I tried to start high (36mg) only to find that it would give me a headache after about 10 minutes of vaping... I then cut it in half, and am quite happy puffing on 18mg - 0nic juice (mainly I hold around 9mg-18mg). My old smoking habit was 1 pouch of Bugler every two days or less. Everyone vapes differently, my suggestion is to start slow and low.. then gradually increase to levels that you are comfortable with.
nicotine levels
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Everyone knows (or should know) who has been vaping for a while that vaping is not nearly as efficient in getting nicotine into the system as smoking. The point is, for the MAJORITY, based on numerous polls on this this and other vaping sites, 24mg is the most widely vaped level. Too make the transition, it makes since to start there and adjust based on what your particular needs end up being. Starting out too low, not being satisfied, then needing to wait to get another liquid will insure a person goes back to smoking.
The statistics show that you are the exception and thus advising someone to start out at 11mg, has a much higher chance of failure. Your stating as a FACT that ultra light smokers should start at 11mg runs the risk of someone failing. That is helping no one.
And that doesn't mean it is right for everyone.
According to this poll, for 25% of people 18mg is right
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/polls/31936-what-level-nicotine-keeps-you-off-tobacco.html
According to this poll, for 25% of people 18mg is right
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/polls/31936-what-level-nicotine-keeps-you-off-tobacco.html
The OP has already said that 18 wasn't high enough, they still had cravings. But the 24 made them feel sick. Why is everyone telling him to lower the nicotine?
Fine, then suggest 18mg but stop telling people to start out with 11mg!! Some newb is going to read that, get 11mg, not be satisfied and go back to smoking!
I had my last analog on April 19th and I'm so glad I did. While this is my first post, I've been reading in this forum for about a month now. I started out with the NJoy NPro and later bought a generic kit for $20. At first I didn't like the ecig because it was traditional tobacco flavor and I was a clove cig smoker. Once this forum taught me about flavors...OH BOY!! But like chicpilot, I over did it when I bought my first bottle of ejuice. Now I take it easy and find I vape less than I smoked! Hang in there chicpilot, it gets better, I promise. A few minor adjustments and it's all over. BTW, do you remember how you felt when you smoked your first analog? I do and can't understand why I smoked a second one.
After smoking analogs for 30 years it felt great to go out and mow the lawn and not lose my breath! This vaping is great and I hope there are enough supporters to back off those who are obviously losing money because of it.
A loyal supporter of vaping.
Always
After smoking analogs for 30 years it felt great to go out and mow the lawn and not lose my breath! This vaping is great and I hope there are enough supporters to back off those who are obviously losing money because of it.
A loyal supporter of vaping.
Always
People also get dissatisfied when they get something that is too harsh for them or gives them headaches. I do always tell them to buy higher and lower too.
QUESTION TIME
I just finished mixing my first batch of eliquid, Apple Madera Amaretto. I got great vape and good flavor, not much throat hit though. Which ingredient provides throat hit?
Dripping FS 510 (the generic I mentioned I got from myPVshop.com for $21.99. ) I don't want to appear cheap to you all but I lost my job in February 2010 and I'm trying to be as frugal as possible with this wonderful thing called vaping. Everything I've purchased has been on sale or clearance or a free sample thanks to this forum. Really, thank you.
First Try Recipe:
(5.5ml) 60mg flavorless PG
(7.5ml) no nic VG
1.5ml vodka
(4 drops) 18mg Apple Madera (got the free 10ml sample from ecigexpress.com using ECF coupon code MADERA)
4 drops of Amaretto flavoring
YIELD: +/-15ml of, I'm hoping, around 24mg eliquid.
Also, I find I'm not in love with the NPro anymore, nor am I attached to the generic I just purchased. I did get another ecig from a local vendor at move2vapor.com and I REALLY like its performance. The couple that owns the company are true gems and provide the buyer with lots of information BEFORE they buy; he even let's you TRY it first. I went there for Rum Cola eliquid and tasted Harry's Blend #2...it was VERY smooth, a kiss of sweet with a mild kind of tobacco flavor. Hard to describe but I'm buying more as soon as I can!
Sorry for rambling...anyway, I really like his ecig and wondered, in your opinion, which ecig (name brand or generic) have you found to be the best one of all time...to date. (I bet I really look like a novice here since I'm sure I'm asking the same question every single new member asks...sorry)
Thanx.
Always
I just finished mixing my first batch of eliquid, Apple Madera Amaretto. I got great vape and good flavor, not much throat hit though. Which ingredient provides throat hit?
