What started off as a simple request to add a "Quitting Vaping" section turned into a very animated discussion with some folk debating whether or not such a section deserved its own section here on ECF. As I and many other members pointed out; quitting vaping is a huge part of the vaping experience and just as with quitting any type of addictive habit having the support and encouragement of others will make the process 100x easier.
My Story:
Quitting vaping for me was not a long drawn out process, it all happened in under a week. I was mixing up a batch of e-liquid and decided to make a small batch of 12mg juice (I was used to vaping 24mg), the following day I made another batch at 6mg and then 2mg until I finally woke up one morning and decided to try not vaping altogether, that was on December 10th 2011.
The first few days were surprisingly easy, aside from a few moments during the day when vaping used to be an automatism (i.e. driving to work in the morning, going out with my smoking colleagues at 11am, etc.) I did not even think about vaping.
After about a week I was still doing great, I didn't have any urges, but I did start experiencing some nicotine withdrawal symptoms:
1. Lack of energy and tiredness - nicotine speeds up the metabolism, so when the nicotine finally leaves your body you're feeling constantly tired. In my case it was pretty intense, I was dead tired by 10 (I was used to going to sleep at 1) and I would wake up at 8am still feeling tired. Thankfully this symptom lasted a week and a few days but I am now back to normal.
2. Increased appetite - Well if any of you have tried quitting smoking before you'll be familiar with this symptom. I wasn't expecting this particular symptom as I'd always attributed the appetite suppressant to the thousands of chemicals in cigarettes, alas it turns out nicotine is the culprit. I'm happy to report that this is something else that's beginning to settle after 3 weeks of non-vaping, I've now managed to skip the sweets between meals, but I'm still eating much bigger portions during meals. My best advice to avoid binge eating and packing on the pounds is to chew on celery branches
Celery is a negative calorie food, you burn more calories by eating celery than you take in. Also having something in your hand that you're chewing distracts you long enough to supress any kind of craving you may get.
3. Constipation & Flatulence - This was probably the most awkward symptom. It turns out that nicotine also acts as a intestinal stimulant and nicotine withdrawal slows down the whole process. The worst of it only lasted a few days and I remedied the constipation by eating bran, and a lot of it!
4. ECF Withdrawal - This might not apply to everyone but for me it was intense! For the first couple of days I did my best to stay away from ECF to avoid any kind of temptation but when it's been a part of your daily routine for nearly 6 months it's a hard habit to break.
5. Hobby - This again will likely not apply to everyone, but for me the hobby aspect of vaping was very hard to give up especially since I'd gotten into DIY'ing my own juices, I'd also picked up modding and tinkering with my own e-cigs. Once I gave up everything I didn't know what to do when I got home from work. Granted my wife will tell you that it was the best thing that could have happened because I started cleaning the house more frequently, and my dog was also happy because now we were going out for 5-6 walks per day
A lot of people will ask "Why would you want to quit vaping??"
I'm going to copy and paste a post I made in the other thread:
1. Money. I can't speak for everyone, but I know it was one of the factors that made me want to quit seeing as I was spending on average $200/month on supplies.
2. The addiction. After so many years of being dependent on cigs, and now being dependent on vaping, it's a nice change being able to leave the house without freaking out if I forgot my PV at home.
3. Health uncertainties. Seeing as vaping is still in its infancy nobody knows what, if any, the long term effects of vaping are. Also with no governing body, no industry standards, you never know what you might actually be vaping, I mean just look @ the BE fiasco. E-juice aside, think about the different materials: metals; steel/brass/lead or the different materials used for meshes; silica/fiberglass/kanthal, or the rubber used in o-rings etc. Are there any adverse effects of inhaling e-juice that came into contact with those kinds of materials? Most likely, although I can't say that with any kind of certainty all I do know is that nobody can say that vaping is 100% safe.
4. Health Benefits. Just as I saw immediate improvements in my health after I quit smoking and started vaping, I noticed immediate improvements in my health after I quit vaping. I sleep a lot better, I can breath easier, I have more energy (although the first few days I was constantly tired and lethargic), and most importantly, my blood pressure has dropped.
I certainly hope that my story will inspire anyone that's been thinking about quitting vaping. Just as quitting smoking to start vaping was a scary experience, quitting vaping is as well but believe me you're not anywhere near as addicted as you might think.
