New Vaper and Freaking Myself Out

[TrustNoOneKS]

I don't want everyone focusing so much on the whole blood clot mention, and in retrospect that may not have even needed to be mentioned because I am not really worried so much about that anymore. Right now, my main issues are more feeling off and concerns about whether my nic level was too high for the amount I am consuming on my particular device.

 

[stols001]

Well, you feel "off" because you are detoxing and you got copious advice concerning that, including the fact that people with panic should consult doctors for the matter, since they aren't good at reading their bodies "signals." I won't repeat everything else, meant to give you another understanding of the matter.

Your nic is too high.

Anna

 

[Vaperer]

I was a 40 year very heavy smoker when I started vaping 5 1/2 years ago. Using older cigalike devices I started at 24mg. After a couple of months, I started getting signs of too much nic...sleeplessness, anxiety, woozy...what I described as running around like a headless chicken. I got some VG from Walmart/CVS and some zero nic liquid and started cutting my liquid. First to 21mg then 18mg then 15mg, etc. For the next few years, if I got cravings I went up...if I got headless chicken syndrome I went down.

Running around like a headless chicken yeah that sums it up!

 

[Vaperer]

Well, you feel "off" because you are detoxing and you got copious advice concerning that, including the fact that people with panic should consult doctors for the matter, since they aren't good at reading their bodies "signals." I won't repeat everything else, meant to give you another understanding of the matter.

Your nic is too high.

Anna

I made a mistake of getting 24 nicotine it did not get along with me I developed a skin rash on my arm I guess everybody's different but when I lowered back down to a normal level of 12 the rash went away. You are probably right about the nic levels

 

[TrustNoOneKS]

Running around like a headless chicken yeah that sums it up!

Yeah, I had to chuckle when I read that because that was a perfect way to word it!

 

[TrustNoOneKS]

Well, you feel "off" because you are detoxing and you got copious advice concerning that, including the fact that people with panic should consult doctors for the matter, since they aren't good at reading their bodies "signals." I won't repeat everything else, meant to give you another understanding of the matter.

Your nic is too high.

Anna

I'm not quite sure what you mean about getting copious advice concerning detoxing since nobody really told me what to expect with detoxing. The feeling off part does go away when I stop vaping or switch back to the analogs, so I'm thinking it may be the nic level.

 

[stols001]

I talked a lot about detoxing and what else is in tobacco besides nic in my first post on here.

I also discussed WHY you MAY be feeling increased panic and arousal while detoxing.

I also discussed various solutions like Swedish snus and WTA (whole tobacco alkaloids and how they may help you.

I don't really love repeating myself.

But basically, there are substances in tobacco besides nicotine that are psychoactive, including MAOI-A and MAOI-B. They are powerful anti-anxiety and anti-depressant chemicals, and I talked at length about what they do, about brain homeostasis and withdrawal.

Because you are getting nicotine ONLY by vaping, you will be detoxing off the very things that can make tobacco more relaxing and soothing. There are safer ways to slowly wean yourself off these substances during detox, as even TAR has been shown to have a psychoactive effect in the brain in a NIH study.

Basically, while detoxing, your brain will be "starved" of these other substances. Persons with an underlying susceptibility to anxiety and depression often have a harder time with that, as tobacco may have been "treating" your anxiety via a MAOI process.

As far as detox, physical detox is usually done within 2 weeks. The amount of time it takes your brain to upregulate substances that tobacco was supplying can take anywhere from 1--3 months, depending on your brain, how much you were smoking, and etc. Some folks find it easier to use "detox" aids as I mentioned.

If you want to stay with straight nic, that's fine. I'd expect panic attacks and hype arousal to be worse during that time frame, but it should eventually fall off. Too much nic can certainly exacerbate anxiety, so lowering it is a fine idea, as I also said.

Drink lots of water, lower your nic, and decide if you need more "help" to detox. Sometimes, it can be easier to taper cigarettes slowly over time to reduce the amount of "detox" you have to do all at once. That choice is up to you.

