11mg on stand-by). We'll see how that goes, lol.

LOL! I'm sure you can manage to vape while typing long-winded replies! Good luck with getting down to 0mg! That will be a day to celebrate!

I've read, and suspect it's true, that a component of cigarette withdrawal is withdrawal from other chemicals in the tobacco. If that's the case, it might not just be a question of nicotine levels, which is how I got to the "a little of both" conclusion.

But I'm no scientician, so take it with a grain of salt. ;-)

LOL - I love the term scientician!

I thought about this, too. At least I had been smoking American Spirits for many years - and I recall going through somewhat of a withdrawal from cigs with additives when I switched. But I am sure there is more to it even in pure tobacco.

Too bad I just ordered a bunch more 24mg juices. I at least have a bottle of 18mg Johnson Creek Swiss Dark - maybe I'll make that my nighttime vape, then try to step down to 18mg during the day and 9 at night...

 

[ManicMaurice]

I've had the exact opposite experience, I sleep much more soundly and my best time is more regular since I've started vaping.

Guess everyone's a little different ...

 

[WomanOfHeart]

I had a little bit of insomnia when I first started vaping, but it didn't last but a few days. Now I sleep much better because my sinuses aren't all plugged up. My fiance says I don't snore as much either.

I think a lot of us go through times when our PV's are practically glued to our faces. I'm no exception, especially during stressful times. My PV becomes a pacifier and it seems like I'm hitting it all the time. I wouldn't worry about it. Nicotine absorption from vaping is much slower than smoking. You're probably not getting any more nicotine that you did when you were smoking, it just seems like it. Your body will let you know when you've had enough. Trust me on this one!

 

[Dustyrider99]

I had a real problem sleeping when I started vaping three weeks ago and still do. It is getting better now, getting maybe 2 hours sleep in 24 hour period, 1/2 to 1 hour at a time. You can not take my experience as only vaping or quiting analogs since I also quit morphine at same time. Sleeping or not I still feel much better.

 

[Klute]

I was having trouble getting to sleep. I have been vaping 24m during the day and cut some of my juices down to 12m and switch after dinner. This has helped me out.

 

[LinzCarp]

I'm glad that I found this thread as I was curious about the same thing. I do suspect that mine is due withdrawal as I smoked about a pack a day and since I started vaping 5 days ago I have had a really hard time sleeping. I use 12m and even though I am vaping throughout the day it is not constant or excessive by any means and generally I don't at all for about an hour before I go to bed.

Thanks for all the great information!!!