My situation

[Bigbang63]

Hello there.

I just started vaping a week ago (finally received my eGo and 24mg eJuice). At first everything seemed right, and I just loved the vapor/throat hit I was getting (still love it). I also thought I was doing OK about the nicotine, and I was able to smoke about 3-4 analogs a day (most were smoked just to test the difference between smoking and vaping, and not from a serious craving).

But now after one week, which had some stressful moments, I realize there's something I'm not getting. Most of all, my attention/concentration is very poor, which is the nicotine withdrawal symptom I experience the most whenever I tried to stop smoking (even with patches). At the state things are, I just can't see myself functionning normally due to the lack of focus, and I'm actually afraid of "losing it" (I had some mild psychiatrict epidsodes in the past, and I don't wish to mess up with my mind). Aside from that, I'm not experiencing any headaches, fatigue, muscle soreness, or any other withdrawal symptom. Also, the physical dependance is fully covered by vaping (I actually already prefer the feeling of vaping to smoking).

What I believe is happening is that my dopamine levels are getting low due to a lower intake of nicotine (I read all that stuff about other elements i.e. MAOI found in tabacco helping the absorption of nicotine/dopamine, and that a 36mg eLiquid is about the equivalent of analog smoking in term of nicotine concentration).

So the way I see things is that I would have to vape 50% more than I used to smoke analogs to cover the nicotine intake (with a 24mg eLiquid), and even then the absence of MAOI would reduce the effectiveness...

So I just don't know what to do... here are the options I figured out by now (I used to smoke 20-25 king-size cigarettes a day):

1- Vape as much as I used to smoke, and try to let my body adapt to the new management of nicotine/dopamine. In that case, if some of you ever tired, how many time will my body take to adapt, and will it fully adapt after awhile or will I still be having those attention issues? This, in my opinion, would be to best option if proven effective, as I would be solely dependant on my PV while reducing my intake of nicotine.

2- Vape about as much as I used to smoke, with 3-4 analogs a day. This option kinda discourages me, as I would still be dependant on analogs, and vaping would seem just like a support while waiting for a "true cigarette". I would also still have the issues associated with smoking analogs. This is what I'm doing right now.

3- Vape a higher eLiquid (i.e. 36mg).

4- Vape 24ml and supplement with snus. I heard this worked well for many, but I'm a bit shocked I'll still have to consume a tabacco product. If so, where are the best place to buy them and what is the cost?

Thanks a lot for helping me. I wish things turn out right as soon as possible.

 

[Iffy]

I smoked two PaD for 45 years. Stopped tobacco with my first vape. Started with 24mg and dropped to 18 in two weeks. That's where I'm at currently. BUT, I vape almost constantly; mainly because I can. I have went a couple of hours, not counting sleeping, without any major cravings.

So, I wouldn't be concerned with increased vaping.

As to your other issues, I'm sure some folk will be along to assist ya!

Good luck!

 

[markfm]

(3) or (4) are what I would probably try for, with (3) being the first. There are definitely people who find it necessary to supplement vaping with Snus -- take a look here: Smokeless tobacco
Particularly early on, even if you don't need the MAOIs that you can get from SNUS, a higher mg can be necessary, at least at certain craving points like on first waking up. I vaped 24mg most of the time, bumped to 30 when I felt an urge.
A fair number of people stay at the higher mg, or mixed with snus -- whatever works for the individual is what matters.

 

[my4jewels]

Hi back at you!

First of all, it's only been a week, so give yourself a chance. I haven't shared this on ecf to anyone, so here goes.

I don't know what kinds of problems you have. As for me, I suffer from severe panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and clinical depression. I have landed myself in the hospital several times, and I have been on meds since the early 90's. I will probably take them for the rest of my life. The slightest thing, or even nothing, can set off my panic and anxiety to levels that need medical attention. Also, bipolar, nervous breakdowns, and other mental illnesses are in my family history. I was also apprehensive about replacing my 35+ year ciggie habit with vaping because smoking made me more "comfortable"..

