Quitting Vaping - Anyone suffer ritual withdrawal?

[kdubbie]

Hey all,

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted here. I'm happy to say that after three years of vaping, I'm on my road to quitting. I'm 4 days without a vape after spending about 2 weeks of vaping 0 nic. I think it's safe to say that I don't have nicotine in my system anymore, but I'm definitely having ritual withdrawal and just wondering if there is anyone else out there that quit vaping felt the same way and can share their experience in how long it lasts.

What I mean by ritual withdrawal is the pure frustration I feel every time I reach for my PV and remember ... "Oh yeah, I don't do that anymore". It pisses me off something awful. Also, I have all this nervous energy that is exhausting and makes concentrating extremely difficult.

One of the reasons why this is so frustrating for me is because of the ritual itself ... which is sitting in front of my computer vaping. I love vaping at my computer. I sit at my computer about 8-9 hours a day for work, maybe another 1 or 2 at home for pleasure and all I did was chain vape the entire time. I loved it ... It was great.

But now that I'm quitting, sitting at my computer just sucks and my work is suffering. I mean, as I'm typing this, I've reached for my PV (that no longer exists) three times ... GRRRR!!! When I'm at home, I can deal with this by simply getting up from my computer and watching tv or taking the dogs for a walk, but at work, wow ... is it painful to be sitting in my office without a PV. And there is no letting up, I need to be here for 8 HOURS!!

I've gotten myself a tub of pretzel rods. This has helped, especially for the oral fixation, but I can also tell I've gained weight in the past three weeks because I'm eating a lot and pants are tight (but I won't step on that scale!! LOL). Of course, I'm justifying it by saying "worry about one thing at a time". Which is true, but damn, I lost about 30lbs this year that I'm pretty sure I'm going to gain right back.

Oh well ... I don't know if this makes any sense, but I really just needed to vent a little. Hope everyone is doing well and that sitting at work gets easier soon ;-)

 

[grandmato5]

I've never tried to stop vaping, but I'm sure if I did wake up tomorrow and decide I didn't wish to vape anymore I would have ritual withdrawal because I do enjoy vaping a lot. I lost my addiction to nicotine over 5 years ago now so at least I wouldn't have to deal with nicotine withdrawal. Good luck with your attempt to stop vaping if that's what you wish to do. There may be someone, but I'm not aware of anyone, that has stopped vaping and still regularly visits this forum. There are some people that attempted to kick vaping that came back to vaping after a while so maybe some of them will see this thread.

 

[Brewer26]

Hiya,

I'm kinda in the same boat except I came off 12mg Nic about 6 weeks ago. I find that it's definitely the times when you're bored that you miss it the most. The monotonous things like working on the computer or driving a long distance.

I found that is was much easier to quit vaping than trying to quit cigs years back when there was no vaping. That was nightmarish.

That's not to say I don't miss vaping still. I miss my go to flavors and the mental part of it. And well I'm sure the nicotine as well, lol.

I think the hardest part in quitting vaping is not really being sure if it's bad for you or not. I mean we KNOW cigarettes are bad so the motivation to quit those are much greater. But quitting vaping? The motivation is a function of danger I guess. Because it cannot be proven to be harmful the motivation to quit is greatly reduced. I mean if it were discovered tomorrow that vaping poses a 0% risk than I'd be right back on my cloudmaker.

But until then I just got tired of my wife and kids yelling at me that we don't know what the long term effects are. And it is true. We don't know truly. We do know they are much better than smokes. But I think we also know that they are worse than air. Or are they...


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[SteveS45]

Why quit if it was something you enjoyed but there is NO Evidence it is bad for you. Recent studies have proven it to be 95% safer to even a higher percentage than cigarettes. I have my nicotine level so low in the instances I am unable to vape it does not bother me and no withdrawals but I do miss the hand to mouth action.

Vape On Safely or Not?

 

[bigdancehawk]

If you like the ritual but are worried about long-term health effects, why not just avoid inhaling?

 

[Inly]

But until then I just got tired of my wife and kids yelling at me that we don't know what the long term effects are.

Like with any habit, it's a lot harder to quit if you're not doing it for your own reasons. It's like when I quit smoking because my boyfriend told me to. In his mind, I'd quit. I didn't smoke in the house anymore, or anywhere he might see me. I didn't even buy my own smokes. But you can bet whenever one of my or his friends offered me one when he wasn't there, I'd take it in a flash.

Which isn't to say OP is trying to quit vaping because of someone else, but it's like... if it's something you enjoy that you're not actually ready to quit yet, because you like it, even the fact that we don't actually know how safe it may or may not be is gonna have a hard time pushing back against that desire to fill up your tank and press the button. With smoking we had very clear evidence that it was actively damaging us, and many of us have felt so much better after quitting and seen that in action. With vaping, that isn't really there, we just have what-ifs.

OP, if quitting vaping is something you're dead set on (and fair enough, as I say we don't know what it might do to us in the future) it's basically just gonna be a case of battling against yourself until you break that habit. Find things to do to occupy yourself during those long, boring stretches at your PC where you'd usually vape, even if it's just twiddling a pen in whichever hand you're not using or tapping out a rhythm on your desk. Replace the ritual of vaping with a different ritual. Good luck!

 

[kdubbie]

Hey All,

Thanks a lot for the feedback. I really appreciate it.

Why quit if it was something you enjoyed but there is NO Evidence it is bad for you.

