Need Help with my mom who is verging on relapse.......

[JGD]

My mom smoked for 40 years. After months of my e-cig speeches she finally agreed to try it for one full day. Well, it worked! She's been vaping happily for one week. Then suddenly this morning she tells me she's not so sure about this vaping thing... and "maybe it's not so healthy after all". She says she feels like crap when she wakes up. She's vaping very little.. as little as one to two mls of 18mg nic juice per day after a 30 cig per day habit for 40 years! She's probably in nicotine withdrawals and also, the black gunk in her lungs is starting to come loose and she's coughing that up. I guess she thought she'd instantly feel great ALL the time. The thing is, she looks better, her moods are better, she's easier to be around... she doesn't see how much it HAS affected her moods/behavior in positive ways. She's still vaping but her change in attitude makes me nervous. I've found a few links about e-cigs and their health benefits compared to smoking but I thought that some others might have even better links for me to share with her? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Jessica

 

[martinc]

She is barely starting the stage where all the bad stuff is being washed out of her system;

The easy stuff takes 1 week,the more hardcore stuff can take 3 to 6 months and the real crap,a year +++.

She should stick to it,best results come after 2 weeks,then after a month,then after 2 months

 

[TonyTT]

The one rule that helped me get through the beginning, was admitting that I was falsely assigning symptoms to vaping. In general, in the early stages of the transition, you just have to remember that in most cases, all of the negative symptoms you are feeling, are quitting smoking, not starting vaping...and it will pass...it will get better, but this little hiccup is something we all must go through. She's already partway through the worst of it...if she truly wants to live a long and happy life, this is something she will have to conquer eventually...Don't let her give up, and remember.

It's not the vaping that's hurting you!, it's the price you're paying for smoking.

 

[TonyTT]

I don't know how much it will help you, but this chart really sent it home for me. I don't know if you should show it to her, it's your decision. But I tried to google, how long it takes for my lungs to heal after quitting, and this was a very sobering chart. It made me truly realize the magnitude of what I had done to myself.

http://whyquit.com/whyquit/a_benefits_time_table.html

 

[Malawi]

She does not have to go all vape at once. What if she has a limit of say 10 cigarettes a day, and vaping for the rest?

Then you give her some really delicious flavors, and she will possibly conclude that the cigs tastes a lot worse.

 

[JGD]

I made my mom read some of the comments I've gotten today and is feeling much more secure in her decision to vape.... she's now understanding that she might even have to feel worse before she feels better. But she feels GREAT about her achievement... one week at noon today. Thanks for the support and helpful info!

 

[JGD]

She does not have to go all vape at once. What if she has a limit of say 10 cigarettes a day, and vaping for the rest?

Then you give her some really delicious flavors, and she will possibly conclude that the cigs tastes a lot worse.

Yeah, I don't see her going back to smoking... she's made it a week and she's not really craving cigarettes as much as she had a momentary insecurity about the healthiness (or her temporary paranoid fear of the Unhealthiness) of vaping.She's SP proud of herself... to smoke would ruin that for her now. She's actually doing remarkably well. She just had a little freak out fear-fest this morning but is feeling better now And SHe HATES my flavors... she smokes tobacco flavors only, which I dislike. I'm really into mixing, collecting juices, collecting equipment, etc.. my mom just wants to keep it simple, have her one or two tobacco flavors and a tank (on her Riva 510) so she doesn't have to fuss with her device. We're very different in our vaping habits!

 

[JGD]

I don't know how much it will help you, but this chart really sent it home for me. I don't know if you should show it to her, it's your decision. But I tried to google, how long it takes for my lungs to heal after quitting, and this was a very sobering chart. It made me truly realize the magnitude of what I had done to myself.

http://whyquit.com/whyquit/a_benefits_time_table.html

Thank-you, this was VERY helpful!!!

 

[JGD]

The one rule that helped me get through the beginning, was admitting that I was falsely assigning symptoms to vaping. In general, in the early stages of the transition, you just have to remember that in most cases, all of the negative symptoms you are feeling, are quitting smoking, not starting vaping...and it will pass...it will get better, but this little hiccup is something we all must go through. She's already partway through the worst of it...if she truly wants to live a long and happy life, this is something she will have to conquer eventually...Don't let her give up, and remember.

It's not the vaping that's hurting you!, it's the price you're paying for smoking.

Again, this was a post that helped my mom a LOT. Thank-you!!!!

 

[bluegrasslover]

I had the fear of the unknown when I started as well. It can be scary especially when combined with the general anxiety of not smoking. Vaping may not be 100% safe but my body tells me how much better it is compared to smoking.

