So frustrated... Could use some advice, totally stressed out at this. 3 Week Vape'r

[sjgold]

So.. I've been trying desperately to find e-liquid that I enjoy at the proper nic level to keep me not smoking/craving.

I've spent a lot on this and I'm ok with that but I've also spent a lot on substandard gear and liquid I will most likely never use.
My wife does not understand at all, she quit using chantrex a year ago (today no less) so she thinks that this is silly and a waste of money. Ok whatever... No big deal, its the closest i've come to quitting smoking, but theres still something in the back of my mind saying im failing.. ok whatever thats my own hangup.

Essentially it comes down to the liquid.. I hate throat hit. I mean really hate it. So I do mostly VG juice.
I order from some great places (Velvet Cloud, The Vapor Chef, Fancee, Alice, Heathers, ). We have a lot of local shops that mix and i've tried various flavors that I even tested at the store I get it home.. i hate it.

A lot of the juice I got was at a lower nic strength if I enjoyed it, I re-ordered at the next step up.. and its too harsh due to the higher nic content. Some times I am able to tone it down by mixing the lower strength with it, sometimes deluting with VG works. But if im not getting the right nic levels and frustrated its harder not to pick up an analog.

To make matters worse. A juice I like today or even multiple juices I like today I hate tommorow or the next day. I drink tons of water, I rotate through different juices in different carto's/clearos/tanks...

I just got an order in from Vapor Chef with 8 flavors at a bumped up nic level. I loved Honey Peary and Carmel Apple at nic 6 but at 11 when i dripped it I hated it, and this is VG only. The flavor was ok, but the harshness of the throat hit.... I steep the ones I dont enjoy and drip them every week to see if I like them again. No luck... Or the ones that are good that week I put into rotation and well.. a few days later I cant stand them. Most of the original batch's I got is at the wrong nic level.

I did order some 100mg/ml solution to bump up some of the juice, but if what im going through now where the increase of the nec level causes me to hate the juice (too harsh or a nasty nic flavor/burning) its not going to work well.

I've got decent gear (Silver Bullet, Ego Twist, Vivi Nova's, A really nice MAP tank, good carto's and arrt's, protank, iclear30, mt3s)
I've got more juice in route and a ton of shops locally. But like I said even with steeping either I get it home and hate it or I like it one day and hate it the next.
I drink tons of water...
Ok im sure you get the idea.

tldr; newbie frustrated, cant find good juice at the correct nic level he can tolerate

Thanks in Advance.

 

[LisaR]

What kind of gear are you using? That can make a difference in the throat hit, too. Personally, I like strong flavor, but not strong throat hit. One thing that may work for you, if you haven't tried it already, is a bottom coil clearo, like a Kanger T3, Evod, or Protank. I think the slightly cooler hit from the bottom feeder makes a "softer" hit.

edit: Oops, I must have missed the part where you said what gear you were using...

 

[heroinesick]

I think the most important thing to keep in mind is that every single cigarette you DON'T smoke is a win.

The second thing, and I'm pretty sure TONS of people will recommend this: Have you thought about DIY? That way you could mix to how YOU like it. It seems like it'd be alot cheaper, too.

I do know, a less expensive vendor, Mount Baker Vaper offers VG/Distilled water mix.. I'm not sure how that would affect throat hit though.

Also, you might want to try VapeDudes..their 95/5 vg/pg blend at 18 mg was very very mild, barely any throat hit in comparison to what I generally run (60/40 pg/vg)'

I'm not sure if any of that was even helpful, but I do wish the best of luck to you!

 

[Haktuspit]

First off I'd stick with the 100%VG stuff, I personally hate throat hit as well which just so happens to work as I have a PG sensitivity.

Secondly, after I quit my taste buds began to come back and what I thought would be my favorite juice forever I hated once I could taste stuff again. Order small bottles, get 100%VG. I'd also stick with simple flavors for now. I only do like HHV Legend and Johnson Creek Vanda right now for most of the time because I was sick of the same problem that you described.

Hopefully once you get your tastebuds working again you'll find a juice you love and stick with it. Good luck.

 

[Deacon Aegis]

sjgold, I really can empathize with your frustration. One thing that you might consider is checking out the local vaping scene directly and seeing if you can hook up with someone in person that has several rigs and has been vaping there for quite some time. They may be willing to hook up with you in person and let you try out some of their gear, configurations, and juices and help you both find the right set-up along with the right juices that will work for you. A knowledgeable local often is very willing to share both their experience and time with someone that is having some frustrations and issues and can really assist in solving these things. Such things as how "airy" a draw is can often effect flavor and TH. Rotating through certain setups and flavors dependant on what you are doing can help break things up so that you're not over working one setup or flavor. Using a carto or tank while out and about, dripping on an Atty while you're relaxing at home. Any number of variables may assist in your satisfaction with vaping over smoking, but going it alone can certainly be frustrating. I really, think you might be able to find some folks who would love to see if they can help you find that perfect personal solution locally. No matter what, I hope you really the best and I'm sure there will be others here with much more experience than I who can help give you some ideas to try to improve your experience. Good luck and don't get overly frustrated, even if you still need to hit the analogs once in a while now and then until you find the perfect solution for yourself.

