Off analogs for 3 months-my experiences

[guiltyspark]

So I've been vaping for 3 months or so, zero analogs. I wanted to mention a few things I noticed and see if anyone had similar experiences.

First, the transition to vaping wasn't all that hard. I had reached a point where smoking analogs didn't do much for me (1 1/2 packs a day, American Spirits) Usually the first cig in the morning or after meals would be awesome-not anymore. Like it just became a gross habit with little pleasure. So that made quitting easier. I also got a scare from the doctor, a good motivator.

Next, 3 months later, I find myself being kind of irratable and unable to concentrate-no attention span. Not that I had a great one when smoking. I don't have a bunch of energy either. I vape all day, doesn't help much.

Last, I eat a LOT of pickles and pepperocinni's, seem to have a craving for them. Odd, I have never eaten this sort of stuff before.

On the plus side, I'm pretty happy not stinking and not buying $5+ packs of smokes. I have little or no craving for analogs-I avoid hanging around in really smoky places. Being able to breathe, taste and smell is a bonus too

Ethan

 

[Bogalu]

So I've been vaping for 3 months or so, zero analogs. I wanted to mention a few things I noticed and see if anyone had similar experiences.

First, the transition to vaping wasn't all that hard. I had reached a point where smoking analogs didn't do much for me (1 1/2 packs a day, American Spirits) Usually the first cig in the morning or after meals would be awesome-not anymore. Like it just became a gross habit with little pleasure. So that made quitting easier. I also got a scare from the doctor, a good motivator.

Next, 3 months later, I find myself being kind of irratable and unable to concentrate-no attention span. Not that I had a great one when smoking. I don't have a bunch of energy either. I vape all day, doesn't help much.

Last, I eat a LOT of pickles and pepperocinni's, seem to have a craving for them. Odd, I have never eaten this sort of stuff before.

On the plus side, I'm pretty happy not stinking and not buying $5+ packs of smokes. I have little or no craving for analogs-I avoid hanging around in really smoky places. Being able to breathe, taste and smell is a bonus too

Ethan

Why do you think your irratable? Same with the lack of concentration? I only ask because I think I'm going through the same thing.

 

[420GypsyGirl]

This is how my experience of going from cigarettes to vaping went down. I smoked from the age of 14 until just this last summer. That means that for over half my life I smoked. When I first started it was a pack a day. Then as I got older it increased and then dropped off. I actually quit one time cold turkey and it lasted all of 3 months. Then right back on them again. Up until about 3 years ago I was smoking almost a pack a day. Then I just seemed to not crave them as much. I just seemed to smoke to be smoking out of habit. I'd smoke maybe half a cig as fast as possible just to get my nic hit and go on. This last summer I was like doing what I call flash smoking. I'd lite up a cig, take 3 to 5 drags and then put it out, and save the rest for the next time. It was just becoming a pain! I hated the way I smelled, my cloths...it permeated everything. Yuck. But I loved it at the same time. The way it calmed me and I just thought what would I do if I ever really stopped - god it sucked the thought of quitting and the thought of continuing was really doing a number on my brain.

Then a friend said try this. It was an e-cig. I was like wow...this is good...it really is like smoking a cig with out all the bad stuff. He told me where to get one and so I got a Blu. I have been smoke free since and do not crave analogs at all. Seriously...no cravings whatsoever. I am so glad to be done with cigarettes. If the Chinese guy that invented these were here right now I would hug and kiss him and feed him and I couldn't thank him enough. E-cigs changed my life for the better. Yeah!!!

 

[guiltyspark]

Honestly, I think nicotine is not the only active ingredient in tobacco and I'm having withdrawals from whatever is missing (Extensive posts on this can be found on this forum) Or vaping nicotine is not producing the same calming effect that smoking does. Or both.

I'm not going back to smoking, but I hope my brain starts working a little better, lol. My gut feeling says excercise and big doses of B vitamins might help this somewhat.

