Scared to Quit...

[Rickajho]

Anyone else afraid to quit? What's holding you back? Any words of wisdom from those who kicked the habit? October 1st. I told hubby to only buy me 3 packs this week because I'm DONE! (Plus, I can steal his if I want to cheat.)

You bad!

Relax. Breathe. And try to put aside all those other failures in the past. You aren't on the "Nicorette Forum" or the "Nicotine Patch Forum" - and for a good reason. This forum is here because quitting with e-cigs actually can work. Where's that forum with all the shout outs from people who quit with the patch? Yeah... that ain't out there.

Go into this with an open mind. I have said it many times: There are no rules to quitting this time around. Relax about that rigid "must set a quit date thing." That's old skool ACS talk. And we already know how well that program worked for us... You can take that approach, but it is not mandatory this time. Some people can do that with e-cigs. I took three months to quit. 90 days to end a 30 year smoking habit? I didn't see a problem there. You might land somewhere in between. You can transition any way you want to or need to. As long as you have a real desire - and there is no doubt that you do - you will figure out your own end game.

Flexibility is the key this time around. There are no "...or else!" rules. Heck there are no rules at all. Stick that one in your box of Nicorette!

 

[gramakittycat]

Hello and welcome ! I went from a 2ppd habit 40 + years!!!! I just would reach for the e-cig when I wanted a smoke kinda smoke one then next time vape a bit back and forth.By the time it had been around 2 or 3 weeks and realized one day I could'nt remember my last cig! Vape only from that day forward and have'nt looked back! You will do fine and you have found the best forum for info and support there is o n the web .Best of luck and again WELCOME!

 

[Spazmelda]

I was afraid to quit, and had in fact given up on quitting. My husband would ask me when I was thinking about trying to quit again, and I'd say, "oh soon. I'm getting geared up to do it.". But in my head I knew that I didn't have the energy or motivation to even try again.

A neighbor suggested e-cigs at a local drug store and I kept politely saying, "maybe I'll check that out". She kept bugging me and bugging me, every time she'd see me, so finally I went and got the e-cig she was telling me about. I thought maybe I could at least cut down a little, but I literally cringed when handing the money over to the cashier thinking this was just another waste of time and money.

I charged up my subpar e-cig and was shocked at how effective it was. I amazed myself by going 3 days without more than one cigarette. When I started looking for cheaper replacement cartomizers for it I stumbled on ECF and found this amazing resource. I quickly ordered a better setup with more flavors and bottles of juice and found that weeks, then months had passed since I'd even thought about having a cigarette. I was an accidental quitter.

You are putting a lot of pressure on yourself, which I can relate to from past attempts. I'm sure there are many different ways to approach switching to e-cigs, but I am happy that it worked out for me the way it did. I don't know if I could have gotten motivated to quit if I had been thinking of it in an all or nothing kind of way. Sounds like you are motivated though, so this way may work well for you. Just don't think that you have failed if you slip and have one. Switching to e-cigs seems to be different from "quitting" in that way. If you do have one, think of all the cigarettes you didn't have rather than the one or two you did have and put it behind you.

 

[Hulamoon]

As above. Stop pressuring yourself! I would recommend you buy an eGo Twist kit - here (these sell out very fast by the way) 510 650Mah Black Excalibur Twist Kit [Black 650 EXC twist kit] - $50.00 : Vapors Choice, Ecigarettes & Parts Very reputable forum vendor. Then go here Custom E-Liquids : Heathers Heavenly Vapes, Top Quality Custom E-Liquids Buy small bottle of Gandalf with 18 mg nicotine. (as you mentioned you're only asking hubby to buy 3 packs of cigarettes this week, I'm assuming you smoke about 10 a day. If you smoke a pack a day, then move the nicotine level up to 24 mg). This one is 100% VG. You will find a happy and fun adventure lays ahead. Then start looking at Rawr/Ahlusion/Mom&Pops to name a few. Order a few juice sample packs. You might want to try 80/20 or 70/30 PG/VG ratio for best throat hit. If you find you get a hard cough from inhaling you may be sensitive to PG and will need to lower the ratio. I believe HHV Gandalf is 100% VG. If you find you get "greasy lungs" feeling you may be sensitive to VG. You will intake a lot less nicotine than a regular cigarette provides in the time it provides, so chain vaping is OK. If you get a headache, lightheadedness, nausea that may be to do with the nicotine being too high. If you crave a cigarette then have one. If you crave a cigarette, but don;t want one, then you may need a juice in a higher nicotine level to get through those 1st ones in the morning/last ones at night/after a meal, etc moments. Hope that helps.You have a whole bunch of us here with nowt but good karma and support for you, so let your journey begin. Let us know how you do. Don't be a stranger