Anna

 

[TrustNoOneKS]

I talked a lot about detoxing and what else is in tobacco besides nic in my first post on here.

I also discussed WHY you MAY be feeling increased panic and arousal while detoxing.

I also discussed various solutions like Swedish snus and WTA (whole tobacco alkaloids and how they may help you.

I don't really love repeating myself.

But basically, there are substances in tobacco besides nicotine that are psychoactive, including MAOI-A and MAOI-B. They are powerful anti-anxiety and anti-depressant chemicals, and I talked at length about what they do, about brain homeostasis and withdrawal.

Because you are getting nicotine ONLY by vaping, you will be detoxing off the very things that can make tobacco more relaxing and soothing. There are safer ways to slowly wean yourself off these substances during detox, as even TAR has been shown to have a psychoactive effect in the brain in a NIH study.

Basically, while detoxing, your brain will be "starved" of these other substances. Persons with an underlying susceptibility to anxiety and depression often have a harder time with that, as tobacco may have been "treating" your anxiety via a MAOI process.

As far as detox, physical detox is usually done within 2 weeks. The amount of time it takes your brain to upregulate substances that tobacco was supplying can take anywhere from 1--3 months, depending on your brain, how much you were smoking, and etc. Some folks find it easier to use "detox" aids as I mentioned.

If you want to stay with straight nic, that's fine. I'd expect panic attacks and hype arousal to be worse during that time frame, but it should eventually fall off. Too much nic can certainly exacerbate anxiety, so lowering it is a fine idea, as I also said.

Drink lots of water, lower your nic, and decide if you need more "help" to detox. Sometimes, it can be easier to taper cigarettes slowly over time to reduce the amount of "detox" you have to do all at once. That choice is up to you.

Anna

Sorry, I didn't understand that you were referring to your first post when you said that and that you thought you needed to repeat yourself. I thought you were making a reference to something I had been told by people other than you and prior to coming to this forum.

 

[Letitia]

Welcome to ECF. Take a deep breath and keep in mind it will take some time to find your sweet spot.

 

[stols001]

It's all good. I wish you the best of luck. Switching to vaping is ultimately going to be the best thing you can do for yourself, but it can be tough at first and a huge learning curve.

Start out by lowering nic and see how you feel. Then, you can go from there. Too high nic can certainly exacerbate anxiety, but I found even with lowered nic and my own underlying brain condition that for the first little while, I would vape but hit this period at about 3 p.m. where I really wanted to just chew through steel.

WTA helped me a lot, I don't think I would have been successful without it. With that said, not everyone uses it, and it's not ultimately "necessary" but it can be a helpful tool during transition.

Most of all, don't put too much pressure on yourself. I quit (this time) but I dual used for a bit first. That helped me as well. I was SHOCKED and AMAZED when I actually had my first smoke free day. No matter how you get there, if you keep trying, you CAN get there.

I wish you all the luck in the world, and keep coming to ECF for support when you need it. That is what I did, and it also helped me a great deal.

Anna

 

[MJCSD]

Hello and welcome to ecf

 

[Mike P]

10mls of 18mg a day is indeed A LOT of nicotine. I've never gone that far myself, I go through about 1ml a day of 30mg salt juice on a .6 aspire breeze coil, and about 3mls of 3mg sub ohming with no problems. I started out with 12mg freebase on subohm and that was making me feel awful(neck pain, headache, tight chest).

after a month off smokes you should be well over the chemical withdraw, unless your duel using. if you can get the setup and nic level right you should have zero desire for cigs.

if you need to vape that much juice per day you might even want to look into a low mg salt based juice(3 or 6), which are far superior than regular freebase juices IMO when it comes to kicking the cigs.

good luck

 

[Letitia]

10ml a day is not a lot of Nic regardless of strength.

 

[suprtrkr]

Hi and welcome. And see your physician

 

[BrotherBob]

I'm not quite sure what you mean about getting copious advice concerning detoxing since nobody really told me what to expect with detoxing. The feeling off part does go away when I stop vaping or switch back to the analogs, so I'm thinking it may be the nic level.

