Not really funny to me

[TWISTED VICTOR]

Thats unfair I feel - youll see a lot us (me too if you look back on this very thread) pushing the SNUS and alternatives for people who really arent getting the full benefit of PV alone - lots of those people around - and we do try and get into as many threads on the main boards as possible to explain that upping nic levels really wont help those people because they need stuff OTHER than nic.
Im lucky - It seems I was never self medicating on the MAOI in cigs, so I really have no 'snus agenda' lol, but I still try and make sure people know about it because that way they wont go back to smoking or feel like a failure.

Hi ya CaptJay. It's not my place to speak for Stubby but I think I might be able to clarify his statement with some elaboration. First I want to say you and a handful of others have stood out from the pack in your quest to offer a helping hand to folks who struggle and you have my respect. What separates you is the willingness to look a little deeper in understanding these things, even though you don't have to deal with it in your own life. Most people don't and only offer a box that they believe everyone should fit in. And I will admit that to a degree the ECF community is becoming more educated on the benefits and healthy choices offered by smokeless tobacco. Having said that, many of us entered a life of misery after switching to PV's and the best we got from the community was that we weren't getting the right stuff or doing it the right way...and I can say I surely took it to the extreme just to make sure there were no unturned stones. At the same time, smokeless was taboo. All the lies of the anti-tobacco advocates took its toll and arguments to the contrary, with studies in hand, were rejected by the very same members who found it outrageous that the FDA wanted to ban PV's. Many of those folks who I used to commiserate with on the forum are no long here, with the largest percentage still having a smoke hanging off their lip. The rest were banished to the smokeless tobacco sub-forum, what we refer to as "The Dark Side". There, we swap links to studies and resources, shoot the poo and found the freedom from smokes we wanted. When we come across folks like Ron we feel the pain as if it were us going through it and try to shout above the other voices so we can be heard. Sometimes it's near impossible because the next 40 posts will usually be a repeat of the first 5, with added assurance that the those 5 were the be all, end all. I know I've stepped on some toes too, but sometimes that's what it takes to get some here to listen to a wider and far healthier range of options. The mindset of "I'll go back to smoking before I use that smokeless stuff" is still the dominant reasoning factor behind most people on the forum. I can see why you would take offense to Stubby's statement, but, my friend, I don't think Stubby would include you in the "Fanboy" club. You're for real, but still one of a minority .

 

[pm2006]

Viktor, That was a wonderful post. I am not in the position that either of you are (or were) but I read it anyway. ALL of it. Very nice and I would think . . . very helpful.

 

[trailblazer6]

OK I'll start by saying I don't know if this is the right forum, or if Iv'e started a new thread or what ever ( I do the best with the brain cells I have left), but I got to do a little venting here as an alternative to my wife shooting me, but I've pretty much quit analogs and smoke 36mg juice as much or more than I ever had a ciggy, but I've turned quite negative to those around me, what I'am I missing? , I luv vaping but don't want to alienate the only three people who still talk to me, I'm a 58 year old Viet Vet with pTSD, TREated for 20 some odd years( and by the way if u have a neg. opinion about war or pstd, don't bother to answer this post), don't want no medical opininion, just want to know if anyone , else has been thru this and does it get better? Mabey I'm just an ....... by nature,lol,not really funny to me. Ron

First off, Ron. Thank You for your service. Second I too vape a high nicotine juice. And I use Snus. And when I get so tense that when I fart only the dogs hear me I will have an analog so I don't become that unbearable ........ Look, If ya feel like ya just got to have one. Have one !!! Before your loved ones frag you. Vaping is an alternative to smoking. Not a means to an end. Think about all the analogs you did'ent have because of the e-cigarette.