Loooong post about some of this here: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/nicotine/44958-so-we-getting-we-not-nicotine.html

Ethan

 

[420GypsyGirl]

GuiltySpark, you may be on to something here, as well as many others. The tobacco companies put lots and lots of additives into their cigs. I and others believe that some of those additives are far more addictive than nicotine and that is the reason some people have a difficult time quiting and why gums and patches just do not seem to work. It is that "something else" that they are addicted to. I honestly believe that tobacco companies found compounds and tested them on animals to see which ones were addictive and then laced cigarettes with them. Some people are highly addicted to those compounds and not the nicotine.

 

[guiltyspark]

420GypsyGirl, I'm glad you're having good luck with quitting!!! I'm 43 and smoked since I was 15. At times in the past, I couldn't smoke enough-it just seemed like I could never quite get satisfied. It would have been hard to transition to vaping at one of those points. Fortunately, it happened for me a point where smoking wasn't too pleasurable, making it much easier

I once read that many of the big tobacco companies "treated" the tobacco to make it MORE addictive. Specifically, treating it with ammonia to make the nicotine get absorbed faster, etc. There's a few chemists on the board that can probably comment.

Ethan

 

[420GypsyGirl]

Don't give up. It will get easier. Just keep going. One day at a time. Eventually, those cravings will just not be there anymore. Except for waffles...ever since I quit I crave foods I never really craved before - waffles smothered in melting butter and syrup...yum. Oh and hot spicy pickles - you know the baby dills that are kept in a jar full of jalapeno juice - those, too. Wierd that some things I liked I cannot stand to eat or taste - like Coke. Yuck! Others I never thought of eating I crave. Wonder why that is?

BTW - I am ordering some waffle juice...I understand it is aweome to vape nd taste just like waffles smothered in butter and syrup. Get all the noms without all the calories! Woohoo!

 

[enoonmai]

The pickles and peppercini thing got me thinking, sometimes after a big cig fest in my basement, the next morning I would come downstairs and smell the stale putrid reek of cig smoke and on occassion I would smell hints of bleach and VINEGAR. I wonder what the hell is really in them things. Maybe your addicted to the other junk in them things.

 

[jj2]

Enoonmai, what part of Illinois are you from?
Me, I'm kind of in between Bloomington and Peoria.

I agree with the day after smell---it was awful.

 

[Fairlane64]

I really do believe there is something put into regular cigarettes by the tobacco companies to make them even more addictive. Fortunately for me, for the last 6 years I had been making my own cigarettes with a rolling machine, blank filtered tubes, and just pure shredded tobacco. Granted I was getting plenty of tar, etc, but just smoking straight tobacco helped me to avoid any of the additives that the cigarette makers decide to "add" to regular cigarettes. When I switched from manufactured cigarettes to making my own, I did notice that I was missing something too, but because I wanted to save money by making my own cigs, I pushed through that feeling and eventually it subsided.

Now that I'm vaping, I don't seem to have quite the same withdrawal symptoms as I did when switching from manufactured to DIY cigs, as a matter of fact vaping made it really easy to put down the pure tobacco analogs, however I don't know how I would feel if I went straight from manufactured cigarettes to vaping. All I know is my sense of taste and smell is starting to come back, almost too strong to be honest. Just the other night I was so overloaded with all sorts of smells I actually took a couple drags off of an analog just to kill my sense of smell, even though the analog tasted and smelled terrible too! LOL!

 

[MickiO]

So I've been vaping for 3 months or so, zero analogs. I wanted to mention a few things I noticed and see if anyone had similar experiences.

First, the transition to vaping wasn't all that hard. I had reached a point where smoking analogs didn't do much for me (1 1/2 packs a day, American Spirits) Usually the first cig in the morning or after meals would be awesome-not anymore. Like it just became a gross habit with little pleasure. So that made quitting easier. I also got a scare from the doctor, a good motivator.

Next, 3 months later, I find myself being kind of irratable and unable to concentrate-no attention span. Not that I had a great one when smoking. I don't have a bunch of energy either. I vape all day, doesn't help much.

Last, I eat a LOT of pickles and pepperocinni's, seem to have a craving for them. Odd, I have never eaten this sort of stuff before.

