Quit smoking 1 week ago, but now I'm in a dilemma... Help please

[peter88533]

Hi everyone, my name is Pete.

I had previously been smoking cigarettes for about 6 years, and have tried to quit 3 times in the past year.

This past week, I have started a new fitness programme to get in to shape, and I've changed my diet and eating very clean etc.

But here is my problem....

basically, what happened last time I tried to quit a few months ago, after a few days I felt incredibly lethargic and fatigued, and that was the reason I went back to smoking. Now the same thing has happened again, and it is really distressing me as I am not working to my full potential in the gym and I literally have to struggle to get out of bed in the morning. I know it is from going cold turkey, since this happened last time. Even though my diet is great and I'm exercising regularly it hasn't improved my energy.

I do have an E-cig which I was using during finals to keep me from taking too many breaks from studying, and I had planned to switch to exclusively using that, but for some reason I decided I should just go cold turkey again.

so my dilemma is whether I should start to use the E-cig again, to get that nicotine so I can get my energy levels back again (I am very confident I won't go back to normal cigarettes, I can truly say for the first time I am completely over them). Or if I should just ride it out and hope I feel better soon, even though I have read it can take up to a few weeks. Since this fitness programme I am in is only 6 weeks long I don't want to have wasted my money and time when I wasn't able to give it my all. Another concern is I've read a lot of conflicting things on how Nicotine effects muscle growth etc as I am aiming to lose fat and build muscle.

I would love to hear some advice from because I really don't know what to do now.

Thank you

Pete

 

[Grimwald]

Sound like you are college aged. If I could go back to my college aged self, I would tell him to quit completely. (but, I'm at the age where I go outside in my robe and yell at kids to get off my lawn) Still, vaping is a much better alternative to smoking...so I'm conflicted in my opinion.

 

[HighOctaneVapour]

Use the ecig, I recently quit smoking for eliquid and once I ran out, I started smoking again the day after. It's going to be much easier to quit vaping than if you smoke again trust me! I don't know about you but in Canada the smokes I like are 100-135$ for an 8 pack carton. Save some money and you sound like someone who seriously into fitness so do the right thing and use the ecig to help you quit.

 

[HighOctaneVapour]

Don't let my above post deter you from quitting cold turkey though, but I tried the same and it was about a month to finally stop having the occasional cig

 

[cybercrone]

Great - some one from Canada!!

Can you tell me who you use on-line to buy your equipment? There are a couple places I looked at, their prices seem substantially different though and I'm worried I might get stuck with some rip-off bogus starter kit.

TIA,
~m

 

[Ajoi57]

Try to start with mid average PV such as vamo or evic. and find best juice u can get

 

[Vapoor eyes er]

Great - some one from Canada!!

Can you tell me who you use on-line to buy your equipment? There are a couple places I looked at, their prices seem substantially different though and I'm worried I might get stuck with some rip-off bogus starter kit.

TIA,
~m

Hi and welcome. Located in Newmarket but has weekend stalls in and around TO on weekends. ECF listed/ verified and latest quality gear at reasonable prices:
https://www.canvape.com/category-s/1890.htm
After 5 posts wait 1 hr for the ECF servers to reset and request a Cdn Vendors List:
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...w-nic-supplier-list-via-pm-only-part-2-a.html

 

[XeniaMike]

It was also difficult for me to quit cigarettes. I just finally had to realize 'cold turkey' wasn't going to work. I kept going back to them. The e-cig is the only thing that has 100% kept me off of the real thing.

I also experienced the lethargy and fatigue the first week or so from cigarettes, but then it cleared up after raising the nic level of my juices to 24mg. If you can do the cold turkey thing, I'd say go for it, but don't beat yourself up if you can't. Everyone is different.

 

[cags]

.......... (but, i'm at the age where i go outside in my robe and yell at kids to get off my lawn) ..........

lol...........

 

[Ref Minor]

If you can quit straight, then great, instead of relapsing on the cigs, relapse on an ecig

 

[NotMantis]

honestly if you get an ecig then solely use that for a week with absolutely no cigarettes then at the end of that week smoke a regular cigarette it should taste just like an ash tray and that should help you get over that withdraw your body is going through make sure you have a flavor you like because e ciggs typically have 5 ingredients compared to the 4000 chemicals in cigarettes your not only addicted to the nicotine

 

[mkbilbo]

Hi everyone, my name is Pete.

I had previously been smoking cigarettes for about 6 years, and have tried to quit 3 times in the past year.

This past week, I have started a new fitness programme to get in to shape, and I've changed my diet and eating very clean etc.