Dripping FS 510 (the generic I mentioned I got from myPVshop.com for $21.99. ) I don't want to appear cheap to you all but I lost my job in February 2010 and I'm trying to be as frugal as possible with this wonderful thing called vaping. Everything I've purchased has been on sale or clearance or a free sample thanks to this forum. Really, thank you.
First Try Recipe:
(5.5ml) 60mg flavorless PG
(7.5ml) no nic VG
1.5ml vodka
(4 drops) 18mg Apple Madera (got the free 10ml sample from ecigexpress.com using ECF coupon code MADERA)
4 drops of Amaretto flavoring
YIELD: +/-15ml of, I'm hoping, around 24mg eliquid.
Also, I find I'm not in love with the NPro anymore, nor am I attached to the generic I just purchased. I did get another ecig from a local vendor at move2vapor.com and I REALLY like its performance. The couple that owns the company are true gems and provide the buyer with lots of information BEFORE they buy; he even let's you TRY it first. I went there for Rum Cola eliquid and tasted Harry's Blend #2...it was VERY smooth, a kiss of sweet with a mild kind of tobacco flavor. Hard to describe but I'm buying more as soon as I can!
Sorry for rambling...anyway, I really like his ecig and wondered, in your opinion, which ecig (name brand or generic) have you found to be the best one of all time...to date. (I bet I really look like a novice here since I'm sure I'm asking the same question every single new member asks...sorry)
Thanx.
Always
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I can't help you but you might want to start your own post so DIY people might see this.
Don't want to see you get ignored. I'm a newbie myself at DIY. It's sorta fun!
Don't want to see you get ignored. I'm a newbie myself at DIY. It's sorta fun!
As far as PV's go- I've only owned one. The Joye ego. I also have a 510. Like them both. I just like a bigger battery.
My mom has had a Smoke Tip (KR808), V4L (KR808) and Riva ego. All had their good points. She mostly uses the Riva now but sometimes the V4L.
I wouldn't say they were the best, but they work out pretty well for me.
My mom has had a Smoke Tip (KR808), V4L (KR808) and Riva ego. All had their good points. She mostly uses the Riva now but sometimes the V4L.
I wouldn't say they were the best, but they work out pretty well for me.
Thanx, when I get the required posts done I'll do just that. BTW, I did check the FAQ for best ecig and got the error message "Invalid Forum specified. If you followed a valid link, please notify the administrator" when I clicked on the link.
Have read your subsequent posts to the initial and it seems as if you are headed in the right direction. The smoking situation (in terms of number of cigs and lights) you describe is comparable to what mine was. I'm without analog for going on 5 months. Pretty certain the analogs are history for me. Not the point though. I started with 18mg and 24mg liquids. So, I don't think the 24mg you mentioned is the problem. If it is, tapering back some should solve the problem. But, for what you describe it seems as nic is not the problem and nic overdose has not occurred. You don't mention headache and fogginess before going to bed. Then after presumably several hours with no nic - headache and fogginess. Sounds like more withdrawal than overdose. To me, e-cigs are not the same as analogs. Had lots of urge for the analog early on. But I knew they were bad for my health and that I just had to quit. But perhaps what gave me some comfort was - I had found an e-cigs that was close. That is, after two initial e-cigs types I had found something that provided something pretty close to the feeling and satisfaction experienced with the analogs and this gave me the belief that I could really quit. So, what I suggest for your situation - if you're getting close with the e-cig of your choice to what those Marlboro lights were giving you - stick with it. If you are not "close", you may not have the right device, the right flavor or, even, the right mg. But I do think something close is there if you have the desire to become a former smoker. Stick with - you may have to tweak here and there - but it can IMO work.
Hi! And welcome.
Don't despair. What you described sounds like pretty much what I went through in the first two weeks. (Gasp! Yes - I said two weeks.) Chronic mild headaches, mild fits of nausea, brain fog from hell, feeling nauseous and woozy if I switched back to smoking a cigarette, clutching my pv with both hands in a fetal position... I lost one of my credit cards in my own apartment - no freakin' idea whatever happened to it. For all I know on day six I put it in a tuna melt and ate it.
Those people who post on the boards "The first time I picked up my PV I never touched a cigarette again..." I wanted to reach out and hurt those people.
For a while anyway.I was questioning, researching the board library, wondering what the hell was going on? Was it quit smoking withdrawal? Too much nicotine? Too little? And I got a lot of conflicting advice on the nicotine level question. This is how I interpret my experience:
There was a lot of quit smoking withdrawal going on. Not as bad as when I tried gum or patches. But I still had it - especially the brain on short circuit problems. It just took time for that to pass. For me, I didn't get my concentration back to normal for two weeks. As so many have already pointed out, it's not just about the nicotine in the cigarette experience. Your body has to get used to not getting all that other "stuff" that comes along for the ride with smoking. Apparently some of us - like youse and me - are more sensitive in this respect than others.