There are actually a few reasons I'm quitting. But the biggest reason for me is, I've been having shortness of breath a lot over the past 6 months. It kind of sucks because it's pretty noticeable and affects my singing and how hard I can exercise. When I don't vape, it goes away completely. I'm not saying one has anything to do with the other, but I was concerned about it, so I went to the doctor. They didn't find anything, but still don't like the way I feel.

If you like the ritual but are worried about long-term health effects, why not just avoid inhaling?

Haha, a good idea, but something I would never be able to do. It's the feeling of it going down my lungs that I really love. But thanks.

Find things to do to occupy yourself during those long, boring stretches at your PC where you'd usually vape, even if it's just twiddling a pen in whichever hand you're not using or tapping out a rhythm on your desk. Replace the ritual of vaping with a different ritual. Good luck!

Great idea, thanks a lot!

 

[SteveS45]

@kdubbie kudos to you for going to the doctor and I did not know you where experiencing health effects. That makes this an entirely different situation in my opinion and you need to do what you feel is best for you! But I will add that I have seen many posts where people found they are allergic to some of the ingredients in e-Liquids like VG/PG and flavorings. No matter how much I like vaping if I was experiencing any health or breathing issues I would give up vaping faster than I was able to quit smoking.....................

Vape On Safely and if not.......... Live Long and Prosper!

 

[Baditude]

There are actually a few reasons I'm quitting. But the biggest reason for me is, I've been having shortness of breath a lot over the past 6 months. It kind of sucks because it's pretty noticeable and affects my singing and how hard I can exercise. When I don't vape, it goes away completely. I'm not saying one has anything to do with the other, but I was concerned about it, so I went to the doctor. They didn't find anything, but still don't like the way I feel.

Haha, a good idea, but something I would never be able to do. It's the feeling of it going down my lungs that I really love. But thanks.

There are many components to addiction. There are physical, psychological, and behavioral components.

Many believe that the smoking addiction is purely a physical addiction to nicotine, but that would be wrong. If it were true, then the nicotine patches and gum would work for everyone to quit smoking. Speaking for myself, nicotine substitutes failed miserably for me.

I was able to quit smoking by vaping instead. It satisfied my physical addiction to nicotine, but also replicated the hand-to-mouth and inhaling/exhaling behavior which was just as much an addiction for me.

I've been able to drop my nicotine concentration from 18mg down to 3mg. I could probably use nicotine-free e-liquid at this point, but I do still like a little bit of nic. I've had no intention to quit vaping, because I enjoy it and have experienced no side effects.

Good luck to you. I wish I had more advice to give you.

 

[Davey59]

The shortness of breath and or heavy lung feeling can be caused by too high a VG content. Just sayin. happened to me and I simply went back to the higher PG ratio juices and it went away immediately .

I think some suppliers are FOS as to the content of their juice. No, don't ask who I think fits this category, I have NO proof so will not slander.

 

[Semiretired]

Oh well ... I don't know if this makes any sense, but I really just needed to vent a little. Hope everyone is doing well and that sitting at work gets easier soon ;-)

Your frustration is common for many. It is one of the drivers that makes vaping a viable option over patches and gum. I myself still vape, but I have had several that have over time quit vaping also. They did it gradually just like they did when they quit smoking. In other words they only vaped in certain scenarios and they change the scenarios to keep variance. They stopped carrying the PV with them and left it in one location in the house or the car etc. I know one that it was easy to quit, but most have told me it took time... Keeping your hands busy helps a lot...

Good Luck... Hope this helps...

 

[bnrkwest]

Not sure why you quit vaping, do zero Nic if you want but really why quit? I use 3 mg Nic usually it is low but feel some Nic is a health benefit. I never want to quit! LOL

 

[bnrkwest]

I agree VG gives a heaviness in the lungs, I use 50-50 and that I can handle.

 

[Robino1]

The habit is probably why I will never stop vaping. I cannot just sit still and not do anything. I will gain weight and that brings on a whole new set of health problems.

You can train yourself to Not Inhale. Just fill the mouth with vapor and blow it out. That way the vapor does not even go into the lungs.

Whatever you decide, good luck!

 

[sonicbomb]

I really like vaping, and I know without it I would inevitably return to cigarettes which is totally unacceptable. Harm reduction with benefits. Like others have said, smoking addiction IS the ritual far more than the nicotine, so quitting vaping is going to be really hard, sorry.

 

[Alien Traveler]

Ritual withdrawal?
I just barely survived test withdrawal.
I have (at work) two tanks with me, and I was testing them for 15 minutes for leaking (they just stood opened in front of me).
Never I wanted to vape more than during these 15 minutes.

Buy the way, I easily survive up to 6 hours without vaping if I do not have my tanks with me...

 

[Drauder]

Hello. It has been a while since I have been here as well. Pretty soon I will be in the same boat. My nic level is down from 24 to 6 in two years. Pretty soon zero will be here then its time to quit. I have been concerned that I would be experiencing what you describe. I guess it is unavoidable. Oh well, now I know to expect it. Thanks for this.

 

[SteveS45]

Testing for leaks I would think requires having the pin compressed in the 510 on the tank so it would need to be screwed down on a MOD or a heat sink.

 

[SteveS45]

I sometimes vape very low nicotine levels but I have no desire to quit vaping. I feel that vaping is such a low risk if any at all that there is no reason to even contemplate ever giving it up. Now these statements are only my personal opinion and not based on any scientific facts.

 

[HauntedMyst]

I'm in agreement, the habitual motions are why I'll never stop. Plus its the part I like. I have dropped to about 6 mg from 24mg over the course of 3 years and don't feel any nic withdrawals when I am away from vaping for a while but I miss having something in my hands.