New from MIA

[Major2829]

Just wanted to say 'Hello gender female Alex'. At first I thought you were Missing In Action. If I was in Miami I'd be MIA in MIA.
Whenever you'd normally have a smoke .... vape instead. Hopefully your nic is set at the right level.
@stols001 - dilletante - Helluva $10 word, or better yet Scrabble. You always make me smile

Ha! It is always fun when someone picks up on dual meanings....kind of like my dual smoking. I tend to go MIA in MIA. . Working in an office all day is confining. The smoke break is also a social break. So for the past 2 weeks when I have gotten the urge to go downstairs, I have taken a couple swats and the urge passed. I am now at the point where I can FEEL the difference after I vape and after I have a smoke. It makes me FEEL gross and wheezy. I think I am on the right track!

 

[Major2829]

Welcome to ECF and I hope you meet with success. I was a dilettante vaper/dual user for a long time before returning to smoking. I was a 3 ppd smoker by the end, and had pneumonia for 18 months and was facing the dreaded COPD diagnosis when I decided to try vaping again.

A few things that helped me: learning a lot about vaping and using it to distract me from my smoking habit, using WTA juice to quit (it has some of the alkaloids in tobacco, it helped but did not eliminate detox symptoms) cutting out my hardest cigarette first (the a.m. one, I delayed it by 20 minutes the first day and pushed it out further every day). Finding enjoyment in vaping-- the right nic level, equipment, etc. It cost me some money but it was worth it. Starting DIY eliquid and building my own coils, making vaping something FUN. Smoking was no longer FUN for me or anyone around me.

I'm not going to say "You can do it." It's not always that easy. I had leering health issues to give me high motivation but I also had to get a bit creative as far as readiness for a total quit, but that day did come and I was so glad.

Learn as much as you can, and kind of "befriend" your smoking habit so you can learn from it. As I was lowering my cigarettes, I was shocked to discover I was really a "stress" smoker above all (I so much smoked, I didn't know what kind of smoker I was, other than an entrenched one.) My last few smokes were very much stress smokes and I had to figure out how to handle that.

LOL, my mom just visited and she stresses me out, I didn't smoke though, and hardly even felt the need! It does get easier.

But in general, you will receive from vaping what you put into it. So don't hesitate to ask question, seek support, etc. ECF was a huge help to me when I began. And, I am very close to a year tobacco free (and HAPPY) that has never happened before not since I started decades ago.

Best of luck I hope things work well for you! If they aren't come get support and ask questions. Tons of cessation advice to be had at ECF.

Welcome

Anna

Thank you Anna...I am very sorry about what you have gone through health-wise. The illnesses you have suffered with on their own are horrible enough. As we know, many people who don’t have the same experiences are quick to judge and have zero empathy. “Just quit,” “you are killing yourself,” blah blah, is not effective and makes the other person feel inadequate and defensive. If quitting (anything) was so easy, these groups would not be necessary. You Gould be proud of all you have accomplished.

FYI - I went out to eat with my mother last night. Normally, I would get up 2x, run outside, puff away, run on bathroom, wash hands and put on lotion. Last night, I went to the restroom and took 4 vape hits. Didn’t even light up after I took her home. Let’s just say I was able to delay smoking a regular until an hour after I got home.

 

[Major2829]

Welcome Alex,

You've already had some GREAT advice! I totally agree with baditude on the its how many smokes you DIDN'T have that matters.

I totally get the mind tricks stuff. I had a hard time finding the right setup but once I did i dual use for a little while. I didn't beat myself up for smoking (guilt is not a good motivator for me haha), but before having a smoke I would vape for a while first and then re-evaluate if i REALLY wanted one in 20 minutes or so. From what I understand the nic we get in vaping is absorbed more slowly than the stuff from burning tobacco.

I also bought tobacco (I rolled my own) in a brand I didn't really love so my smokes tasted a bit meh and vaping was more appealing. I found if I waited that 20-30 minutes and vaped like a train when i eventually gave in and had a smoke it wasn't as appealing or satisfying.

I also noticed that if i got busy and didn't vape for hours when i had a rest the compulsion to smoke would hit me like a freight train and it was close to impossible to resist. I found that vaping (even if a little bit) more often prevented the crazy nic cravings from overwhelming me.

Keep at it! If you continue to have problems there are nic salts (absorb much faster), WTA nic (which has alkaloids found in tobacco other than just nic) and other tricks.

Cheers

Christine

Thanks

 

[Major2829]

Gracias Chrisrine! You are on point with the craving waves. It’s the same as quitting smoking in general. Distraction and diversion help tremendously. Is it wrong to feel like I am fake quitting?

 

[DancingHeretik]

I smoked for 38 years. The thought of quitting (or even of running low) made me want to smoke more.

So, instead of 'quitting', I just decided to see how long I could put off the next cigarette. It's been over 7 years now.