But here is my problem....

basically, what happened last time I tried to quit a few months ago, after a few days I felt incredibly lethargic and fatigued, and that was the reason I went back to smoking. Now the same thing has happened again, and it is really distressing me as I am not working to my full potential in the gym and I literally have to struggle to get out of bed in the morning. I know it is from going cold turkey, since this happened last time. Even though my diet is great and I'm exercising regularly it hasn't improved my energy.

I do have an E-cig which I was using during finals to keep me from taking too many breaks from studying, and I had planned to switch to exclusively using that, but for some reason I decided I should just go cold turkey again.

so my dilemma is whether I should start to use the E-cig again, to get that nicotine so I can get my energy levels back again (I am very confident I won't go back to normal cigarettes, I can truly say for the first time I am completely over them). Or if I should just ride it out and hope I feel better soon, even though I have read it can take up to a few weeks. Since this fitness programme I am in is only 6 weeks long I don't want to have wasted my money and time when I wasn't able to give it my all. Another concern is I've read a lot of conflicting things on how Nicotine effects muscle growth etc as I am aiming to lose fat and build muscle.

I would love to hear some advice from because I really don't know what to do now.

Thank you

Pete

The lethargy and fatigue are known symptoms of withdrawal and I had them a while even while vaping. They don't last though. If you go back to smoking, you'll just put yourself in the position of having to go through them again (and again and again).

Depends on what you want. If you want to break the nicotine addiction, there's no short cut. Your only way out is through. If you feel you might go back to smoking, vaping would be better. It provides the nicotine and can, for a great many, substitute for smoking but doesn't have the thousands of other chemicals tobacco smoke puts in your lungs and bloodstream (including over 50 known cancer causing agents).

But vaping may not knock out the lethargy. I had exactly that while vaping. I don't know what the hell they shove in modern tobacco products but something other than the nicotine was affecting my energy levels. In a big way. I had a couple of weeks in there I could not seem to wake up at all. It wasn't "exhaustion". It was "sleepy". All. The. Time. Drove me nuts.

But it passed.

Another concern is I've read a lot of conflicting things on how Nicotine effects muscle growth etc as I am aiming to lose fat and build muscle.

Yeah. Maybe.

Listen, I put on over thirty pounds of muscle while smoking. So, yeah, you'll do better if you quit entirely. And I would never advise anybody to smoke at all. But the strength training world frets over tiny numbers. Unless you're planning on going "pro" as a bodybuilder, forget it. Just get in there and get to work. It'll make a difference. A big one.

I got back into it in my mid-30s and got serious. Even while I was still a smoker. And in my forties could out bench the twenty somethings at the gym. Which embarrassed the crap out of a lot of 'em. I'm not in the best of shape now at 51 (and need to get my .... in gear again) but I'm the only member of my family not on blood pressure medication. In fact, since switching off cigs and going to vaping, my blood pressure is back where it was in my twenties (no, seriously, it's about 110/65 now). And I almost never get sick. I have allergies but that's about it. Can't remember the last time I went to the doc for an actual illness. I know there was once since I moved back to Texas six years ago. Maybe twice? Like flu?

And I'm not college age. Not by a long shot. But I'm healthier and in better shape than my non-smoking little brother (who is only "little" in my mind being he's, what, 48 now?).

Basically, maybe you won't be able to work out at your peak now but that's not the point. If you're serious about a fitness program, it's for years, not the six weeks of the "program". So maybe you'll learn how to work out and hit your peak later. So?

Since the lethargy and fatigue and such are known withdrawal symptoms, mucking about with cigs or nicotine at all could just prolong the problem. You probably just need to push through it to the other side.

I would recommend vaping only if you find yourself headed back to smoking. If you can break the nicotine thing entirely, go for broke. Wish I could have back when I was younger. My life would have been seriously different in so many ways.

 

[mkbilbo]

(Heh. Now if somebody will just yell at me to dust the weights off and get my act together )

 

[mare ze dotes]

Really. If you are that young and healthy, just push through it. ( I wish i had) Why complicate your life. Nicotine is a stimulant, yet not one that you would want if you are into athletics. Maybe a nice cup of tea?

Now that i think about it, you might only need disposables to get you over the hump.

 

[Smokachino]

But vaping may not knock out the lethargy. I had exactly that while vaping. I don't know what the hell they shove in modern tobacco products but something other than the nicotine was affecting my energy levels. In a big way. I had a couple of weeks in there I could not seem to wake up at all. It wasn't "exhaustion". It was "sleepy". All. The. Time. Drove me nuts.