Welcome and glad you joined.
Blood clots can be serious, please seek professional help.
Might like to read:
https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/f...g-tobacco-and-changing-to-an-ecigarette.3305/
The ECF Library
http://www.vapewild.com/the-wild-blogger/vapewild-test-results/

 

[Opinionated]

have you ever tried quitting smoking using the patch? What about cold turkey?

Vaping is much like using the patch to get off the cigarettes.. in that - it's NOT a cigarette and it doesn't have all the thousands of chemicals that are found in cigarettes.

Why vaping is helpful where things like the patch fail is because it keeps the hand to mouth aspect satisfied

But it's not smoking. You an addict who is having withdrawals from coming off a drug (cigarettes). You have to still WANT to quit smoking, you will have some of the signs and symptoms of cigarette withdrawals that anyone who is trying to quit cigarettes deals with.

I had withdrawals so bad I stayed in bed the first three days of quitting smoking and avoided people as much as possible for two weeks. I PRAYED to get through one minute at a time without lighting up those first three days even though I was vaping. ..

Once I got through those first two weeks I was okay, and in two months I stopped wanting a cigarette.

You are quitting smoking... vaping makes it easier, nicotine makes it easier but it's not a magic bullet.

Of course your going to feel better if you take the drug your body is screaming for (in this case cigarettes )... the point however is to eventually make it all the way through to the other side as a non-smoker. Vaping can help. You have to want it.

 

[Topwater Elvis]

You don't feel well, you feel off, you're concerned about blood clots, freaking yourself out and obviously struggling with panic & anxiety.
It may be nothing more than cigarette withdrawl or it could be related to something serious, none of us are doctors.
If your not concerned / worried about blood clots, to me that shows you're not thinking clearly at the moment. They can range from being little to no concern to being very serious, but, no one can assess the severity over the interwebz.

Best advice is to get professional diagnosis & treatment.

Then figure out vaping, many people quit smoking every day without ever touching an e cig or without any patch, gum or prescription.

 

[evan le'garde]

There's this thing, i forget what it's called. Best way to describe it would be to explain what happened when i went to the doctor to test my blood pressure. Just being there caused my blood pressure to go sky high. I explained how i was feeling and arranged another appointment. Blood pressure was perfectly fine the next time.

I can say, from years of experience, that "stress, anxiety" can cause very real and profound physical effects which can cause all manner of symptoms.

Most people don't believe it unless they experience it for themselves.

I've had dermatological issues over the past 2 or 3 years, none recently though. I have a very itchy vein in my leg, could be a vericose vein not sure. I've been vaping going on for 5 or 6 years but these problems i have been experiencing aren't connected to my nicotine use, i'm sure of that.

What i do know is that too much nicotine, for me, makes me nauseated.

Do you get nauseous from vaping ?.

 

[Vaperer]

It's all good. I wish you the best of luck. Switching to vaping is ultimately going to be the best thing you can do for yourself, but it can be tough at first and a huge learning curve.

Start out by lowering nic and see how you feel. Then, you can go from there. Too high nic can certainly exacerbate anxiety, but I found even with lowered nic and my own underlying brain condition that for the first little while, I would vape but hit this period at about 3 p.m. where I really wanted to just chew through steel.

WTA helped me a lot, I don't think I would have been successful without it. With that said, not everyone uses it, and it's not ultimately "necessary" but it can be a helpful tool during transition.

Most of all, don't put too much pressure on yourself. I quit (this time) but I dual used for a bit first. That helped me as well. I was SHOCKED and AMAZED when I actually had my first smoke free day. No matter how you get there, if you keep trying, you CAN get there.

I wish you all the luck in the world, and keep coming to ECF for support when you need it. That is what I did, and it also helped me a great deal.

Anna

Wanting to chew steel yep that sums it up!

 

[Vaperer]

Do headless chickens chew Steel?