 

[AuBadge]

I wasn't afraid of quitting; I was afraid of not quitting. I worried for nothing; quitting (for me) was effortless once I started vaping. Those "not quitting" images were far worse than any "quitting" images I could conjur up.

Try to relax, do a little reading here, and I bet you'll discover the right device and nic level for you. The quitting part will happen when it happens. It's not the same for everyone. There are no failures or judgements here. Do what you do in your own time. Welcome.

 

[hrlw817]

So my quit date is October 1st. I have officially communicated it to family, friends, and the world, so there's no backing out this time. So here I sit, looking for kits/components, puffing away at a horrible Imperial disposable, and I'm overwhelmed with fear of quitting. What am I afraid of? NOT getting cancer?

Here's what it boils down to: I've tried to quit and failed. I'm afraid of failing again and never getting away from cigarettes. I'm afraid of becoming a demonic monster and having my husband and daughter hate life for a month. I'm afraid of change. I'm afraid that no matter how long I go without smoking, I'll still want one every day. I'm afraid of missing out on social activity from no smoke-breaks. I'm afraid of the irritability. I'm afraid that life will suck for a while.

I will replace these fears with: It takes many tries to quit, and I have a new friend that will help with e-cigs. Any mood swings should be better managed, since I'm still getting my nicotine, right? Life may suck for a while, and home life may be disastrous, but it's better than life as a cancer patient. If we never change, we never grow or improve. I may still want a cigarette every day, but each time I do, I will remind myself of how proud I am to have fought an addiction that is stronger than ...... and won. I'll just still hang out with smokers outside and vape instead!! I may be irritable at first, but it's worth living happier longer.

Anyone else afraid to quit? What's holding you back? Any words of wisdom from those who kicked the habit? October 1st. I told hubby to only buy me 3 packs this week because I'm DONE! (Plus, I can steal his if I want to cheat.)

Actually, if you quit smoking, and start e-cigs right after, you won't really notice that much of a change, other than you won't smell of cigs, and you'll start feeling better. It's amazing that once you start using e-cigs, you won't even think about a real one. Once you vape, even under some stress, you'll feel like smoking a real cig, but, the e-cig will take over.

Also, if you still smoke a regular cig, and start e-cigs, you'll find you want the e-cig more. That's how it's been for people that have gone that way. For me, I stopped smoking because I had a tooth pulled and the oral surgeon told me not to smoke for 3 days to let the area heal. I have been wanting to quit prior to that and that gave me the nudge to do so. I went almost 2 weeks and I was getting crabby. My wife said I was getting crabby. So, she said, "Either start smoking again or look into those e-cigs". I have been vaping for over a year, and I made the right choice.

 

[mostapha]

I never intended to quit smoking…I only wanted to replace the pointless chain-smoking with pointless chain-vaping.

It's since become a hobby, but my first cigarette-free day was one random day when I just forgot to smoke. When I remembered, I couldn't believe I did that for so long…I found it disgusting. I think I made it 2 drags in, then brushed my teeth, took a shower, and changed clothes……never went back.

Stick with vaping……maybe it'll become a hobby, maybe it won't. But smoking is no substitute for a good vape.

 

[boardopboy]

I'll be watching this one closely... I feel the exact same why.