Too much nicotine? Too little? Again - based on my noob experience - you probably are getting too little. I was a PAD+ Pall Mall Blue (lights) smoker and bought a range of nicotine from 16 mg to 30 mg. I quickly gave up on the 16 and stuck with 26 mg. And upped to 30 mg when even the 26 didn't feel like it was enough. And I know exactly what you mean regarding picking up a cigarette in the first week - they made me feel light headed, dizzy. Can you remember the first time you smoked a cigarette? Yeah, it felt like that all over again.
I had a hard time figuring out the "smoking a PAD = vaping...???" math. What's the math for that? There really isn't any. You have to pick up the PV and use it - each and every time you inhale. It's different, and in it's own way it takes a little more effort than cigarettes. I came to the conclusion that I probably wasn't vaping enough in the first several weeks. It took me some time to get the pacing of using a pv figured out.
And ultimately, if you are worried and completely unsure about what is going on, do nothing. Stop the cigarettes, put down the pv, and give yourself 30 minutes of "nothing." At the end of that 30 minutes do you feel better or worse? If you were on nicotine OD, even after 30 minutes any symptoms you were experiencing should start to subside. But if you don't feel any better or any different, chances are it's too little nicotine rather than too much. And again - personal experience - but looking back on the first two weeks did I ever think I got too much nicotine from vaping? No.
Good luck - it does get better. And I liked the vaping experience sooo much more than cigarettes very quickly. That helped a lot.
Rick
I started with 24 then within 3 days I went 12 til i couldnt take that. I moved to 0. I am extremely happy with where i am now. The ego-t that i had before didnt work out for me, it was just too small and slow to keep up with the amount of vaping i needed to make me forget about smoking. When i moved to a higher voltage unit, I knew smoking analogs would be over. =)
The only person who brought up 4mg and 8mg was me. I was providing my own personal experience for reference. The only thing I "suggested" was to drink water. I have not been doing this for months and by no means consider myself an expert.
Sent from my Evo
As you can see, everyone is different.
Headaches that started when you started vaping, usually seem to be caused by
- too much nic i.e. too high nic or too much vaping (vasoconstriction)
- auto batteries you are needing to suck too hard (muscle ache)
- dehydration
- and for people with TMJ, the inflexible larger size of the end of the ecig and possibly #2 also
But since people get a variety of symptoms getting off of the 4000 chemicals in cigs, it could be something else or it could be unrelated to vaping. But the most common cause seems to #1. Some guy and his wife started this week on the same juice. He was fine and she got headaches. He got her lower nic and she was fine.
Headaches that started when you started vaping, usually seem to be caused by
- too much nic i.e. too high nic or too much vaping (vasoconstriction)
- auto batteries you are needing to suck too hard (muscle ache)
- dehydration
- and for people with TMJ, the inflexible larger size of the end of the ecig and possibly #2 also
But since people get a variety of symptoms getting off of the 4000 chemicals in cigs, it could be something else or it could be unrelated to vaping. But the most common cause seems to #1. Some guy and his wife started this week on the same juice. He was fine and she got headaches. He got her lower nic and she was fine.
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Yes, I have been looking around at some suppliers for different equipment. I like the 510 and think I can make do with it for the time being, but I find that even when I get it producing decent vapor it's still a lot more difficult to draw on than analogs. I have a bunch of samples and have found flavors that are tasty, but none that I find completely satisfying, almost just feels like I am not getting enough concentration of them. Throat hit and vapor quantity is there with most of them, some even too much so, but somehow the flavor always seems less rich and dynamic than tobacco, leaving me with a craving. Which models/vapors would you suggest that might help with these shortcomings?
Thankfully, my headache has finally subsided and the fog is clearing a bit. It's been many years since I have made it longer than 8 hours without a cigarette and I think withdrawal explains the agony I was feeling earlier today. It has amazed me how hard it's been even with a steady supply of nicotine from the ecig. I never realized how much my body and mind has really been depending on all the other junk. Very scary to realize how deep rooted and relentless my addiction has gotten, but I am only more determined now not to go back just to have to go through this all over again one day.
Thankfully, my headache has finally subsided and the fog is clearing a bit. It's been many years since I have made it longer than 8 hours without a cigarette and I think withdrawal explains the agony I was feeling earlier today. It has amazed me how hard it's been even with a steady supply of nicotine from the ecig. I never realized how much my body and mind has really been depending on all the other junk. Very scary to realize how deep rooted and relentless my addiction has gotten, but I am only more determined now not to go back just to have to go through this all over again one day.
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