I have been vaping for nearly 3 months, no analogs since day 1. I didn't smoke as much as you, probably about 15 analogs a day, 100's size. I have only had a few cravings for an analog when I was under a lot of stress and I was having issues with my pv. At first, I felt like I was riding a bike for the 1st time without training wheels. In my case I got through the first few weeks by tweaking my meds a bit and having a few more food treats. Now I am back down to my normal meds and feel much better. I can breathe so much better!! I can dance for 2 hours without a break to breathe, did it a couple weeks ago when my son's band played at an event.

Some can't switch over all at once. It's more of a gradual thing for many folks. And some still enjoy an occasional analog. There is no right or wrong way to do this. You have to do what's right for YOU.

Also keep in mind that there are tons of other things in your analogs besides nicotine that you are recovering from. This affects some more than others. Bottom line, don't be so hard on yourself. If giving up analogs totally is your goal, then work toward it in baby steps and keep your eye on the prize. Try different things, different flavors. Remember it's okay if it doesn't happen overnight.

BTW, I vape like a chimney, all day, all the time.

 

[McG]

Hi bigbang63!

1-Dont worry about trying to vape like you smoked. Vape when you get the urge. Most people vape far more often than they took "smoke breaks", but for less time then the "smoke break".

2-Congratz on already cutting down to 3-4 cigs/day. Thats a great accomplishment after only a week. Not everyone can quit immediately. It took me 3 weeks, others much longer. Your already winning the battle here.

3,4-Cant comment cause I never used snus or higher than 18mg nic strength. If it works for you go for it.

Best wishes. Have patience & experiment till you find what works.

 

[TomCatt]

Excellent post, my4!!!! Glad that things are working for you

@OP - I agree with my4. Take your time and don't force yourself to quit smoking right away if you still feel you need more than vaping is giving you now ; you've just started. It took me about a month with vaping to stop smoking.

 

[wrigleyvillain]

I'd say try some WTA juice (whole tobacco alkaloids) but you have to know a chemist as it stands today.

 

[wdave]

I smoked two PaD for 45 years. Stopped tobacco with my first vape. Started with 24mg and dropped to 18 in two weeks. That's where I'm at currently. BUT, I vape almost constantly; mainly because I can. I have went a couple of hours, not counting sleeping, without any major cravings.

So, I wouldn't be concerned with increased vaping.

As to your other issues, I'm sure some folk will be along to assist ya!

Good luck!

So you get 36/18 = twice the amount of PG/VG than you would at 36 mg. If your are chain vaping you are probaly getting even more than twice. Why not just cut it to 6 mg nicotine and get six times the PG/VG than you need.

And your missing a big benefit of vaping. Or maybe you don't have other things to do besides vape?

My comments are directed toward everyone who chain vapes. Please don't take it personally.

HTH,
Dave

 

[CraigHB]

I also had issues with inability to concentrate at first. It was weird. It passed within a couple weeks though. The thing with vaping is you're satisfying all the psychological needs, but you're not getting the huge number of chemicals you were getting with cigs. Also, cigs deliver nicotine much differently than vapors. Hang in there, things will settle down after another week and you should feel more comfortable.

I was a heavy smoker, as much as 3 PAD for 30 some years. I smoked a lot, and I vape a lot. Vape as much as you want and don't feel guilty about it. The vapors are fairly innocuous, but the PG can cause drying and irritation so it's best to drink fluids while vaping. If you start getting a lot of irritation, you may have to pull back a little on vaping frequency. One thing I did about 6 months in was switch to a mix higher in VG. I found that to be less irritating. That comes into play more for heavy vapers like myself.

BTW, I started at 24mg, dropped to 18mg shortly after for a few weeks, and have been at 10mg for the last year. My feeling is it's better to start high. There's no need to have nicotine cravings when you're putting the cigs down for vaping.

 

[donnah]

It took me almost 4 months of vaping and smoking to quit. Don't stress about it! You've cut down your smoking and that's great. It's like potty training.. take your time and don't force it LOL

My friend loves vaping but she still has to have a couple cigs a day... she doesn't stress about it like I didn't.

