New with some questions

[all4oldchevys]

Hi all

My husband and I are both very committed to switching to e-cigs, mostly for the money at this point (a carton of analogs is $80 here in the lovely state of WA.) He's been analog free since last Wednesday night and me since Friday morning. We are both using the Apollo extreme kit. I'm kind of wondering about why I'm feeling crazy and withdrawal like on these e-cigs. I am using 1 of their strong cartos per day(1.8% nicotine.) We are basically using these as we would analogs, we go outside every hour or so and puff on them for 5-10 mins. Is doing this probably giving us a significantly lower amount of nic than we are used to? I smoked about 30 per day until going cold turkey with the Apollo.

He has been starving and eating everything in sight, and I am having cigarette craving panic every couple of hours. Talk about hanging out with a couple of crazy people over the weekend at our house.

 

[swedishfish]

18 mg isn't really what you'd consider a 'high' nicotine. Maybe it's the highest that company carries but it's not high. You might need to up the nicotine. I think the 'average' is 24 although a lot of people seem to quickly lower their nicotine as they vape longer. I vape 24 mg, sometimes 30 when I need it. My mom started with 36 mg. and quickly reduced to 18, then 12. I just ordered her 6 mg. That's what she needed when she started to get off the analogs.

Can you refill the cartos?

 

[swedishfish]

Hi all

My husband and I are both very committed to switching to e-cigs, mostly for the money at this point (a carton of analogs is $80 here in the lovely state of WA.) He's been analog free since last Wednesday night and me since Friday morning. We are both using the Apollo extreme kit. I'm kind of wondering about why I'm feeling crazy and withdrawal like on these e-cigs. I am using 1 of their strong cartos per day(1.8% nicotine.) We are basically using these as we would analogs, we go outside every hour or so and puff on them for 5-10 mins. Is doing this probably giving us a significantly lower amount of nic than we are used to? I smoked about 30 per day until going cold turkey with the Apollo.

He has been starving and eating everything in sight, and I am having cigarette craving panic every couple of hours. Talk about hanging out with a couple of crazy people over the weekend at our house.

BTW, no need to go outside. The juice is mostly water vapor with some flavorings and nicotine. It quickly dissipates. Most people vape A LOT when they first start. I recommend vaping as much and as often (within reason) as you need to. I never really had any withdraw symptoms at all. I did have a few cigs when I started but that tapered off very quickly. Make this relaxing and enjoyable!

 

[all4oldchevys]

These aren't refillable cartos. I don't really want to switch and have to deal with doing it myself. I wanted to have something easy so I wouldn't want to go back to analogs.

 

[swedishfish]

You don't have to switch. You may be able to buy blank cartomizers and fill them yourself with your own juice. Very easy to do.

Don't worry!

Refilling your own is so easy! You just pop off the end and the juice is in a dropper bottle and you drop the juice in. Give it a shake, put the top back on and that's it.

 

[keyzygirl]

I find keeping a steady flow of nic works better,a few puffs here and there instead of waiting for a craving.

 

[Rosa]

Yes, you are likely getting a lot less nicotine than before. 1.8% is 18mg (I believe that's how that works), and most vapers use 24mg's. Also, most vapers use about 3ml per day -- I'm assuming that your carts produce about .5ml each, so you'll likely use 6 per day.

The best way to make the switch at this point is to get some e-juice that's 24mg or 36mg and vape like a mad person until your craving goes away. Many new vapers will tell you that they vape so much that they think it would be easier to tape the e-cig into their mouth than to put it down -- that's pretty normal. Eventually, the amount of time you spend vaping will taper off and normalize, but in the beginning the most important thing is to make the switch.

If you vape before you get a craving then you don't have to suffer through any withdrawal . And don't forget, the jury is still out on just how much nicotine we are actually absorbing, but some studies have shown that it's somewhere between 10%-40% of what we are inhaling -- in other words, you'd have to try pretty hard to O.D on nicotine by vaping.

rules on thumb:

* if you vape, vape, vape and still aren't satisfied then your mg's are too low
* if you vape a few minutes and start feeling nauseous or headachy, your mg's are too high
* if you vape and feel ok and don't crave a cig then your mg's are about right.


Good luck!

 

[NoXQses]

I started with 18mg and still had to have 4 to 5 analogs a day so I bumped up the nic to 24mg and havent had 1 for 2 weeks. As for the food cravings analogs reduce hunger and with smoking as a way to replace meals you will get your hunger back. Everyone I know including myself usually gain some weight while quiting. My only suggestion for that is to try and eat something healthy. On the plus side you will start to taste things alot better since analogs kill your taste buds.