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

 

[aland]

I have been off the nasties for a little over a month and let me tell you the first 2 weeks I felt like total crap. I actually coughed more in those first 2 weeks than I ever did smoking. I also experience more shortness of breath. After 2 weeks I can smell things I've haven't smelled since I was a teenager. I am sleeping better and I do NOT have a cough at all (even in the morning).
Your mom needs to hang in there for a couple of weeks before the transformation begins.

 

[TonyTT]

For some people I think it's okay to propose the gentle transition from smoking to vaping (having a few smokes a day for a while)...With your mum, I got the feeling that she was an either do it or don't type of person ( Mind you this is simply based off your post). I really hope things work out for the best for you guys. Also if she slips, make sure you're there right away to make sure she doesn't feel guilty, and give up. Just make sure she knows, that she's doing fine, and to just get back on... I wish you all the best.

 

[JGD]

I have been off the nasties for a little over a month and let me tell you the first 2 weeks I felt like total crap. I actually coughed more in those first 2 weeks than I ever did smoking. I also experience more shortness of breath. After 2 weeks I can smell things I've haven't smelled since I was a teenager. I am sleeping better and I do NOT have a cough at all (even in the morning).
Your mom needs to hang in there for a couple of weeks before the transformation begins.

This sounds JUST like my mom..... and she's seen the light I don't think she'll slip, we live together and are close-by to each other all day, everyday ( she helps me raise my special needs son). We have a great deal of stress in our lives and that stress was always her excuse (somewhat valid) for not quitting. Now that she HAS gotten past that one week point and she's not freaking out and actually is feeling LESS stressed, she won't give up. She just needed a bit of reassurance about the health aspects of vaping. She's not much of a joiner, so I doubt she'll be joining ECF but I get her to read a post or two on my page when I ask her to. She's read ALL of your posts and it's been a huge help and a huge dose of the reassurance she needed. Thanks to you and everyone else who has posted here in response to my thread. She's doing SO WELL...... and my whole family is in celebration mode over her quitting

 

[Risu]

Dunno if this has been said yet, but you might want to print her that list of "quit smoking" symptoms that is listed somewhere on the forums. It might put her at ease and keep her on the vape-wagon.

 

[Ace5High]

@JGD I know you were asking for links to help convince your mom to keep vaping rather than smoking, but I have an even better idea. Tell her to ask her doctor about it the next time she sees him/her. MY doctor, for example, told me nothing but good things about switching from regular cigarettes to e-cigs. I have also asked quite a few other doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and the like and all have told me the exact same thing (that vaping is hands-down WAY healthier than smoking and is even a good way to quit). Even though e-cigs aren't marketed as products for quitting smoking, you will see on this forum that many people have successfully done it so far (just check the "health and wellness" section). I am also in the process of doing the same thing myself.

 

[hairball]

If you're Mom is going through the the worst of the withdrawals right now, about 1-2 weeks in, you might want to check into WTA for her. WTA stands for whole tobacco alkaloid and has helped many folks out. Go to Vapelicious | Whole Tobacco Alkaloid Liquid for Electronic Cigarettes and read up on it. You order via email. The apple juice, if that's a flavor she'd like, if really good. I keep a huge bottle here just for those days when nothing goes right or I'm completely stressed out. Just throwing my 2 cents out there.....

 

[markfm]

Casaa.org has some good info.

Also, if she is generally good with a tank at 18, a carto with 24 can help if/when she hits a twitchy/craving point.

 

[GrammaCool]

Yeah, I don't see her going back to smoking... she's made it a week and she's not really craving cigarettes as much as she had a momentary insecurity about the healthiness (or her temporary paranoid fear of the Unhealthiness) of vaping.She's SP proud of herself... to smoke would ruin that for her now. She's actually doing remarkably well. She just had a little freak out fear-fest this morning but is feeling better now And SHe HATES my flavors... she smokes tobacco flavors only, which I dislike. I'm really into mixing, collecting juices, collecting equipment, etc.. my mom just wants to keep it simple, have her one or two tobacco flavors and a tank (on her Riva 510) so she doesn't have to fuss with
her device. We're very different in our vaping habits!

First of all, Jessica, you are a thoughtful daughter for helping your mom do this. She and I sound a lot alike; it was scary at first but gets easier every day. Now, could I ask where you found a tank for the Riva 510? I hate filling those little cartridges, so would like something like that to use at home. Simple works better for those of us who are a bit (or a lot) older. Keep up the good work and your mom will learn to love

 

[GrammaCool]

Vaping. Message should read love vaping.