For most, vaping is a replacement for analog cigarettes. I'm exceedingly proud of, and happy for, anyone who is able to quit smoking tobacco by using an e-cig! It's a huge step toward improving your health, and I applaud you all. For me, however, making the decision to try out e-cigs was for a very different reason.
On November 21, 2011 I was diagnosed with narcolepsy with cataplexy, a chronic disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), disrupted nighttime sleep, and cataplexy., among other strange symptoms. Cataplexy is defined as sudden, transient loss of muscle tone, usually in response to emotions. Cataplexy can be as mild as an imperceptible slackening of the jaw or weakness in the limbs, or as severe as a complete body collapse. Even during the most severe cataplexy episodes, the PWN (person with narcolepsy) remains fully conscious, but can't speak, move, see, or feel. It's one of the worst, and most misunderstood symptoms of the condition. The second most frustrating and misunderstood symptom is the excessive daytime sleepiness. For most of us with narcolepsy, the sleepiness we experience on a daily basis is comparable to what a "normal" person would experience after being kept awake for 48 to 72 hours.
As treatment for narcolepsy, I'm prescribed a daytime stimulant medication which I take twice daily, Monday through Friday. While it does help with the sleepiness to a degree, it's not nearly enough to give me the same energy that a person without the condition would have. I used to smoke cigarettes years ago. I decided to quit because of the smell, the damaging health effects, and the cost. I quit cold turkey and, strangely enough, never had a single nicotine craving, despite having smoked as much as two packs per day at times. The only thing I did notice was that I was exhausted for the first few weeks especially, before finally adjusting to my new lack of energy. That was several years prior to my diagnosis, and I did try BluCigs a month or two after having quit, but found them to be a bit expensive to maintain, so I just stopped using them.
This past January, I was frustrated with the level of functioning I had achieved with my prescribed stimulant alone. Remembering that the BluCigs and my former smoking habit both provided me with energy, I brought the e-cig idea up to my fiancee. He was receptive, and we did a fair amount of research about nicotine online. Again, I ordered a BluCigs starter kit to try it out. He wasn't a smoker, but thought that nicotine might be a good substitute for his caffeine habit, so we snagged a few extra batteries for him to use, too. While the nicotine was beneficial for both us, we weren't happy at all with the flavors or batteries that Blu offered. Our next step was to each get an eGo-W (a knock-off of the real eGo e-cigs) from an online retailer, and then find some eliquids. First few eliquids we got were... less than good.
The batteries, however, worked fairly well. We finally found an awesome e-liquid supplier (DFW Vapor) and got a couple of eGo C twist batteries, and are much happier with the results.
He's having far better success with nicotine rather than caffeine, and the added nicotine to my prescription stimulant meds is definitely making it easier to manage the sleepiness, focus issues, etc. Definitely a different type of success story than many of you here, but I'm very grateful to be able to use the e-cigs, and have used this site as research for a long time before signing up as a member. Hope the lengthy post isn't putting anyone to sleep!
On November 21, 2011 I was diagnosed with narcolepsy with cataplexy, a chronic disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), disrupted nighttime sleep, and cataplexy., among other strange symptoms. Cataplexy is defined as sudden, transient loss of muscle tone, usually in response to emotions. Cataplexy can be as mild as an imperceptible slackening of the jaw or weakness in the limbs, or as severe as a complete body collapse. Even during the most severe cataplexy episodes, the PWN (person with narcolepsy) remains fully conscious, but can't speak, move, see, or feel. It's one of the worst, and most misunderstood symptoms of the condition. The second most frustrating and misunderstood symptom is the excessive daytime sleepiness. For most of us with narcolepsy, the sleepiness we experience on a daily basis is comparable to what a "normal" person would experience after being kept awake for 48 to 72 hours.
As treatment for narcolepsy, I'm prescribed a daytime stimulant medication which I take twice daily, Monday through Friday. While it does help with the sleepiness to a degree, it's not nearly enough to give me the same energy that a person without the condition would have. I used to smoke cigarettes years ago. I decided to quit because of the smell, the damaging health effects, and the cost. I quit cold turkey and, strangely enough, never had a single nicotine craving, despite having smoked as much as two packs per day at times. The only thing I did notice was that I was exhausted for the first few weeks especially, before finally adjusting to my new lack of energy. That was several years prior to my diagnosis, and I did try BluCigs a month or two after having quit, but found them to be a bit expensive to maintain, so I just stopped using them.
This past January, I was frustrated with the level of functioning I had achieved with my prescribed stimulant alone. Remembering that the BluCigs and my former smoking habit both provided me with energy, I brought the e-cig idea up to my fiancee. He was receptive, and we did a fair amount of research about nicotine online. Again, I ordered a BluCigs starter kit to try it out. He wasn't a smoker, but thought that nicotine might be a good substitute for his caffeine habit, so we snagged a few extra batteries for him to use, too. While the nicotine was beneficial for both us, we weren't happy at all with the flavors or batteries that Blu offered. Our next step was to each get an eGo-W (a knock-off of the real eGo e-cigs) from an online retailer, and then find some eliquids. First few eliquids we got were... less than good.
The batteries, however, worked fairly well. We finally found an awesome e-liquid supplier (DFW Vapor) and got a couple of eGo C twist batteries, and are much happier with the results. He's having far better success with nicotine rather than caffeine, and the added nicotine to my prescription stimulant meds is definitely making it easier to manage the sleepiness, focus issues, etc. Definitely a different type of success story than many of you here, but I'm very grateful to be able to use the e-cigs, and have used this site as research for a long time before signing up as a member. Hope the lengthy post isn't putting anyone to sleep!