Wow, that's exactly the way I feel, but figured I was getting enough nicotine from vaping and didn't know why I feel so sleepy all the time. It's driving me crazy, too, so thanks for mentioning this

To the OP, congrats on taking your health seriously and not waiting until you've smoked for 30 years to finally decide to do something about it. You have youth and determination on your side, and those are powerful forces to be reckoned with!

 

[mkbilbo]

Wow, that's exactly the way I feel, but figured I was getting enough nicotine from vaping and didn't know why I feel so sleepy all the time. It's driving me crazy, too, so thanks for mentioning this

I've run into a number of folks on ECF that had or have the same thing. You'll find it discussed under the heading "nicotine withdrawal" but that can't be right or vapers wouldn't experience it.

Cigs have thousands (!) of chemicals in them. Even after 30+ years of smoking, I had no idea until recently. I don't know they can separate out which does what specifically. But going from smoking to vaping is a major transition in terms of the chemicals you're ingesting. I guess it shouldn't surprise that the body has some adjusting to do.

It passed after a while though. But, man, I just about lost my mind there for a while.

 

[Smokachino]

I've run into a number of folks on ECF that had or have the same thing. You'll find it discussed under the heading "nicotine withdrawal" but that can't be right or vapers wouldn't experience it.

Cigs have thousands (!) of chemicals in them. Even after 30+ years of smoking, I had no idea until recently. I don't know they can separate out which does what specifically. But going from smoking to vaping is a major transition in terms of the chemicals you're ingesting. I guess it shouldn't surprise that the body has some adjusting to do.

It passed after a while though. But, man, I just about lost my mind there for a while.

Thanks so much! I went to research symptoms of tobacco withdrawal, but most of it discusses nicotine withdrawal. No telling what we used to inhale that, in its absence, would cause such symptoms. Glad to know it passes, and it can't happen too soon for me!

 

[trouble1000]

I had a similar problem in my late 20s (mid 40s now).
Started going to the gym and slowly built up to 4/5 sessions per week, mixed cardio and weights, just to get fitter. At this time of life, I'd already been smoking over 10 years. Got fitter, had a lot more energy and confidence. So I decided to quit smoking, see if that made any difference.
After 2 weeks cold turkey, I could only manage 40 minutes on the treadmill or bike instead of my usual 60 minutes, benchpress 10kg less and didn't seem to enjoy my workouts as much. So started back on the analogs again.

Wish I'd known then about nicotine withdrawal, might have stayed off the stinkies for good.

As other posters have said, if you can go cold turkey, work through it. If not use an e-cig when the temptation hits.

 

[mkbilbo]

Thanks so much! I went to research symptoms of tobacco withdrawal, but most of it discusses nicotine withdrawal. No telling what we used to inhale that, in its absence, would cause such symptoms. Glad to know it passes, and it can't happen too soon for me!

Yeah, they've lumped a lot under "nicotine withdrawal" that may have nothing to do with nicotine at all. I know what nicotine cravings are like and would know if I had any. I mean, I smoked for three freaking decades, I'm kinda familiar with 'em. And that has not happened. I'm clearly getting the nicotine or I'd be back to smoking. I've had nicotine withdrawal more than once in many, many failed quit attempts. I do not do well with it.

I didn't quit smoking all at once as some do. Some walk away soon as they pick up vaping, others it takes more time. I slowed way, way down the first week then "drifted down" over time until I lost interest in cigs entirely. Somewhere within about a month of the very last smoke, my energy levels went bonkers. Went suddenly from unable to sleep to unable to wake up. Then back again suddenly. It was weird. I sleep ten times better than I have in years but there was a period in there I was getting whipped back and forth and all around and it was nuts. Just all over the place for a while. And weird dreams. Weird, super realistic dreams. Including one that got "stuck" like it's a memory. I know it's not but I "remember" it as if it were. Which is... odd.

Then things leveled off at a new normal. A better one definitely. I know I sleep much, much "deeper" now. Almost like I lay down and *poof* it's morning. Seems as if no "time" has passed. No half waking up to toss, turn, adjust, whatever. I hadn't slept like that since at least college age. It's like throwing a switch or something.

But there are just tons of other chemicals in tobacco smoke. I don't know how they could sort out which does what. There are too many. And we do know the tobacco companies were doing research into how to ramp up the addictive quality of cigs. So there could be any number of other withdrawals going on...

 

[BennyBlanco]

just quit cold turkey

it's a few days of hell but you'll get past it quicker if you take in no nicotine