 

[reprisal]

Don't worry about cutting out all analogs right away. I didn't have another analog once I started vaping but I know plenty of people on this board who continued to smoke analogs for some time after vaping and lowering the amount of analogs over time.

 

[Iffy]

So you get 36/18 = twice the amount of PG/VG than you would at 36 mg. If your are chain vaping you are probaly getting even more than twice. Why not just cut it to 6 mg nicotine and get six times the PG/VG than you need.

Please don't take it personally. Dave

Dave, please don't take this personally, but WTF are you trying to tell me and other 'chain' vapers?

 

[Stosh]

@OP number 3 and 4 would likely work, I needed 36mg to kill the craves and gain back my concentration early on, vaped constant if my eyes were open. After a couple months I was able to cut back on the juice strength (20-25mg now) and on the vaping and still be comfortable. I didn't use the snus myself, but with 20-20 hindsight it most likely would have helped, I just didn't find ECF soon enough.

 

[Bigbang63]

Wow, thanks a lot to all of you for those replies... I'm still unsure about what to do, since many of you give different advices, but at least I feel a bit of relief. Before I received my PV, I was using 21mg patches and smoking around 10 cigs a day on top of it (each cigarette is about 2mg of nicotine, so my nicotine intake was around 10 x 2mg + 21mg = 41mg). The negative side of this is that I trained myself to smoke a lot less than I used to, so vaping 50% more than I used to smoke prior to using patches seems a bit excessive.

Also, last week I had a lot of stressful moments, which might have been a bias toward the effectiveness of my vaping. Still I don't want to take any chances, and the novelty of vaping being a small stressor of it's own, I felt that getting back on analogs was the safest way to go.

I guess I'll just have to experiment to find my comfort zone. Here is what I plan to do :

- Order 36mg eLiquid and see how I'll feel on that. By the way, does 36mg liquid feel/taste different from 24mg... does it feels too strong or anything? 24mg is already classified as x-high, so I'm a bit concerned about such a high dose.

- By the time I receive the 36mg, I'll mix analogs with my vaping so that I don't feel any lack of focus whatsoever (ie. no major drop in nicotine dosage). When I'll feel better I'll try to cut back on analogs and see how I can handle a lower income of nicotine dosage.

- If none of the above works, I'll try to supplement with snus.

Concerning the lack of focus, I'm I in a minority to experience this? Maybe it's just my cerebral/intellectual mind that can barely accept any decrease in attention, which gets me panicked and feeling "out of myself". Still, I was having severe attention deficit while driving back from work last friday, to the point where I was feeling dangerous. But, as I said previously, last week has been a very stressing/draining one (I slept 12 hours on both friday and saturday night). Might actually be a combination of both fatigue and a lack of nicotine/dopamine that got me feeling not too well.

 

[XDoctor]

Just don't panic. Smoke a cigarette first thing in the morning, one at lunch and one in the evening for a few days. Then cut out the one in the evening. Stick with that for a few days or weeks, whatever you need, then cut out the one at lunch. Stick with that until you're comfortable with it, then cut out that first one in the morning.

It took me six months of smoking once a day before I could quit that first cigarette in the morning. Still had three rough days before I didn't miss it anymore.

Don't give up hope, stick with it, its worth it. Just cut yourself back until you're off the coffin nails.

 

[CraigHB]

You'll get a little more throat hit with 36mg, the higher nic does that. It's not unusual at all for people to start with 36mg. I was a heavy smoker, but I smoked ultra-light cigs so the 24mg was better for me to start.

What you describe, feeling "out of yourself" is exactly how I felt at first. I think you're experiencing pretty much the same thing I did. Though it was gone by the end of the second week. For me, vaping was a "big change" so I gave myself plenty of space to adjust. In other words, I didn't expect it to be the same as smoking, and it isn't.

I think there's two ways to approach vaping, either as an immediate full time replacement for smoking or as a supplement to wean yourself off smoking. I chose the full switch all at once, but if preferable, there's nothing wrong with switching over gradually. I mean you smoked all those years, a month or two isn't going to make much difference.