 

[Apptiger]

So my quit date is October 1st. I have officially communicated it to family, friends, and the world, so there's no backing out this time. So here I sit, looking for kits/components, puffing away at a horrible Imperial disposable, and I'm overwhelmed with fear of quitting. What am I afraid of? NOT getting cancer?

Here's what it boils down to: I've tried to quit and failed. I'm afraid of failing again and never getting away from cigarettes. I'm afraid of becoming a demonic monster and having my husband and daughter hate life for a month. I'm afraid of change. I'm afraid that no matter how long I go without smoking, I'll still want one every day. I'm afraid of missing out on social activity from no smoke-breaks. I'm afraid of the irritability. I'm afraid that life will suck for a while.

I will replace these fears with: It takes many tries to quit, and I have a new friend that will help with e-cigs. Any mood swings should be better managed, since I'm still getting my nicotine, right? Life may suck for a while, and home life may be disastrous, but it's better than life as a cancer patient. If we never change, we never grow or improve. I may still want a cigarette every day, but each time I do, I will remind myself of how proud I am to have fought an addiction that is stronger than ...... and won. I'll just still hang out with smokers outside and vape instead!! I may be irritable at first, but it's worth living happier longer.

Anyone else afraid to quit? What's holding you back? Any words of wisdom from those who kicked the habit? October 1st. I told hubby to only buy me 3 packs this week because I'm DONE! (Plus, I can steal his if I want to cheat.)

Remember you only fail when you quit trying.
Would recommend like others starting at 24mg nic level. Also make sure you have enough batteries, supplies and juice nothing starts a panic like a dead battery or no juice. Just for insurance, go get blu disposable from your neighborhood Walgreens and use it as a back up. The newer ones were better an will do in a pinch.
I saw on a survey on this site the average vaper stepped down from the stinkys over about a six month period. Take that route if you need to, just get away from the stinkys.
It's worth it and you will be replacing an addiction with a hobby.

 

[jimrug1]

Hi VegasVGirl,

Welcome to ECF. I agree with those that said you are putting WAY too much pressure on yourself. I am a 37+ year 1 1/2 pack a day smoker. I loved smoking. Never really tried to quit. Unlike many on ECF I LOVE the taste of tobacco. I like a good tasting cigar. I chewed for a while, and I love the smell of a good pipe tobacco. I still do. One day I was checking out the weather channel website and saw a free trial ecig ad. I thought what the He**. I wanted to see what it was all about so I ordered it. When I got the kit, (I ordered the 26mg cartomizers) I had 3/4 of a pack of Marlboros. Two weeks later, that 3/4 pack of smokes was still sitting in my car. It took a lot of stress off knowing they were there if I needed them. Well, I ran out of cartomizers. Did some research, and purchased more powerful batteries and better tasting juice. I finished that pack and bought another one before my starter kit came in. (Ego twist bats, some clearomizers, and some cartomizers) Don't beat yourself up if you sneak an analog once in a while while you are finding the equipment and nic level that you are comfortable with. I ordered a number of different nic levels from 36mg down to 12. Its been 3+ months for me now. I still have maybe 2 - 3 analogs per week but I don't worry about that because I am on the right path.

You have taken a major first step by joining ECF. The advice and friendly support you will find here will make it hard for you to NOT quit smoking. No question is too dumb or trivial. The abbreviations and terms can become quite confusing. If you have a question, Ask it. Good luck and keep on trying... ;-)

BTW... I still take my cig breaks at work. I just go out and vape instead or smoke a cig ... ;-)

 

[shadco]

VVG

I agree with too much pressure.

It's easier than you think.

42 years average a pack and a half. Last saturday my kit came and even though I have 2 cartons of stinkies on the shelf I haven't even thought about having one.

Get good kit, I have 2 eGo Twists, and decent clearo's, Kanger T2's I ordered 18mg and 12mg juice and the 18 has been good enough.