The best piece of advice I can give anyone that wants to quit is: TRY IT! Wake up one morning and tell yourself that today you will not be vaping at all. As the hours go by and you still haven't vaped you'll get a sense of pride and accomplishment that you will feel guilty about breaking if you cave
My Story:
Quitting vaping for me was not a long drawn out process, it all happened in under a week. I was mixing up a batch of e-liquid and decided to make a small batch of 12mg juice (I was used to vaping 24mg), the following day I made another batch at 6mg and then 2mg until I finally woke up one morning and decided to try not vaping altogether, that was on December 10th 2011.
The first few days were surprisingly easy, aside from a few moments during the day when vaping used to be an automatism (i.e. driving to work in the morning, going out with my smoking colleagues at 11am, etc.) I did not even think about vaping.
After about a week I was still doing great, I didn't have any urges, but I did start experiencing some nicotine withdrawal symptoms:
1. Lack of energy and tiredness - nicotine speeds up the metabolism, so when the nicotine finally leaves your body you're feeling constantly tired. In my case it was pretty intense, I was dead tired by 10 (I was used to going to sleep at 1) and I would wake up at 8am still feeling tired. Thankfully this symptom lasted a week and a few days but I am now back to normal.
2. Increased appetite - Well if any of you have tried quitting smoking before you'll be familiar with this symptom. I wasn't expecting this particular symptom as I'd always attributed the appetite suppressant to the thousands of chemicals in cigarettes, alas it turns out nicotine is the culprit. I'm happy to report that this is something else that's beginning to settle after 3 weeks of non-vaping, I've now managed to skip the sweets between meals, but I'm still eating much bigger portions during meals. My best advice to avoid binge eating and packing on the pounds is to chew on celery branches
Celery is a negative calorie food, you burn more calories by eating celery than you take in. Also having something in your hand that you're chewing distracts you long enough to supress any kind of craving you may get. 3. Constipation & Flatulence - This was probably the most awkward symptom. It turns out that nicotine also acts as a intestinal stimulant and nicotine withdrawal slows down the whole process. The worst of it only lasted a few days and I remedied the constipation by eating bran, and a lot of it!
4. ECF Withdrawal - This might not apply to everyone but for me it was intense! For the first couple of days I did my best to stay away from ECF to avoid any kind of temptation but when it's been a part of your daily routine for nearly 6 months it's a hard habit to break.
5. Hobby - This again will likely not apply to everyone, but for me the hobby aspect of vaping was very hard to give up especially since I'd gotten into DIY'ing my own juices, I'd also picked up modding and tinkering with my own e-cigs. Once I gave up everything I didn't know what to do when I got home from work. Granted my wife will tell you that it was the best thing that could have happened because I started cleaning the house more frequently, and my dog was also happy because now we were going out for 5-6 walks per day
A lot of people will ask "Why would you want to quit vaping??"
I'm going to copy and paste a post I made in the other thread:
1. Money. I can't speak for everyone, but I know it was one of the factors that made me want to quit seeing as I was spending on average $200/month on supplies.
2. The addiction. After so many years of being dependent on cigs, and now being dependent on vaping, it's a nice change being able to leave the house without freaking out if I forgot my PV at home.
3. Health uncertainties. Seeing as vaping is still in its infancy nobody knows what, if any, the long term effects of vaping are. Also with no governing body, no industry standards, you never know what you might actually be vaping, I mean just look @ the BE fiasco. E-juice aside, think about the different materials: metals; steel/brass/lead or the different materials used for meshes; silica/fiberglass/kanthal, or the rubber used in o-rings etc. Are there any adverse effects of inhaling e-juice that came into contact with those kinds of materials? Most likely, although I can't say that with any kind of certainty all I do know is that nobody can say that vaping is 100% safe.
4. Health Benefits. Just as I saw immediate improvements in my health after I quit smoking and started vaping, I noticed immediate improvements in my health after I quit vaping. I sleep a lot better, I can breath easier, I have more energy (although the first few days I was constantly tired and lethargic), and most importantly, my blood pressure has dropped.
I certainly hope that my story will inspire anyone that's been thinking about quitting vaping. Just as quitting smoking to start vaping was a scary experience, quitting vaping is as well but believe me you're not anywhere near as addicted as you might think.
The best piece of advice I can give anyone that wants to quit is: TRY IT! Wake up one morning and tell yourself that today you will not be vaping at all. As the hours go by and you still haven't vaped you'll get a sense of pride and accomplishment that you will feel guilty about breaking if you cave
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