Quitting ciggies...

[metallicsunbeam]

I got my kit and juices. I liked vaping. I really didn't want a ciggy. Went over a day with no smoking. But by mid morning today, I felt horrible. Heart racing, weak feeling, headache, stomach sort of queasy, hard to think or concentrate...just really OFF. Not exposed to any illness.

I am not getting too much nic (I don't think). I only take about 3 - 5 vapes, and not big ones at that. Not very often (every 3 to 4 hours). I felt wonderful yesterday and last night. Not so good on waking. Didn't crave a ciggy, either. But then this happens.

I don't really want a cigarette.

My daughter suggested I open the last pack and smoke part of one. I did this and I feel better.

So is it withdrawal from all the other stuff in ciggies, or is my mind messing with me?

I can't function like this, so what do you think I should do? Suffer through this with no smoking, or just wean off the smokes a little slower.

 

[Lessifer]

It's probably a little bit of both, the addiction to smoking is so much more than just the nicotine. My advice would be to just have one when you feel like you need it. It's easy to get caught up in the "quitting" mindset and want to be like all of the people who said I started vaping and never looked back from day one, but we all convert to vaping at our own speed. Remember, it's not about the cigarettes you have, it's about the ones you don't have.

 

[mtw4shore]

I had similar results after trying to "just vape". So I stepped down and phased out cigs. You will probably do better than me.
I went to 11 cigs the first day to slow down the habit, then 11, then 10, etc. I held 2 a day for 2 weeks before I stopped. The bottom line is to reach your goal of 0. Big steps, baby steps, WHATEVER! If you try to hard and relapse, back up a step and do it again. I felt guilty smoking 2 a day for so long, but now the number is a BIG FAT 0!
Don't quit quitting, keep your eye on the ball, take it one day at a time, don't lose focus.....
Any other overused inspirational jargon?
Once you get there, you can have one of these really cool signatures at the bottom of your posts too!

 

[Robz Kim]

+1 on mtw4shore's advice. I tried switching purely to vaping and failed miserably.

 

[elewellin]

Yeah, I got my new kit yesterday and have been trying to not think about smoking at all, but after 27 years at 2 packs/day, it's easier said than done. I had a smoke last night, and actually just had one now, but that's it. I may have another tonight, and I may not, I've been trying to keep in my head, for now at least, that I'm not quitting smoking, I'm switching to this new brand. I really like the little saying lots here have too, 'It's not about the cigarettes you have, it's about the cigarettes you don't have', that's kept my mind clear about what I'm doing a little better. But I think if you have a few cigarettes to get through the rougher patches, there's no sense beating yourself up about it, and if you feel better for doing it, then good, and eventually you won't need them and you'll feel even better for not doing it.

 

[Magentadaisy]

What I did was tell myself that I could have a cig, but that I had to vape for a couple minutes first. Sometimes I'd have the cig, other times I'd get over wanting one. When I finally quit I felt like I was going to have a panic attack the night before, but when that morning came I was fine. For me, tapering made all the difference.

 

[pmg1944]

i quit 30 days ago today .. Went from 1 1/2 packs a day to none !!! What works for me was i found three flavors i really liked and rotated throughout the day that way no certain flavor got old. Started with 24mg the first week and then switched to 18 this last week end bought 12mg really starting to enjoy the flavor and not missing cigs at all. Good luck !!!

 

[riixxii]

1 Aug 12 is when I crushed the cigs and went to vaping full time. I had made the choice a month earlier and was dedicated to the decision. I felt like I needed a cig all the time, when I woke up, went outside, got in the car, etc. It wasn't easy, but I like vaping, so that made it more bearable I guess. I had to up my nic strength too to 24mg if that helps

 

[Chimney34]

I still smoked for the first couple of days after I got my kit but I went from over a PAD to like 2-5 a day. The morning cig with my coffee was the toughest to get through. Go at your own pace & don't beat yourself up if you have some. Also how much did you normally smoke & what level of nic are you vaping? You may need to up it! And make sure you're drinking plenty of water!

 

[StevesCVO]

Just remember it's not a sprint it's a marathon. Pace yourself and you'll get there. If you need to smoke one go ahead and don't feel guilty about it. If yout a PAD smoker and get down to 3 a day that's 17 you didn't light up. You'll know when your ready to drop them completely.

 

[capeyson]

I just started about five days ago, and I made a post maybe two days ago expressing a similar problem.

My new problem is ordering these things by mail is SLLLLOOOOOWWW. I ran out today, and orders I made at the beginning of last week still haven't arrived yet. I'm going to try and run to a smoke shop tonight and pray that they have ecigs there. But this is a side issue.