 

[permafrying]

wow cigarettes went up in the last year since i moved from wa. glad i dont smoke anymore im moving back soon but deffinetaly up the mg dosage and unless your really distracted enough to make you not want a cigarette your probably gonna wanna vape more then once an hour. i puff on mine allot unless im out and about doing something

 

[Rosa]

fwiw: many companies will tell you their product is not refillable, but they are all refillable (though, if you have a warranty refilling may void the warranty -- BUT if your company states that refilling voids the warranty then they are likely just ripping you off.)

 

[Maxine]

I hate math, but I'm thinking you're getting about half the nicotine you're used to. 30 smokes/day would be approx 30mg of nicotine but you're only getting 18mg per day now?

(Filling my own isn't anywhere near the chore that cleaning ashtrays used to be.)

 

[swedishfish]

From what I've been able to find out (and I'm no expert), your pv is a 901. In order to buy blank cartomizers you need an adaptor which is very inexpensive. Get the adaptor, get some blank carts, fill with higher nicotine juice- no cravings, no withdraw.

This thread explains it in more detail

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...938-cartomizer-generic-901-a.html#post3097491

 

[all4oldchevys]

I hate math, but I'm thinking you're getting about half the nicotine you're used to. 30 smokes/day would be approx 30mg of nicotine but you're only getting 18mg per day now?

(Filling my own isn't anywhere near the chore that cleaning ashtrays used to be.)

lol, that's true! We just had one giant ashtray that we barely ever emptied, and we didn't smoke in the house. We want to keep our vaping habit like our cigarette habit, so we're doing that outside too.

So, with the Apollo, the atomizer is in the carto, so not sure about refilling? Sorry, so new to this stuff and have tons of random questions.

I've been using 1 carto per day, so I guess 18 mg total now instead of about the 30 I was getting before, plus not absorbing as much of the vapor. Well, this makes more sense that I feel weird. I have anxiety problems too, so I thought that was just flaring up but apparently I actually am withdrawling.

I'm not eating as much as I was...not hungry at all because I feel like crap...hubby is hungry, I am cranky haha.

 

[swedishfish]

Here are blank cartos.

http://www.valuevapor.com/VV/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=18&products_id=318

Ecigs aren't like analogs and most people don't smoke them like analogs. You can take a puff when the need arises, put it down, etc. etc. It's not necessary to smoke it like an analog.

No need to be hungry, gain weight or feel like crap. Most people don't gain weight when they switch to vaping. I know I didn't and I did gain weight when I tried to quit cigs.

 

[swedishfish]

lol, that's true! We just had one giant ashtray that we barely ever emptied, and we didn't smoke in the house. We want to keep our vaping habit like our cigarette habit, so we're doing that outside too.

So, with the Apollo, the atomizer is in the carto, so not sure about refilling? Sorry, so new to this stuff and have tons of random questions.

I've been using 1 carto per day, so I guess 18 mg total now instead of about the 30 I was getting before, plus not absorbing as much of the vapor. Well, this makes more sense that I feel weird. I have anxiety problems too, so I thought that was just flaring up but apparently I actually am withdrawling.

I'm not eating as much as I was...not hungry at all because I feel like crap...hubby is hungry, I am cranky haha.

There really isn't a way to calculate it mathmatically. There isn't an exact answer on how much nicotine we're getting. Some way around 40%. So, forget the math.

 

[Cassie]

I had to start at 24mg and I am actually still there for the most part but I can do some 18mg...when I mix my own I keep it around 20-22mg and I am satisfied. 30mg about knocked me for a loop though! LOL My friend had e-cigs that you couldnt take the end off so I showed her how to drip into the connector end to refill hers. She was thrilled because a bottle of juice was so much cheaper than buying new prefilled cartos and you got 2-3x the juice!

 

[swedishfish]

I forgot the link and had to edit.

 

[hyperfluous]

vape more if you are craving, increase nic and vape less if you are vaping more than breathing
stepping down in nic is deffinately doable, I went from inhaling lakeland twist out of my briar to 36mg to 18mg in around 2 or 3 months.

 

[all4oldchevys]

Here are blank cartos.

DSE-901 Cartomizers [DSE-901-Cartos] - $1.79 : ValueVapor.com, Discount Electronic Cigarettes and e-Liquid

Ecigs aren't like analogs and most people don't smoke them like analogs. You can take a puff when the need arises, put it down, etc. etc. It's not necessary to smoke it like an analog.

No need to be hungry, gain weight or feel like crap. Most people don't gain weight when they switch to vaping. I know I didn't and I did gain weight when I tried to quit cigs.

Yeah, I know I don't have to use it like an analog, but we have our analog habits that we wanted to keep and I think that was the most important thing to us. Thanks for the info though, I may look into higher nicotine for the time being or use more than one carto per day as that would probably help.

 

[swedishfish]

I would get the 901 to 808 adaptor. If you don't want to fill your own, get the prefilled cartos at Vapor 4 Life. Tons of flavors and nicotine levels.