Be sure you have a charged battery on hand, enough juice and a spare head of some type so that you don't get caught with out the safety blanket of functioning gear and you will be just fine. I've reordered juice after 3 days, and now have ordered some other stuff and some juice samples to experiment with using a atty for dripping and a variable voltage mod since I'm somewhat of a gear head.

Good working gear, juice you like with enough nicotine will give you confidence to stay with it and maybe even become enthusiastic about the change.

If your stuff doesn't work right it's too easy to fall back on your old habit.

 

[Lbox88]

Long story short



I've got faith in you. I myself am only 5 days in as you can see below and still crave an analog here an there, but I just pick up my ego and vape away

 

[GreekLion]

dont quit smoking. i still consider myself a smoker and i havent smoked in a year. the trick is to get addicted to vaping and choose it over cigarettes. i have tried to go back out of curiosity and they taste disgusting to me now.

all you need to do is last 3 days on the e cig alone, and just keep vaping. i used to smoke a pack a day.

 

[Robino1]

Many of us here have gone, is going through or will be going through the same thing. I think of this forum as my own CA group (cigarette addicts). Started with my kit approximately 11 days ago. As of today, I am down to 4 cigs from a pack a day habit! Vaping and ECF are my new habit. I have my coffee in the morning while vaping and waging a war in my brain about not having that first cig. I flip open my iPad and start cruising this forum, checking new posts, responding to some (like now). The next thing I know, I am on my third cup and haven't had that first cig yet! Then the devil wins and I have one. No biggie. I used to smoke two cigs per mug of coffee so I am winning with help from people that don't even know how much they are helping me!

My best advice, come here often. Read, read, read and learn. This is an amazing forum with a lot of amazing people that are all going through the switch from smoking to vaping. Some have made that switch very easily, others like me, are still in the process. I am still working on the total switch over and hope to do that soon. I don't have a timeline in mind. I am going to just let it happen.

I was terrified of having withdrawal. All the previous times I have tried quitting were horrid!!!! No sleep for days on end, aching legs all day long... The list is endless. This time, first night I didn't sleep well at all. But in analyzing the reason why, I came to the conclusion, I wasn't vaping enough nor did I have the right nic level. From reading here, I knew to get different levels to start until you find what works for you. When I ordered my kit I also ordered samples in different nic strengths. Started with 18mg and have found that the 24mg is what I need for now. In time I hope to S L O W L Y step down to lower levels. But the point is, there is no pressure.

Every person has different experiences, that's what makes us human. At the same time, we are all in the same boat in that we are looking for a healthier alternative to living with that nicotine addiction.

Good luck and please keep coming back here. These helpful amazing group of people are wonderful to use as sounding boards and have a wealth of information.

Robin

 

[starr1349]

Welcome to the forum here, lots of info to help you out. One of the posts I found really useful was the Symptoms when you quit smoking and switch to ecig post. That really helped me. No one ever told me that any of that happens. I had never heard of the "quitters flu", and let me tell you that made all the difference for me. Just knowing that other people out there are going through the same exact thing you are makes it a little bit easier. Every cigarette you don't smoke in my book is a win.

 

[FleetFoxes]

You just have to get past a little break in curve. Soon you won't ever want to go back to smoking real cigarettes ever again. Addiction is a strange thing. You have two devils on your shoulder and one is saying, "be afraiiiiiiiiiiid" when the truth is that you are doing something great for you and everyone around you. I promise just stick with it for a little bit and everything will be ok

 

[zuzette]

So my quit date is October 1st. I have officially communicated it to family, friends, and the world, so there's no backing out this time. So here I sit, looking for kits/components, puffing away at a horrible Imperial disposable, and I'm overwhelmed with fear of quitting. What am I afraid of? NOT getting cancer?

Here's what it boils down to: I've tried to quit and failed. I'm afraid of failing again and never getting away from cigarettes. I'm afraid of becoming a demonic monster and having my husband and daughter hate life for a month. I'm afraid of change. I'm afraid that no matter how long I go without smoking, I'll still want one every day. I'm afraid of missing out on social activity from no smoke-breaks. I'm afraid of the irritability. I'm afraid that life will suck for a while.