I was a PAD smoker and upon getting my V2's I immediately cut down to 5 a day. The cravings, however, are pretty much constant, though I have noticed them becoming less frequent and intense the past two days. My guess was that I was not getting enough nicotine, and indeed I seem to have lowballed the amount I would need (I started with 14mg and 8mg, alternating between them, when most people begin at 18mg or higher). That's one thing you should definitely be aware of - nicotine uptake with ecigs is extremely inefficient compared the mad genius delivery devices of "stinkies" (as they're often called here). Don't be afraid to get rocket fuel. Nicotine ain't going to kill you. I'm going rocket fuel as soon as I get my damn packages.

Second, absolutely we are addicted to other things in smoking, aside from nicotine. I've found that breaking my "smoking rituals" has been INSANELY difficult. There are times in the day when I just go outside and have a smoke; when I'm writing and feel tired, I go have a smoke; when I'm reading for a while and need a break to reflect, I go have a smoke... etc. I find myself getting that surge of energy we all know when our bodies say, "Goodie! Time for a cig!" and then having to stop myself and pull back: "Ah, wait wait, stop... get the ecig and vape the hell out of it." It's been pretty hard.

The way I'm looking at it is that I'm trying to start a new habit. So I'm consciously trying to integrate vaping into the patterns of my life. I'm vaping constantly at my computer, and soon enough I should begin to associate the two, thus helping me break the urge to get up and go outside and have a cig. I make sure to vape HEAVILY in the morning, so that when I wake up, eventually, I will think, "Time to vape" instead of "time to smoke." And so on. I'm still stuck at around 5 cigs a day, almost all of them in the morning and at night before I go to sleep. It seems my will is stronger during the day, but YMMV.

Just know that there are people here who are going through just what you are, right now. I felt better reading your post, just because it's nice to know that not everyone has an Instantaneous Quit experience. Stick with it (I'll stick with it too), and think of it as a gradual long-term commitment you're making. You don't have to go cold turkey on ciggies now. That's the goal, once our new habit begins to get solidified.

Good luck to you (and to me)!

 

[heroinesick]

Could it be that you're not getting ENOUGH nicotine? I didn't see what mg you were vaping at? How much?

 

[razor4432]

My experience was similar to yours except mine was to strong of nic content. I started with 24mg and it was too much, felt light-headed, queasy stomach, so dropped it to 18mg and was perfect for me. I was a PAD smoker. Been vaping 18 for 5 weeks now, going to get a bottle of 12 on my next purchase since I think I can get through with that. Mixed an 8mg and 18mg with eachother and didn't have that bad of nic fits, definitely manageable.

Don't know the level you're vaping so this may be a possibility, or it could be like others have said and you're not getting enough.

Don't stress over the cigs you have. It took me a week to get rid of the one in the morning with my coffee but I tried vaping only one morning and haven't had one now in 5 weeks this coming Sunday. You can do it we all have different experiences transitioning to vaping.

 

[nicgnostic_777]

I think that it's partly that you are still going through physical withdrawal and that you are also going through psychological withdrawal which of course is the toughest...I was a PAD and using the lower nicotine juices just made me angry lol so I use 24 mg and have one juice that's 32 mg just in case the craving is super strong...aside from that I still want a cigarette almost every other day (and during finals every hour lol) but I try to guilt myself by seeing how much I've spent up front on these things if that makes any sense, plus if you read on other threads every time people try to smoke after they've been vaping for awhile analogs just aren't enjoyable...my mom went through the same thing she ran out of liquid and had to wait then she bought a pack of analogs and couldn't handle the smoke or the taste but remember that they sell disposable e cigs and maybe one of those could tie you over? Hope this helps

 

[metallicsunbeam]

Thanks y'all.

I have smoked for over 40 years. Tried cold turkey so many times. Never worked. Told by doc over a year ago to quit due to immune issues. I have managed to wean down to about 12 a day, but only smoked part...not more than half. Have smoked light menthol cigs for most of this time.

I have a 24 mg and 12 mg. The 12 mg wasn't stopping the craving, so I switched to 24, but it made me dizzy, so I switched to a few puffs of the 24 when the craving got bad but the 12 worked most of the time.

I haven't WANTED a ciggy. I just got worse as the day went on, and neither 24 or 12 helped. NO craving ciggys, just what I wondered was withdrawal from all the other addictive stuff in cigs. After smoking two cigs (half each) over 3 hours time, I felt more normal.

Weird.

Capeyson: I started over a year ago changing habits. Quit smoking in the car. Got a house that is no smoking. Don't carry a pack with me when I'm gone, either. Change when I smoke and where I smoke. Haven't broken the habit of wanting a cig with coffee, but it is much better. I delay having coffee and change settings.