 

[JanTee]

I replied in another post the most confusing thing is figuring out what is the proper amount of nicotine for me. I will definitely check out that thread. People are creatures of habit. I have already noticed the exact times of day I smoke and why. Mentally, there is no real reason for Reidy not to fold and grab a cigarette instead of a device. Thank you!

The other thing is that many people will change strengths or devices at different times of the day. Me for example, I was a closet smoker in my personal life (the very worst kind) and I worked in addictions. I used to take smoke breaks with my clients, it helped us connect. I stopped at home and lots of challenges at home with little cigalikes in 2007 but was still having infrequent but regular analogues at work with clients. Now I find I don't care to chain vape and in fact want to cut down on vaping and vape how I used to smoke, albeit longer because of absorption rates. So I vape very strong nic on a high tech mod, lung inhales with a sub ohm coil. Usually instead of that first morning cig, occasionally I pick it up during the day if I have had stress, or been in a non vape situation. Or sometimes at night if I have consumed alcohol because it causes nic to metabolize faster. Most of the time i use an old style mod, called s provari. That company provape very sadly went out of business. These things are built like tanks and not at all fancy but it hits consistently and I get nice plumes of tasty juice at 6 nic mtl. Then when I am tired, as most former smokers tend to smoke more at night when they are tired and relaxing, many of us chain vape because we used to have more frequent cigarettes in the comfort and privacy of our own homes. I then use something called a target mod but set fairly low wattage with a low ohm coil but a 3 mg juice and I still use it mtl. Me likey me tasty after dinner desert type juices. Not to mention it's helped me diet unconsciously! Why eat cheesecake and cookies when you can lounge on the couch and vape it? Much easier to vape horizontal then figure out a plate and fork! So I eat my veg at dinner and have no room for desert and I don't miss them. I eat them if I want but I usually just don't want the juice is so yummy! Just watch what happens when your tastebuds come back, thank your angels you are a vaper and don't need to gain traditional quit smoking weight.

So, it can take a while to figure it out and it's totally ok to do so! One of the best tools is to just consciously smoke when you need to. Don't mess around with guilt. Buy a wee notebook from the dollar store, take a rubber band and a pen and attach that stuff to your pack. Then after you smoke each cig, note down time, place, circumstances, emotions etc. Very important that you write not type, that it be right after you but each cig. Also, as suggested it is very helpful to change to a different cig brand and buy packs not cartons. Also do not mindlessly smoke. Not phone, tablet etc. When you smoke now, you are smoking on purpose. Taste it, feel it, write down anything you notice in your body or mind. Something that ideally is stronger /harsher that you don't love.

Collecting this data for a few weeks does a few things. It changes your smoking habit. Second, it will help you sort out your own personal addiction, and you will then be able to see patterns or circumstances where you need more or different. Then experiment juice strengths, flavours, attys, devices, nic salts, wtas, sometimes even menthol or cinnamon juices at certain times do the trick for people.

Some of us are not lucky enough to be able to lay down the smokes the first time they try an ecig. That's ok, it's normal. Addiction can be very complex. But go gently on yourself. Educate yourself. Empower yourself. Come here and ask for help, advice, opinion as much as you need. You will learn a ton! Most importantly believe you can do it, you will figure it out, and it need not be painful emotionally or physically. Never give up!

 

[Opinionated]

. Is it wrong to feel like I am fake quitting?

No, it's not wrong. It's likely due to the fact your still doing the hand to mouth actions as well as the inhale exhale action which mimics the actions of smoking.

The point though - is that's the point. Vaping succeeds where all other NRTs fail because your able to quit one aspect of smoking at a time instead of all aspects all at once.

Expecting an addict to quit all aspects of smoking and thinking nicotine will get someone through it all is just asking way too much of nicotine.

As a beside.. The flavors can be your support system too.. your giving yourself a reward for not smoking - cheesecake (in flavor) all day.. SO much better than tobacco.

The financial savings can be your reward too... instead of blowing x amount of money to smoke this week you spent x amount on ejuice and that leaves x amount for a new dress..(for instance)

When you start seeing vaping as a reward for not smoking.. and accept the fact your supposed to be getting more of an experience with vaping because you need the experience to successfully stop smoking, then you'll do better I think.

The mental reward system is what helped me a lot.

 

[ShamrockPat]

The financial savings can be your reward too... instead of blowing x amount of money to smoke this week you spent x amount on ejuice and that leaves x amount for a new dress..(for instance)

Unless you're prone to shinyitis.
Personally I've never needed savings for a new dress (gender male).

 

[Opinionated]

Unless you're prone to shinyitis.
Personally I've never needed savings for a new dress (gender male).

The OP is female so it was pretty cool that I was talking to her cause you might look funny in a dress.. lol

Hahahaha..

I was never terribly prone to shinyitis myself.. my savings have been in the thousands..I've been able to buy all kinds of stuff..