 

[LisaR]

OK, my last advice wasn't that great, but I think I have something better now...

Get the juice you like at the lower nic levels. Vape it most of the time. But then get some really strong juice to combat the nicotine cravings, and just use it when you need it. You may even want to pick up an NJoy King for those times. They are not cost effective for constant use, but they really do mimic a cigarette when you need it. And their nic level is high--I think it's 48 mg (wow!). It's something you could take a few puffs from when you need to, but vape something you enjoy the rest of the time.

 

[Schnarph]

I could be wrong, but after 3 weeks of 6mg you should be past the strong nicotine addiction. The psychological desire to smoke something is easily just as strong if not stronger. You are already doing what you can to limit the TH (throat hit) using bottom coil devices and almost all VG, disguising the TH that nicotine makes is going to be a tough one. If you can handle the flavor and TH at 6mg, stick with what is working if you can. Good luck!

 

[Dana A]

Not sure if you want to try this or not but maybe you could just use as high of nic as you can handle TH wise and when the cravings get really bad you could use some snus, gum or a patch. I have been going down 1 mg every 3 or 4 weeks for a looong time now and a few times I have told my husband that this is as low as I will ever be able to get because I had such bad nic fits but after about 2 or 3 days I seem to level out and am OK again. Today I am at 12 mg. I started at 26 just over a year ago. My plan is to get to 0 if I can and who knows from there. If you can suffer it out for a few days on a nic level you can handle the TH with you may be able to get used to the lower nic. I feel like a chump telling you to suffer for a few days because it may not work but it could be worth a try. I hope this helps. Too much TH takes all the fun out of vaping. I feel for you. Good luck.

 

[Ryedan]

You've had some great advice here already. Just wanted to add one more. This might sound a bit strange, but try pulling vapor into your mouth and then push it out through your nose without inhaling into your lungs first. Kinda like some people smoke a pipe. This might keep you away from the worst of the TH but get you the nicotine you need through the mucus membranes in you mouth/nasal system. Best of luck with it!

 

[Katya]

I've got decent gear (Silver Bullet, Ego Twist, Vivi Nova's, A really nice MAP tank, good carto's and arrt's, protank, iclear30, mt3s)
I've got more juice in route and a ton of shops locally. But like I said even with steeping either I get it home and hate it or I like it one day and hate it the next.
I drink tons of water...
Ok im sure you get the idea.

tldr; newbie frustrated, cant find good juice at the correct nic level he can tolerate

Thanks in Advance.

Sj, I have a feeling that you may just have too much gear and not enough patience... You own a lot of great stuff! Take one device at a time and learn how to use it properly. They all work, but it takes some time. Vaping is not like smoking; there is a learning curve. Slow down and try to enjoy the process.

It's not easy to find a juice you love; you'll get there, eventually, if you're patient. If nothing tastes good, try vaping some unflavored--just PG/VG and some nic. Be very careful with 100 mg/ml nicotine--it's dangerous stuff and it will alter the taste of your eliquids; nicotine tastes peppery by itself. I would try 12 and 18 mg concentrations, 6 is very low. Experiment and you'll find your sweet spot.

It should be fun!

Good luck and happy vaping!

 

[cherrycakes]

try vaping like 6 mg stuff throughout the day and then use the 11 mg if u need it

actually that's a pretty big leap, from 6 to 11.
have you tried like 8 ?

 

[Ken_A]

you get more throat hit (Like coughing and gagging) when you draw the vapor directly into your lungs. draw it into your mouth and count to two, then breath it in. Or smoke it like I used to smoke my pipe. Puff on it two or three times, THEN draw it into your mouth and from there into your lungs.
The advantage I found to this is that I get lots of pretty vapor when I just puff it in and directly out, and the lung filling feeling when I breath it in.
Mint flavors and "flowery" flavors have more throat hit.
Berry flavors (Blueberry, Blackberry, etc.) and melon flavors have less throat hit.
Black cherry has more hit than normal cherry and cherry has more than berry flavors.

Just remember that it's not always the device. I use an eGo Twist and ePipes. I just purchased a couple of Vision Spinners. I don't really need a device with an advanced flight console to get a good vape. I'm likely to get one in the future, but I've only been vaping for 5 months yet and I have what works for me.

 

[cocacola31173]

As far as the nicotine goes no matter how much you use you are still going through some withdrawal of the thousand of other chemicals that was in cigs. The first month or so is hard but if you stick to it will get better. The first month I basically fell apart. I had sinus problems and my body would ache all over.