 

[AuldNick]

Ron....
Welcome home, brother!
(I'm lucky.....just HyperVigilant..with an acute startle response.)
Jeez....reading thru this whole thing....LOTS of good info here.
About a week to a week and a half after switching totally to a PV
(with 26mg nic) I got a 4 day case of 'the stupids'.
I think that was due to a reduced level of nicotine. The 'stupids'
went away.....or - at least I returned to my 'normal' level of stupid.
I think getting the nicotine (by itself) just isn't enough for some (most?)
folks who switch to e-cigs. Many, MANY other chemicals in the
tobacco smoke can affect moods and alter consciousness.
Ya do what ya have to ....even if you have a smoke from time to time.
For me....a quick shot of snuff every few days takes the edge off.
It does 'get better' - give some of the previous ideas a try....
sounds like a good amount of success with some of the alternates!
Please do keep us posted on how it's going for ya!!

 

[Stubby]

Thats unfair I feel - youll see a lot us (me too if you look back on this very thread) pushing the SNUS and alternatives for people who really arent getting the full benefit of PV alone - lots of those people around - and we do try and get into as many threads on the main boards as possible to explain that upping nic levels really wont help those people because they need stuff OTHER than nic.
Im lucky - It seems I was never self medicating on the MAOI in cigs, so I really have no 'snus agenda' lol, but I still try and make sure people know about it because that way they wont go back to smoking or feel like a failure.

Didn't mean to offend as it wasn't directed at you personally. This thread has been better then most, but as Twisted mentioned that really hasn't been the norm. The OP (and where did he go) looks to be fairly new so may get over the hump okay, or maybe not. Time will tell. I've been involved with other threads where someone has been vaping much longer and still running into trouble. This is followed by endless postings of bad advice. I think Twisted summed it up nicely.

I've seen to many people failing, or about to fail, and then disappear. I assume back to the smokes full time. With the decades long campaign against smokeless tobacco and mountains of bad information by anti-tobacco fanatics it's just not something to even consider for most people. That kind of bad information is killing people. It leads to an attitude of, its ether PV's or cigarettes. Not much different then the quit or die approach of tobacco control groups. I may get a bit grumpy at times (just the way I am) and poke a stick at a few sore spots in the forum, but most of the time it seems to be well deserved.

 

[Katya]

Rthom, thank you for your service.

As a child of WW II veteran, I know the ravages and scars and horrors you guys live with for the rest of your lives. I know them second-hand only, but I do know them.

Only you can decide what will work for you. People who successfully quit analogs with vaping only wil recommend vaping only, of course, because it worked for them. Those who needed extra help will, well, recommend extra help. What's critical is that you know what's available and try it yourself. There's no other way. I belong to the "extra help needed" group. I had a hard time with vaping only and increasing nicotine levels left me dizzy and shaky and still wanting a smoke. Enter Tropical Bob, Twisted Victor, Stubby, DVap, Firechick, Caesarea, W Axl Rose and all the other wonderful folks at the smokeless forum. They pretty much kept me from going back to analogs full time. Please visit that forum and read all you can stand. Just to educate yourself.

I found that combining Swedish snus, dissolvables and vaping (all at very low levels) keeps me out of trouble.

Good luck!

 

[CaptJay]

Didn't mean to offend as it wasn't directed at you personally. This thread has been better then most, but as Twisted mentioned that really hasn't been the norm. The OP (and where did he go) looks to be fairly new so may get over the hump okay, or maybe not. Time will tell. I've been involved with other threads where someone has been vaping much longer and still running into trouble. This is followed by endless postings of bad advice. I think Twisted summed it up nicely.

I've seen to many people failing, or about to fail, and then disappear. I assume back to the smokes full time. With the decades long campaign against smokeless tobacco and mountains of bad information by anti-tobacco fanatics it's just not something to even consider for most people. That kind of bad information is killing people. It leads to an attitude of, its ether PV's or cigarettes. Not much different then the quit or die approach of tobacco control groups. I may get a bit grumpy at times (just the way I am) and poke a stick at a few sore spots in the forum, but most of the time it seems to be well deserved.

