Hi all. Apologies in advance, this will be a long post!
I'm 31 and started smoking when I was 22 and a friend introduced me to bidis. I hated smoking them, but I needed the pain relief - the leaf bidis are wrapped in has some pain killing properties that were the only thing keeping me sane when I had severe rhumatoid arthritis and no medical insurance (and thus no way to get it diagnosed until my Medicaid was finally approved, by which point every joint in my body was either locked up or swollen). I got my diagnosis and some actual medication (pain meds amongst them) and cut way back on the bidis (from half a pack to 3-4 a day) but they also helped the spasticity I deal with due to cerebral palsy, so I found myself unable to ditch them completely. Then they got banned, and that was that.
Except my mother was (at the time) a 2 1/2 PAD smoker, and smelling it on her clothes was making me crazy... so after about 2 months, I caved and started smoking her Marlboro Lights. Bad plan, of course, since cigs have a lot more chemicals in them than bidis generally do. Before I knew it, I was a PAD smoker... with asthma and a history of pneumonia (which I why I never should have gone near a cigarette of any kind, and I knew that at the time...)
Then about 3 years ago, mom became seriously ill (ICU for a month and a half, weren't sure if she'd live). I quit while she was in hospital, assuming she'd stay cig-free once she got out. She drove to the gas station for more cigarettes before she was even medically cleared to drive or off the oxygen. Again, I held out for about two months, then caved - though this time I strictly limited myself to half a pack a day.
Which is about what I was smoking in Late August of this year (mom, to her credit, was down to a pack, but couldn't cut down any further, COPD and night time oxygen use notwithstanding.)
Over the week prior to Labor Day weekend, I could feel non-standard asthma related stuff going on in my lungs that meant I was headed for trouble, so I quit cold turkey again (very easy to do when gasping for breath feels like sucking on burning cotton without any smoking going on in the vicinity!) My usual asthma meds weren't doing enough, so the Tuesday after Labor Day (about 8 days analog free), I went to the doctor, and ended up with an ambulance ride to the ICU with bilateral pneumonia and plurisy. Right there I decided August 27 2013 was my once and for all quit date, if I lived to tell the tale, because I was quite plainly killing myself.
Detoxing from smokes is easy as pie when you literally can't breathe - I ended up having to use an external ventilator for a week and still couldn't do anything (type, speak, think too hard about something) without remembering to let the vent do its job and push the next breath in. Scary stuff... smoking was the furthest thing from my mind.
Seeing me in such rough shape scared mom badly, and she promised to quit, knowing that it was all the second hand smoke that tempted me back toward smoking in the first place (Our whole family has *very* addictive personalities.) I knew she wouldn't be able to make it all the way to "former smoker" by the time I was out of the hospital (15 days total), and she didn't... she's now down to a PAD rather than 2 1/2, which still deserves praise!
I was totally fine with being a non-smoker (proud, actually) until I came home... unfortunately being around that 1 PAD is driving me nuts. I don't want a cigarette - I can smell how much they stink now, and I've broken my nicotine addition - but god, when I smell the smoke on her clothes, it's so easy to want-one-that-I-don't-really-want, especially since mom and I used to smoke outside on the patio and have great conversations... i miss the social aspects of smoking more than smoking, which I now view as a nasty, filthy habit.
And I know as sure as the sun will rise in the east that if mom doesn't quit, I'm going to start sneaking cigs... which would probably kill me within a year, considering the condition my lungs are in. I also know that mom had disastrous results on the patch, the gum, and the inhaler... she's pretty much still smoking cause she hasn't found something equal to or better than, in terms of being able to get her nicotine in a way that fits her job and lifestyle.
Saturday afternoon I had her look at the halo G6 and explained about it. (She's 60 and wouldn't use anything that doesn't look like a cigarette, at least not to start out). To my surprise, she lit up and said, "I think I could do that! Can you order some with 0 nicotine for you, and then we could still sit on the patio and talk?
So, after a lot of research and triplechecking the bank account, I got a G6 kit and a mini tank for each of us. (I suspect mom will prefer the carts, but I figured it would feel more "we're in this together" if we both have the same options on our gear to start. If she doesn't like the tank, one more tank for me.
)
There's three things I already know I'm going to prefer in the long run, because I'm a tinkerer - variable voltage, the ability to buy parts from multiple companies, and tanks; and more specifically, I'm going to need at least a few tanks that don't crack, because I like colas, citruses, all those "crack your tank" flavors.
My birthday is next month, so I'm looking at getting a Vision Spinner VV ego when November rolls around. Tanks I'm looking at include the Smoktech ARO and the Kanger MT3... maybe also the aluminum Vivi Nova. (I know the Kanger MT3 is prone to cracking too, but at least this way I'll have two that I can count on not to crack and a spare that I'll need to be a little more careful with).
Are there any other tanks I should be considering (preferably at a $20 or less price point) and/or are there any pyrex tanks out there for the 808 yet? My tentative plan at the moment is to get a 808-510 adapter so that I can use them on either battery and make my upgrade purchases a little at a time as finances permit.
And yes, I'll be vaping 0 nic (no desire to put that monkey back on my back), and probably only casually (nights, weekends, 5-10 minute "former smoke breaks" with the parental unit.)
Anyone see any major flaws in this plan or have better gear to rec me? I have to do whatever is in my power not to let myself go back to analogs - they'll kill me first and my mother shortly thereafter, and we rather like not being dead.