On the plus side, I'm pretty happy not stinking and not buying $5+ packs of smokes. I have little or no craving for analogs-I avoid hanging around in really smoky places. Being able to breathe, taste and smell is a bonus too

Ethan

Some studies have shown that Nicotine increases concentration, attention, and memory..



Harnessing Nicotine's Power to Aid Concentration, Attention


On the Patch


and this one is amazing Smoking is 'good for your memory and concentration' | Mail Online
It says:"Experts are developing drugs that copy the active ingredients in tobacco that stimulate the brain without causing heart disease, cancer, stroke or addiction. The move follows the discovery that nicotine can boost the intelligence and recall ability of animals in laboratory experiments......"


....."Prof Stolerman's team have studied how nicotine alters the brain's circuitry to boost memory and concentration - and identified some of key brain receptors and chemical messengers - such as dopamine and glutamate - that are involved.

They also found differences in the chain of events that leads to boosted brain power - and the chain of events that leads to addiction.

"We believe that by building on these differences it may be possible for medicinal chemists to devise compounds that produce some of the beneficial effects of nicotine," he said."



Another says: "Depending on the amount taken in, nicotine can act as either a stimulant or a sedative. Cigarette smoking has definite immediate positive effects. For example, it can:
* .Boost mood and relieve minor depression
* .Suppress little fits of anger
* .Enhance concentration and short-term memory
* .Produce a modest sense of well-being

Most smokers have a special fondness for the first cigarette of the day because of the way brain cells respond to the day's first nicotine rush. Nicotine, particularly taken in the first few cigarettes of the day, increases the activity of dopamine, a chemical in the brain that elicits pleasurable sensations, a feeling similar to achieving a reward.

Over the course of a day, however, the nerve cells become desensitized to nicotine. Smoking becomes less pleasurable, and smokers may be likely to increase their intake to get their "reward." A smoker develops tolerance to these effects very quickly and requires increasingly higher levels of nicotine."



(This is just one page I did searching Google "Nicotine helps concentration")

 

[JDSupreme]

I smoked my 1st analog when I was 11, started smoking regularly around 14, and I just turned 27. Up until a few months ago, quitting smoking was just not an option. In my head I was thinking, "I'm still young, I like smoking, I'll try quitting when i'm in my 30's". Then, on a buisness trip in Orlando, saw the smoking everywhere guy. He gave me the sales pitch and I hit it once. Ok, thats kinda cool. Good idea. So when I got home I looked it up and it didn't seem too much cheaper (Looking at the $25 "cartons" of pre-filled carts). So a month or 2 went by and deer season arrives. I usually snuff in the woods when I hunt due to scent reasons and smoking an analog walking up a giant hill getting smoke in your eyes was pissing me off. I'm a gadget person so I have all kinds of hunting and fishing gadgets and thought the perfect thing for getting my nicotine in the woods and being virtually scent free was an ecig. So I did a little research and bought a Blu. Fast forward - Im 3 weeks into vaping. I'm 1 week completely analog free. I've got like 20 bottles of liquid and about 15 little custom mixes (i used to bartend, i love mixing flavors and stuff). Got the Titan 510, passthru, and an 801 atty I run off the 510 pt and drip (The best combo i've come up with so far). My taste buds are coming back and i'm hacking up nasty anagunk out of my lungs and never looking back. I take my obsessions seriously.

 

[Cielo]

I cant believe what I just read about the pickles. I never eat pickles and last week bought two jars of the little crunchy kosher baby dills! There is one more thing that I have noticed, I rarely eat chocolate, candies, or deserts but I want my vape to be super sweet and have been buying dessert flavors. (very very strange)

Havent noticed a decrease in energy though. I smoked 2 pks of marl reds (in a soft pack) for nearly 15 years then switched to black and milds the last 6 years. Maybe the black and milds didn't have some of the same chemicals added to them as regular smokes.

 

[Keebler]

So I've been vaping for 3 months or so, ...Next, 3 months later, I find myself being kind of irratable and unable to concentrate-no attention span. Not that I had a great one when smoking. I don't have a bunch of energy either. I vape all day, doesn't help much.