No harm no foul bud You guys should hang more often in the new members area - fly in with the RIGHT advice wherever possible, the more people see it the more they will start understanding and quoting it themselves - where d'ya think I got my info from?
I hope the OP is alright - and coping - be nice to hear back from him.

 

[Janetda]

I just want to throw in here, that if you are on any medication, it is not uncommon to need your dose adjusted after giving up cigs. Talk with your doc if that's the case.

 

[wenchy69]

I just want to throw in here, that if you are on any medication, it is not uncommon to need your dose adjusted after giving up cigs. Talk with your doc if that's the case.

there's a thought! none of us considered if medication could be a problem.

hope you're doing ok ron.

 

[prr2freya]

Not funny to me either Ron. Your no different than a lot of folks. Many don't admit it and eventually slip away, discouraged because PV's worked for everyone else. I tend to look for the ones on slippery ground, since I finally gained my foothold. To be clear, some can switch to PV's and never look back, but not all. Typical advice for those struggling is higher nic, higher voltage, different flavors, method of inhale, etc. For some, none of that works and PV's are turned into money pits. The fact is some people need the tobacco alkaloids that get stripped from eliquids.

Exactly. I joined this forum a year ago, was heavily involved... obsessed about my PV and spent countless hours here on the forum to get me through the tough times.. Worked for a few months. Then I fell off the wagon, and it went downhill from there.. I didn't want to admit it because I was so gung ho about Pv's.. so I completely stopped coming here instead of looking for help. You are not like me, you are better and stronger than me because you posted this thread right when you need to, and not after slinking back here after going back to cigarettes for over 6 months. I could have stayed on track if I had not slunk away in shame.

Snus, snuff, dissolvables .. are all tobacco products infinitely safer than smoking... Swedish Snus AND snuff have a long history and there is good information out there. I can tell you... vaping for me is a pleasure, and for awhile, it seemed to be working like it seemed to be working for everyone else on here... and then I was too ashamed to admit it wasn't enough. I vape 36mg... nicotine was not enough.

I recently (VERY) started supplementing my vaping with alternative and MUCH safer tobacco products... after being back and smoke free for two weeks, I felt the slipping again.. so I reached out and people were there to encourage me. A combination of vaping and safer alternative tobacco is REALLY helping me. I was missing something.. maybe it is trading one tobacco habit for another, but this is much safer and when/If i feel I need to, I will cut down on everything, but not until smoking is long behind me.

I joined last April.. if I had just allowed myself to see more alternatives than the PV alone, I would be celebrating a full year off analogs this month. Instead I am 3-4 weeks smoke-free.. again.

 

[Katya]

Freya, you have every reason to celebrate. You're back in the saddle. Every cigarette you avoid is a victory. Every time you manage to drink a cup of coffee and not reach for a ciggie is a victory. It takes a long time for a new set of habits and rituals to develop and become second nature.

One day at a time. One cig at a time. For some of us, there's no other way to do it. There's going to be some discomfort, but as long as it's bearable, it's worth it. Thank God there are plenty of good people here always willing to listen and to help.

Congratulations!

And keep that cat away from my birdie.

 

[prr2freya]

But my cat just wants to be friends with your birdie.. really.. look at my kitty, he is smiling at your birdie.. don't mind the knife, he is just getting ready to prepare lunch.. would your birdie like to come over for lunch?

And keep that cat away from my birdie.

 

[tdstrike]

hang in there Freya, you can do it!! I just worked with an older guy I built a nicostik for last year and now he's totally off the nicotine, and this is after being a 2 pack a dayer for 45 years. He told me he had no cravings (except when he went drinking on saturday nights) after he stopped using the box. When I built the box for him I figured he'd use it for a while then fall back to cig's, never ever never did I think that my actions would help him quit completely.
Don't beat yourself up over having a cig, good to see you back posting again.