 

[JanTee]

I used to get a mani or pedi every time I saved up from not buying a carton. Or I would decorate my then vape pens. In my view adding sparkles is always better! There were glass beads in my tanks, I hand painted the glass, modified and hung pandora charms off them. Have fun and do whatever whacky new habit or hobby that works for you. My current vape hobby is collecting vape relics. Some of them in my view like provaris just can't be beat in some respects.

 

[NealBJr]

I replied in another post the most confusing thing is figuring out what is the proper amount of nicotine for me. I will definitely check out that thread. People are creatures of habit. I have already noticed the exact times of day I smoke and why. Mentally, there is no real reason for Reidy not to fold and grab a cigarette instead of a device. Thank you!

Ok... Here's something to consider.

Yes, smoking and electronic cigarettes both contain nicotine. However, it's not just the nicotine that is addictive. What most people don't realize, is there are more addictive chemicals in an "analog" cigarette than an Electronic cigarette.
Remember, traditional cigarettes can contain over 2000 chemicals. Some of those are directly, some indirectly and some work together. There was a big fiasco about cigarettes containing ammonia. The tobacco companies found out that ammonia prolongs the decay of nicotine. Of course they could not add it directly to the tobacco since that was a blatant way of adding a dangerous substance to inhale. Instead, they use the whole part of the tobacco plant.. including the stems and stalks to make the paper for the cigarette. And guess what chemical they use to bind the wood fibres together..... ammonia. Marlboro was one of the first companies to add it to the cigarettes, and it was that addition that made Marlboro as popular as they are now.

It's important to understand how nicotine works to understand why many smokers fail to quit. Nicotine affects the dopamine receptors. Dopamine is essentially the body telling you what "success" and regulates adrenaline as well. It's why football players do that little dance when they make a touchdown... their brain tells them they've succeeded, and the brain rewards the body by releasing adrenaline... so even after running that 90 yard touchdown... pushing with all their effort.. they somehow have the ability to dance at the end of their sprint. Nicotine taps into those receptors, and pretty much hijacks them. So, every time you smoke a cigarette, the nicotine hijacks your brain and tells the body success... and you teach your body that smoking is "success". Since you didn't run 90 yards down the field to score a touchdown, you pulled out a pack of cigarettes, tapped the box a few times, took out one long white thing, lit a lighter, and inhaled... that's what your brain sees as "success". That is also why patches and inhalers aren't as effective. Yes, they contain nicotine, but they bypass the whole inhale, exhale, and see the smoke aspect. Combine that with it not being as effective as delivering nicotine to your bloodstream, and your brain says "it is only a minor success, lets get some more powerful success".. .and you relapse back into smoking.

Vaping emulates a lot of what a cigarette does. Instead of relying on ammonia to increase the power of nicotine, you could simply add more nicotine. For the most part, Ejuice does not have the added addictive chemicals of a traditional cigarette. It does, however, emulate the actions of inhaling and exhaling, which is surprisingly effective at helping people switch to vaping. Some companies have developed what's called WTA juices and nicotine salts. They help aid in quitting as well, since they emulate the nicotine from a traditional cigarette. You could also try to ween yourself slowly... do dual use like others suggested in this post. What I did, was allow myself to vape in the comfortable areas inside, and force myself to smoke outside. I went from a pack per day, to just 3 per day almost overnight. Don't worry about quitting at this point... just make it easier to vape than smoke. Get into the habits of vaping, and learn the lingo. Get your mind used to getting it's nicotine from something other than lighting a cigarette. Once you've developed a routine, ween yourself off cigarettes slowly. Wait an extra hour before you have your morning cigarette, or try vaping first instead. You'll find it's easier to quit that way. When I was down to one cigarette per day, I challenged myself to see how long I could go without smoking... so far, it's been 5+ years. To be honest, I don't know the exact date I quit. I didn't make a big deal out of it. I didn't think I was officially quitting... it just happened with a simple challenge I made one night.

Good luck to you. I hope that helps some.

 

[Major2829]

Unless you're prone to shinyitis.
Personally I've never needed savings for a new dress (gender male).

Shinyitis with vapes is much cheaper than my shinyitis for cell phones.

 

[alvitae]

What worked for me was using a lanyard. The only time I wasn't wearing a vape around my neck was when I was sleeping.

I didn't focus on not smoking, I focused on vaping before I smoked. With my natural tendency towards laziness the time between getting up after vaping and going alllll the way to the porch to smoke got to be longer and longer. Then one day I ran out of cigarettes and never got around to buying more.

 

[tgs3]

Welcome! I want to second what Thayamax wrote. I smoked 25-30 cigarettes per day for 45 years. I began vaping last August. Honestly, I never thought I would quit but hoped to cut down. I had my first smoke free day in January. But I continued to dual use, but was only smoking 2-3 cigs per week. I have not had a cigarette for 35 days. It was a long process for me but totally worth it. I could not have done it without ecf. You are in the right place. Good luck!