Last, I eat a LOT of pickles and pepperocinni's, seem to have a craving for them. Odd, I have never eaten this sort of stuff before.

Ethan

Are you sure you're not pregnant?
I am a week and a half vaping and exactly one week off analogs. I am getting some chest tightness (a prior symptom of nic fitting) that does not always go away when I vape. I never get the rush of nic that analogs used to give me if it was a while (like first thing in the morning) but after a few drags I do calm down, so I know I am getting some. Most important I am getting enough to keep me away from analogs. The last day I smoked, I had one in the morning, vaped all day, and had my last analog before leaving work. It tasted like crap and I had to make myself finish it. I currently vape 18mg menthol (prefilled) and 16mg cappucino (from alternasmokes). I know I can get stronger, but I don't want to go there. I want to wean off the nicotine in time.
I absolutely agree about the additives. The patch and gum never worked for me, no matter what strength I used. It blows my mind that they are allowed to pull this garbage.

 

[martha1014]

I don't believe you mentioned what mg of nicotine you are vaping. This could definitely change your cravings and the problems you are having. Maybe you just need to go up on the mg. I tried a lower mg at first and I was having some of the same symptoms. Now I vape 36 and all of my problems have resolved.

I had smoked 3 packs a day for 40 years and never even tried to quit but once I found ecigs it was a dunn deal. I was totally amazed how easy it was. Ihave tried to decrease my nicotine but each time I start getting symptoms.

 

[enoonmai]

There is no doubt in my mind that big cig has placed other little goodies in our analogs to keep us pumping our hard earned cash thier way. I am also sure the government has allowed this as long as they were getting thier cut. Slow death after all does stimulate the economy, doctors, nurses, funeral homes, hospitals coffins ect.. right down to garbage pickup. Rolling Meadows

 

[VapingRulz]

Duplicate post

 

[VapingRulz]

For over 30 years I've either abstained from ground beef or had it maybe once or twice a year. Since I've started vaping, I have this insatiable craving for cheeseburgers! It's insane!

Re: additive in cigarettes. I wonder if we'll see, in about 10 years time, people switching to vaping and having trouble quitting the carpet glue in the Fire-safe cigarettes.

It's all so sinister. The FDA is apparently A-OK with all of the crap in cigs - and now even carpet glue - but they're trying to make ecigs out to be dangerous?!

I hope this post doesn't show up as a duplicate. I keep getting a "Page Not Found" error when I hit the Submit button.

 

[jexmex]

I know for a fact that the ingredients in cigs, make the nicotine effect stronger. I like vaping, but after 3 days back on it, I still need a analog a couple times a day. Last time I dont think it was as bad, but then again I was so excited about the e-cig, I think it helped.

Good luck, and don't let it bite you like it bit me.

 

[Stubby]

Honestly, I think nicotine is not the only active ingredient in tobacco and I'm having withdrawals from whatever is missing (Extensive posts on this can be found on this forum) Or vaping nicotine is not producing the same calming effect that smoking does. Or both.

I'm not going back to smoking, but I hope my brain starts working a little better, lol. My gut feeling says excercise and big doses of B vitamins might help this somewhat.

Loooong post about some of this here: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/nicotine/44958-so-we-getting-we-not-nicotine.html

Ethan

The are we getting it thread is an excellent read to get a handle on whats going on with nicotine addiction. The purified type nicotine in gum, patches and e-liquid has the stimulating effect, while the missing alkaloids have the calming effect associated with smoking. The other alkaloids are not added by tobacco companies. They're a natural part of tobacco that is taken out when processed for e-liquid, gum, etc. Some people appear to be more sensitive to the missing elements in e-liquid and have a much harder time quitting cigarettes using e-cigs.

I smoked RYO for years and noticed little difference between natural tobacco and ready mades as far as addiction goes. The paranoia floating around about BT adding things into cigarettes to make them more addictive is highly suspect and doesn't add anything positive to the discussion.

If you've read the above link you know there are other tobacco reduced harm products out there that have the missing pieces lacking in e-liquid, as in Swedish style snus and a few others. If things get out of hand many people have found snus to be highly effective in getting the missing elements not found in e-liquid.