Now all that is over and I have never felt better. I use 18 mg nicotine but I found out that my cravings have stopped! I can all day if I need to without vaping where I could never do that while smoking. That what determine to me that there was something else in cigs that was hooking me to them.

 

[sjgold]

I think the most important thing to keep in mind is that every single cigarette you DON'T smoke is a win.

The second thing, and I'm pretty sure TONS of people will recommend this: Have you thought about DIY? That way you could mix to how YOU like it. It seems like it'd be alot cheaper, too.

I do know, a less expensive vendor, Mount Baker Vaper offers VG/Distilled water mix.. I'm not sure how that would affect throat hit though.

Also, you might want to try VapeDudes..their 95/5 vg/pg blend at 18 mg was very very mild, barely any throat hit in comparison to what I generally run (60/40 pg/vg)'

I'm not sure if any of that was even helpful, but I do wish the best of luck to you!

Very helpful, I placed a largish sample order with VapeDude's to try out. Also MBV is on my list of places to pick up Juice from but they are not selling 15ml bottles at the moment. So I am holding off till they start with the 15's again.

I have considered DIY and I have here Distilled Water, Vodka, PG, VG. I have some 100mg Nic base on order (only 30ml but that should last for a bit) I'll be picking up lorann concentrated flavorings next week as well.

But yes thanks you. Very helpful.

 

[sjgold]

you get more throat hit (Like coughing and gagging) when you draw the vapor directly into your lungs. draw it into your mouth and count to two, then breath it in. Or smoke it like I used to smoke my pipe. Puff on it two or three times, THEN draw it into your mouth and from there into your lungs.
The advantage I found to this is that I get lots of pretty vapor when I just puff it in and directly out, and the lung filling feeling when I breath it in.
Mint flavors and "flowery" flavors have more throat hit.
Berry flavors (Blueberry, Blackberry, etc.) and melon flavors have less throat hit.
Black cherry has more hit than normal cherry and cherry has more than berry flavors.

Just remember that it's not always the device. I use an eGo Twist and ePipes. I just purchased a couple of Vision Spinners. I don't really need a device with an advanced flight console to get a good vape. I'm likely to get one in the future, but I've only been vaping for 5 months yet and I have what works for me.

Wow thank you for that breakdown on the flavoring that helps a lot.

 

[sjgold]

try vaping like 6 mg stuff throughout the day and then use the 11 mg if u need it

actually that's a pretty big leap, from 6 to 11.
have you tried like 8 ?

I've pretty much tried anything up to 24... I do have a flavor that I can vape at 24 sometimes. Its weird sometimes I can handle it..sometimes I can not. The way I do my juice orders it to start with an 11mg base just small bottles with as much VG as they offer.
If I like it I bump to 16/18 on the re-order usually at a larger amount, as the thought is that if its to strong, I can do a mix on the original stuff and create a hybrid say like 13-15.

Problem here is when I started with the juice orders I was doing this at 6-8nic.

Some further info.. when I was at the store I got my initial twist starter, I was doing 16 and I got oh such the head rush so we made my first juice 11. After 3 days of vaping 11 I was getting nic sick. Like bad, I remember one night just floating in bed....was very weird. So I had them cut the juice a bit and starting buying 6 and 8's and then my nic tolerance changed. Very strange. I know my body is re-adjusting but this is silly LOL

 

[sjgold]

I mostly vape like someone would smoke a pipe. I don't direct inhale.

 

[crxess]

Just wanted to post to let you know you are not alone. I'm 8 months smoke free and loving it. That is the Key that keeps me going. Every day without is a win no matter what else goes wrong.

I have cabinets full of all different kinds of e-liquids I Hate/don't like/not happy with/or just okay. I do some cross mixing to get rid of the ones I can tolerate and keep looking for the right mix foe me.
One thing that does help. I use only 12 mg as that is enough to get me by and not push the Nic. I keep (1) specific juice at 18mg for those Stress emergencies.
You will find better success if enjoying the flavor rather than worrying about the Nic strength and only reaching for that special fix when in stress.
If I never find my perfect blend, so be it. I have found my formula to survive and be successful.

 

[WageSlaveEscapist]

Stary DIYing your liquid. you will save money and will get it right eventually. i vape green apple all day every day, been having a hard time finding other good flavors on a minimalist budget, but $20 started me out like a month ago and i've still got lots left. 5ml/day, 5v 2a diy passthrough, cost me $10 to make and buy the adapter, and Boge cartos, carton a month which is $7

 

[Gregoroth]

I find different vendors nic has different throat hit. Some nic is very sublte and gives almost no hit while some makes me cough (I crave TH btw) PM me and ill try to help. Im having the opposite problem, lots of great juice but my equipment is not performing the way I want. And I have a good amount of equipment.