I tried to do some of the hard stuff habit-breaking-wise while lowering the number and amount each day. I just haven't been able to get to fewer cigs than this in the year plus since I started trying to quit.

Since I didn't really crave a cig yesterday or last night, and actually felt Great!, this whole thing today concerned me. That's why I came to you folks that have walked the road before me...and you are helping me.

I know i can get off cigs for good. I just need to do it more slowly. I guess 40 years of putting that stuff in my system doesn't just go away that easily. I can't be ill while doing this.

So I will keep my cigs as a crutch until I can go it without them. I'm going to work on consistently trying to lower the number of actual cigs smoked. Maybe that will help with side effects until I just stop smoking.

I don't know what else to do with the juice strength. The 24 helped with the cravings, but I can only vape a couple of inhales without getting dizzy. I think it is too much. I have lots of flavors I'm trying out. Have a menthol and a butter mint I like right now. Many more to try. I don't miss the cigs since the craving was under control. It is those other things that made life kind of unbearable today.

So...is it withdrawing from other ciggy stuff, or wrong mg juice, or what? I will keep working, but your direction is very much appreciated.

 

[grillmaster21]

Well, metallicsunbeam, I haven't even been alive for 40 years, so I can't even imagine what the withdrawals are like trying to quit now. What I do know is that I smoked a PAD for roughly 7 years and the hardest part for me quitting was the routine I had put myself into to have a smoke. When I would start getting withdrawals at work, I would think to myself "Alright, lets go get in the car and drive around to have a smoke". But would have to remind myself that I didn't "do that anymore". So, yes it is definitely withdrawal from the other nasty crud in analogs as well as your nic strength. It also has to do with the routine you have made for yourself and analogs over the past 40 years. You have trained your body to want an analog before or after certain times and/or activities throughout the day. "Re-training" your body and mind to not look for that habit is probably harder than the actual chemical addiction. A previous post in this thread mentioned this as well. As well as kicking the analog habit, you have to re-train your body/mind that you no longer use analogs.

Overall, just DO NOT GIVE UP!(And that goes for all of the noobs on this thread) It does get easier. If 24 is too much for you and 12 is not enough, you need to find yourself some 14, 16 or 18. Or just mix the two together if they are somewhat similar in flavor.

Hope this helps. Good Luck.

 

[Scoper50]

When I first started vaping I was still smoking cigarettes too. It was far fewer cigarettes however. I went from a pack to day to somewhere around 7. And as the weeks went by, I just naturally smoked less. I was down to two a day after a few weeks without even really trying.

Then something unexpected happened. My taste buds started to return even though I was still smoking two a day. The cigarettes started tasting bad. Really bad. So I decided to stop. I made it 6 days without a cigarette, and then I started to get anxious about it. I really wanted a real cigarette, and denying it to myself wasn't making anything better. So I decided to change my approach.

I gave myself freedom to smoke. Whenever I had a strong urge to smoke a cigarette, i just did it. Guilt free. I found that once I gave myself the freedom to do it, the urge came on a lot less often. From that point forward I smoked one a week. Every one of them tasted horrible, and reminded me of why I gave them up in the first place. But after a week without one, you sort of forget how bad they taste with fully functioning taste buds. After three or 4 weeks of smoking one cigarette a week, I simply didn't have the urge anymore. Now I smoke zero. Haven't done so for over a month, and it honestly doesn't bother me at all.

I'm not saying that I'll never smoke a cigarette ever again. I have freedom to smoke. If I want one, I'll have one. But as it stands right now, I simply don't care for it. it's amazing, because cigarettes used to be my best friend and I couldn't imagine living without them. Once you get into vaping for a little while longer, you'll realize that this is a lot easier than it sounds if you take the right approach for you. If I tried to make the switch overnight like some people I would have failed on the first day. Find a way to make the switch that works for you, not somebody else.

 

[smartinez57]

Vaping had definitely helped me quit. It's been 3 months so far but there is every once in a while where I'll crave a cig. Don't give up! It's definitely worth it

 

[Aheadatime]

Take your time. I let myself smoke a cig or two for the first 2 weeks of vaping. Helped me ween off of the other additives in cigs and also helped with the feeling that I wasn't actually quitting (which can cause panic, even unknowingly). Luckily, I got pretty sick with the norovirus and was completely off of nicotine and caffeine for a week straight, so by the time I gave in to my urge and vaped, it was 6mg strength with no withdrawals from the 'other stuff' in cigs. Let your body heal, it's not going to be all rainbows and butterflies but it's worth it.

 

[alex8039]

Just have a cig when you're feeling bad. Think of it as tapering down. Who knows what your body is going through after the sudden change in intake.