New First Post

[Eithne]

Hello all. I'm not only new to the forum, but new to e-cigs. I tried a system about a year or two back as a means to quit smoking, but wasn't very successful. I'd like to blame the product, but I'm learning more and more each day, and that is helping to shape a positive experience for me.

I came back to e-cigs because after becoming pregnant, I could not get off of analogs. In fact, I couldn't cut down for the life of me. As many are aware I am sure, there are not many options to help pregnant women quit. Please note I am NOT advocating e-cigs as a way to quit, nor am I advocating them as a solution for pregnant women in general. This was a solely a recommendation by my doctor as a last resort for a situation that varies from woman to woman. As a heavy smoker, something had to give.

I've had my Vapor King for almost a month now and most days I don't touch analogs. I'm also lowering the nicotine as I go. There is an actual storefront (not vapor king) in my area with people who have offered a lot of guidance and it is nice not to have to buy my products online.

My priorities are to try to make my experience with e-cigs as sanitary and as possible, while maintaining convenience and savings, and trying to lower the risks to my own health. I don't want to expose my child to a lifetime of secondhand smoke.

 

[Taniger1]

Welcome to the ECF Eithne. I'm glad your Doc "turned you on" to e-cigs. You can bring any questions and concerns here to us if you would like. There's always someone here who will have an answer :0) No matter WHAT the powers that be say, e-cigs CAN be your way to smoking cessation. The "powers that be" can't say e-cigs are a wonderful smoking cessation device (go go federal government), but you'll find everyone NOT owning a business will tell you they are!! And rather emphatically too LOL.

Congratz on your first child. You've taken a much healthier step towards your life and hers/his. Take a good look around the forums, read read read. Enjoy this time!! As a mom with "growd" up kids, I DO remember. Good luck ma'am!! I look forward to hearing how things are going for you!!

 

[swedishfish]

Welcome to the forum! Nice to hear you have a doctor that has some common sense.

 

[Boodle]

I can't tell you to go cold-turkey, gut-it-out and you'll feel better in 72 hours and have the nic out of your body with lots of fluids to flush out the toxins. I tried it (SO many times) and failed. Since you're pregnant it's a scarier proposition with more at risk of course. No one knows the long-term effects of ecigs. I'd suggest whyquit.com for some motivation to be nicotine and tobacco-free during your pregnancy. If your doc suggested ecigs, your physician's advice is more valuable than people like me on a support-site. Good luck to you and your new little one on the way.

 

[Eithne]

Boodle, it is very much a scarier proposition when you're pregnant. I am trying very hard to monitor my overall usage, keep everything clean (ie. not overusing materials and other such things that can lead to illness), and reduce my nicotine intake. I am working with my doctor to monitor my baby's health, and I take great care to try not to switch between analogs and e-cigs throughout the day. We would all like to say a mother's instinct is strong enough to beat out addiction, but it's just not the case.

Thank you to everyone for the support. I feel like this is a step towards making my household "smoke-free".

 

[swedishfish]

You don't have to explain to us. If you can't you can't. Lots of people arrived here with some pretty bad health issues- cancer, COPD, etc. Addiction is a horrible thing. I absolutely couldn't quit. My mother with COPD couldn't quit.

I'm thrilled that I found vaping and I hope you have great success with it. Once your off the cigs and vaping 100%, it's very easy to lower your nicotine down a great deal. Some even get to 0 nicotine very quickly.
Best of luck to you!

 

[Eithne]

I apologize. When you're pregnant you almost have to justify your habit every day, even if you're just eating doughnuts, lol.

 

[swedishfish]

As long as they give you a hard time for eating doughnuts when you're pregnant and not when they 'think' you're pregnant, you're OK.

My Mom, who got open mouth, insert foot disease with her AARP card asked a woman in the supermarket when she was due. I knew without even looking at her stomach and just seeing her face that she wasn't pregnant. I hoofed it out the door.

 

[Spazmelda]

I apologize. When you're pregnant you almost have to justify your habit every day, even if you're just eating doughnuts, lol.

Oh, this is so true! I used the nicotine gum when I was pregnant. My OB reluctantly agreed that it would be better than smoking.

A book recommendation for you (it's a good antidote to the scare mongering of What to Expect When You're Expecting) is Panic Free Pregnancy. Just a note... about the only thing the guy who wrote this book says is really bad when pregnant is smoking cigarettes (and he's right, I'd guess). His views on other stuff (like eating lunch meat, tuna, exercising, alcohol, dental work, hair treatments, etc...) is a refreshing change from the 'pregnant women must be a vessel of purity for their unborn child' view that many pregnancy books take.

Good luck to you, and I hope you are able to step the nicotine down easily!

 

[Taniger1]

Naw you dont' Eithne. But some of us DO understand the hormone issue :0) (I REMEMBER the baby blues. Sucked is a polite understatment!!!!). Your doc did a good thing to get you started. I"m not sure just how much your Doc KNOWS about e-cigs. But apparently enough to know it's much better choice than analogs. Yes quitting would be a better choice than any. However, do NOT let anyone here beat you up in re your choices. I promise you if I or several of the other moms, grandmothers, medical folks (of which I'm one, though I admit pediatrics and pregnancy is NOT a specialty of mine) catch it we'll come in swinging on your side LOL

One the most annoying things to me in reguards to pregnanacy, everyone has an opinion *head desk* EVERYONE and you are entitled to it. Folks might not say something to a woman who is NOT pregnant, but get a baby bump in there and yep, opinions resonate, and you are gong to get those opinions, in spades /grin.

Good luck. You'll do ok. Relax. Don't beat yourself up. Relax. Try try try and then by golly try again!!!

I'm off to work now. Going to get that 18gauge angio out of my back pocket and do some "no harm"............

 

[Eithne]

Thanks for the support guys. I do worry sometimes if this is truly a safe option, but I am always researching. I take naysayers with a grain of salt and mostly try to divulge the answers on my own. That goes with all things really.

 

[VapingRulz]

I'm sure it's not good to smoke during pregnancy but the truth is that an entire generation of Baby Boomers grew up surrounded by cigarette smoke and many pregnant women smoked. Most of us thrived in spite of it. I'm not sure how many chemicals were added to analogs back then, however; they may have been more pure than today's cigarettes.

Cutting out those 4,000+ chemicals from analogs will help your baby tremendously. Ideally you'll be able to keep the nicotine level low but even if you can't, you're doing your baby a favor by vaping instead of smoking.