I'm 31 and started smoking when I was 22 and a friend introduced me to bidis. I hated smoking them, but I needed the pain relief - the leaf bidis are wrapped in has some pain killing properties that were the only thing keeping me sane when I had severe rhumatoid arthritis and no medical insurance (and thus no way to get it diagnosed until my Medicaid was finally approved, by which point every joint in my body was either locked up or swollen). I got my diagnosis and some actual medication (pain meds amongst them) and cut way back on the bidis (from half a pack to 3-4 a day) but they also helped the spasticity I deal with due to cerebral palsy, so I found myself unable to ditch them completely. Then they got banned, and that was that.
Except my mother was (at the time) a 2 1/2 PAD smoker, and smelling it on her clothes was making me crazy... so after about 2 months, I caved and started smoking her Marlboro Lights. Bad plan, of course, since cigs have a lot more chemicals in them than bidis generally do. Before I knew it, I was a PAD smoker... with asthma and a history of pneumonia (which I why I never should have gone near a cigarette of any kind, and I knew that at the time...)
Then about 3 years ago, mom became seriously ill (ICU for a month and a half, weren't sure if she'd live). I quit while she was in hospital, assuming she'd stay cig-free once she got out. She drove to the gas station for more cigarettes before she was even medically cleared to drive or off the oxygen. Again, I held out for about two months, then caved - though this time I strictly limited myself to half a pack a day.
Which is about what I was smoking in Late August of this year (mom, to her credit, was down to a pack, but couldn't cut down any further, COPD and night time oxygen use notwithstanding.)
Over the week prior to Labor Day weekend, I could feel non-standard asthma related stuff going on in my lungs that meant I was headed for trouble, so I quit cold turkey again (very easy to do when gasping for breath feels like sucking on burning cotton without any smoking going on in the vicinity!) My usual asthma meds weren't doing enough, so the Tuesday after Labor Day (about 8 days analog free), I went to the doctor, and ended up with an ambulance ride to the ICU with bilateral pneumonia and plurisy. Right there I decided August 27 2013 was my once and for all quit date, if I lived to tell the tale, because I was quite plainly killing myself.
Detoxing from smokes is easy as pie when you literally can't breathe - I ended up having to use an external ventilator for a week and still couldn't do anything (type, speak, think too hard about something) without remembering to let the vent do its job and push the next breath in. Scary stuff... smoking was the furthest thing from my mind.
Seeing me in such rough shape scared mom badly, and she promised to quit, knowing that it was all the second hand smoke that tempted me back toward smoking in the first place (Our whole family has *very* addictive personalities.) I knew she wouldn't be able to make it all the way to "former smoker" by the time I was out of the hospital (15 days total), and she didn't... she's now down to a PAD rather than 2 1/2, which still deserves praise!
I was totally fine with being a non-smoker (proud, actually) until I came home... unfortunately being around that 1 PAD is driving me nuts. I don't want a cigarette - I can smell how much they stink now, and I've broken my nicotine addition - but god, when I smell the smoke on her clothes, it's so easy to want-one-that-I-don't-really-want, especially since mom and I used to smoke outside on the patio and have great conversations... i miss the social aspects of smoking more than smoking, which I now view as a nasty, filthy habit.
And I know as sure as the sun will rise in the east that if mom doesn't quit, I'm going to start sneaking cigs... which would probably kill me within a year, considering the condition my lungs are in. I also know that mom had disastrous results on the patch, the gum, and the inhaler... she's pretty much still smoking cause she hasn't found something equal to or better than, in terms of being able to get her nicotine in a way that fits her job and lifestyle.
Saturday afternoon I had her look at the halo G6 and explained about it. (She's 60 and wouldn't use anything that doesn't look like a cigarette, at least not to start out). To my surprise, she lit up and said, "I think I could do that! Can you order some with 0 nicotine for you, and then we could still sit on the patio and talk?
So, after a lot of research and triplechecking the bank account, I got a G6 kit and a mini tank for each of us. (I suspect mom will prefer the carts, but I figured it would feel more "we're in this together" if we both have the same options on our gear to start. If she doesn't like the tank, one more tank for me.
)There's three things I already know I'm going to prefer in the long run, because I'm a tinkerer - variable voltage, the ability to buy parts from multiple companies, and tanks; and more specifically, I'm going to need at least a few tanks that don't crack, because I like colas, citruses, all those "crack your tank" flavors.
My birthday is next month, so I'm looking at getting a Vision Spinner VV ego when November rolls around. Tanks I'm looking at include the Smoktech ARO and the Kanger MT3... maybe also the aluminum Vivi Nova. (I know the Kanger MT3 is prone to cracking too, but at least this way I'll have two that I can count on not to crack and a spare that I'll need to be a little more careful with).
Are there any other tanks I should be considering (preferably at a $20 or less price point) and/or are there any pyrex tanks out there for the 808 yet? My tentative plan at the moment is to get a 808-510 adapter so that I can use them on either battery and make my upgrade purchases a little at a time as finances permit.
And yes, I'll be vaping 0 nic (no desire to put that monkey back on my back), and probably only casually (nights, weekends, 5-10 minute "former smoke breaks" with the parental unit.)
Anyone see any major flaws in this plan or have better gear to rec me? I have to do whatever is in my power not to let myself go back to analogs - they'll kill me first and my mother shortly thereafter, and we rather like not being dead.