I will replace these fears with: It takes many tries to quit, and I have a new friend that will help with e-cigs. Any mood swings should be better managed, since I'm still getting my nicotine, right? Life may suck for a while, and home life may be disastrous, but it's better than life as a cancer patient. If we never change, we never grow or improve. I may still want a cigarette every day, but each time I do, I will remind myself of how proud I am to have fought an addiction that is stronger than ...... and won. I'll just still hang out with smokers outside and vape instead!! I may be irritable at first, but it's worth living happier longer.

Anyone else afraid to quit? What's holding you back? Any words of wisdom from those who kicked the habit? October 1st. I told hubby to only buy me 3 packs this week because I'm DONE! (Plus, I can steal his if I want to cheat.)

So basically you have put a whole lot of pressure on yourself to be less than human - and being the human that you are you are having doubts about your ability to live up to your own high pressure. congratulations - you are about to fail.

The fact is - no one can live up to that kind of pressure. Some do - for a while and some even learn to adapt and become the thing they are pressuring themselves to be.

but I think the whole point of wanting to quit is to be a happier person - isnt it?

yet you start your new venture with the high pressure - you are starting your quest to be happier by being unhappy. its a normal reaction.
but it does not work. It just puts you down farther along the path of unhappy and creates a bigger hole you have to dig yourself out of.

You are scared because you are not ready for such a drastic change. Yes - we have all be pressured by the media for years to go cold turkey. I have done it 4 times and each time - a year after quitting, I also started up again - cold turkey. No reason or super pressure.

relax about quitting.. You dont have to quit right this very darn second. especially of the pressure you have applied to yourself is going to send you right back to smoking.

many people on this board have vaped and smoked at the same time. but what usually happens is - they prefer vaping and slowly give up the cigs when they have replaced the cigs with vaping. No pressure - just steady on, easy does it and, over time, your desire for smoking decreases.

You have put a lot of effort into smoking so far in your life - creating new habits to replace those old messages takes time. So what?

Two months ago I was a 2 pack a day smoker. within a couple of weeks I was down to 10 a day. yesterday I announced I was never going to smoke again - I bought a new pack at noon - but today I only smoked 5 cigarettes! WOW - from 40 a day to 5! Isnt that remarkable? Isnt that wonderful?

I have smoked for over 30 years. To be down to 5 cigs a day is a huge deal. Its doable to imagine being rid of the last 5-10. It was not doable to imagine giving up a huge part of my life in one fell swoop.

Having gone the cold turkey route I know it does not lead to instant happiness. This time around I decided that being happy is the whole point of life and creating misery to make happiness is absurd. so I am going slow - taking it easy and staying happy even as I get happier.

 

[FreakyStylie]

I never intended on quitting. I just wanted to find some help to stop hacking up a lung. I ended up quitting.

I was afraid that I'd spend money on an e-cig; then it wouldn't work, so I'd still have to buy a carton of cigs and waste money. I ended up smoking like 3 to 5 cigs a day in the beginning. I changed a few routines around, and the other cigs I was smoking were gone.

In all honesty ... if a person went from a pack a day, down to 3 ... that's amazing. Too much stress won't work. I've always been a firm "harm reduction" believer. Do what you can, and keep coming here ... the e-cig community is full of the most wonderful people you'll ever meet, and that will help you succeed.

 

[VegasVGirl]

Wow! Thank you all so much for the support and advice. You are all right about the pressure, but as many of you know, previous attempts with NRT have been horrible, and it's stressful to walk into that again. Today is the day and amazingly, I'm doing great! I will post more detail in another thread, but it's great to know that I've got so many experts on my side.

 

[jander541]

Hey I just switched over and got an ego ce5 it is great. Good job on makeing the choice, I did because I have a 1 year old and didn't want to have the second and third hand smoke around him.