So when did you start to feel "better" (over the hump) when switching?

[novicecrafter]

A few questions if I may.

1. How long did it take to really feel "better" after making the switch. Not necesarily including minor physical symptoms like a sore throat etc- but the obnoxious withdrawl ones. Depression, fatique, flu like symptoms and of course missing analogs because ecigs just didnt "satisfy". (missing all the other alkoloids/maoi)

2. How much were you smoking before the switch? A pack a day, half that?

3. Strength and purity of what you used to smoke? Flavored ultra light type stuff (sweet dreams anyone) or camel non filtered or rollies and everything in between.

I am hoping that we can put together some kind of "what to expect" in a very general sense for those about to embark. I feel like I have been living on this forum for the last few days but I haven't felt strong enough to leave the house yet for more then a few minutes at a time. I can smell someone smoking 50 FEET away. No exaggeration! It is maddening and the cravings are horrible when I see someone enjoying an analog freely. This community and the interactions along with the hours worth of research materials using the search function is worth its weight in gold. Sorry if these questions have already been covered but I dont remember seeing any other posts that included all of these aspects of the switch.

Thanks!

 

[samuraijill]

Hi novice, I'm about a week and a half with no smokes at all, and I'm not over the hump. The last couple of days have been tough. I'm going through some panicky episodes, but nothing else physical to speak of that I've noticed. The first week was easier than this week for some reason. I'm almost out of my favorite liquid, and that is kind of making me freak out even though I have lots of others, dumb I know.

I smoked more or less (usually less) than a pack of Marlboro Mediums a day for many years, I've been smoking 25 years altogether at about the same rate.

I'm using 24mg liquid now and it's definitely what I need to keep the cravings away, although I've got to figure out something else for late night because I'm barely sleeping and I'm sure it's my nighttime nicotine intake.

Hope it gets better soon, for both of us, and always nice to see a fellow Oregonian, I did my time in Portland and still love it in spirit!

I wanted to add that I've been living on the forum for weeks, less just lately, I've settled into a routine, found a liquid vendor that works for me and am having no technical issues, but I find I have days where I need to hang around here just for the support I get from lurking around.

 

[James Wall]

Hello Novice. 25 year smoker, full flavor, a pack or more per day. I've been using the e-cig for about a year and a half.

I'd say my physical issues; congestion, etc. stopped within about a week. Within the first couple of weeks I'd noticed improvements in my breathing, sense of smell/taste. Depression and flu, I wouldn't say I went through a flu-like episode. In fact it was probably a few months after I started that I happened to get a cold. Since I started vaping I haven't had any upper repiratory infections,, which I used to get 2-3 times per year. I'm on Sertraline for IBS, since it's an anti-depressant as well I'd say I'm not a good judge for whether or not or how long depression lasts. I didn't go through any.

How long does it take to get over the craving for analogs? After a year and a half (and I have cheated a fair amount) I'd say I still get an occassional craving when I'm under a lot of stress. I move to a higher nic liquid for a bit till it passes. I am currently at 1 month with no analogs again.

Hope this helps answer some of your questions.

 

[phonedude]

A few questions if I may.

1. How long did it take to really feel "better" after making the switch. Not necesarily including minor physical symptoms like a sore throat etc- but the obnoxious withdrawl ones. Depression, fatique, flu like symptoms and of course missing analogs because ecigs just didnt "satisfy". (missing all the other alkoloids/maoi)

2. How much were you smoking before the switch? A pack a day, half that?

3. Strength and purity of what you used to smoke? Flavored ultra light type stuff (sweet dreams anyone) or camel non filtered or rollies and everything in between.

I am hoping that we can put together some kind of "what to expect" in a very general sense for those about to embark. I feel like I have been living on this forum for the last few days but I haven't felt strong enough to leave the house yet for more then a few minutes at a time. I can smell someone smoking 50 FEET away. No exaggeration! It is maddening and the cravings are horrible when I see someone enjoying an analog freely. This community and the interactions along with the hours worth of research materials using the search function is worth its weight in gold. Sorry if these questions have already been covered but I dont remember seeing any other posts that included all of these aspects of the switch.

Thanks!

Over the 40 years I smoked I mainly smoked Marboros and Camel Filters. For the last several years I stuffed filtered tubes with pipe/cigarette tobacco. They were a little harsh. I generally smoked 40 to 50 cigarettes a day.

The day I bought my first e-cig at the smokeshop near my house I stopped smoking cigarettes.

Within a week I could breath easier. Able to take a deep breath again. It had been years.

Within two weeks I totally stopped coughing. No more hacking when I woke up or waking myself up coughing and needing to keep Kleenex by the bed. It just stopped.

For about the first month I had the usual quitting symptoms. Runny nose, sore mouth and gums. I never did get the quitters acne thank goodness.

It has been almost four months and I feel great. Again, no more coughing and no running nose. The only symptom that I had attributed to smoking that hasn't really improved is a feeling that my nose is slightly plugged. But there are several other things that may have caused this. And it may never improve.

I don't even think of cigarettes anymore. For the first week I had very mild cravings. For about the first two months I was curious to take a "drag" of a cigarette. But it was more curiosity than an actual craving. The few times I did they tasted terrible. Did not make me want to run out and buy a pack.

Hope this information helps a little. This is of course just how it worked for me.

I wanted to quit very badly and knew with the first puff of my e-cig that it would be an acceptable way for me to quit.

And it has been. Wishing you the best of luck.

 

[vapbear]

I quit analogs just shy of 2 months ago and I'd have to say that the first 6 days were the worst for me. I was very grouchy, tired, anxious(I have pretty severe panic disoder and generalized anxiety disorder so at first these got worse). After the first week it got easier and I began to miss smoking less and less. I have had more pimples than usual since I quit but with any luck that will stop soon. I smoked for almost 24 years and was at about a pack a day of American Spirit mediums or lights. I found out during my first week off the cigs that American Spirits use freebase nicotine which is extremely addicitve and finding that out gave me the extra determination I needed to never go back to smoking. I started out with safe cig and began to find myself highly annoyed by how often those batteries need charging, plus the flavor and vapor production left much to be desired. I decided it was time to upgrade and now have and Echo 1300mah auto chrome that I'm in love with and and Ego that I have yet to use since I don't see myself loving any other mod more than my beloved Echo right now. For anyone who is in the very begining of quiting analogs my advice is to hang in there and stay determined. Quitting smoking is one of the best things you can do for yourself and vaping will become such a pleasure. Consider getting a mod that has longer battery life than the basic e cigs and try out a bunch of e juices. Before you know it you'll be over the hump and one happy vaping camper.

 

[davelog]

I had my last cigarette 70 days ago. Never had withdrawals or mood problems (unlike the countless times I'd tried to quit before upgrading my e-cig), never craved an 'actual' smoke. It was as painless as could be.

After about a week, I noticed that I wasn't waking up wheezing any more. After a couple of weeks, food started tasting better and I began to notice how much my office smells like feet.

Over 2 months in now, and looking back I can say that I don't get winded nearly as easily, the persistent rattle in my chest is now only there on rare occasions, and the eternal yellow stain on my fingers has disappeared for good. I've also noticed that the wife is happier, for reasons I won't discuss in polite company.

36 year smoker, over 2 packs a day for at least the last 20 of that.

 

[Outre]

I think this is a "Your Results May Vary" type of thing.

Smoked 33 years, right before switching about ten to fifteen American Spirit Milds, smoking outside (behavior modification) and using Nic-Out filters.

Switched and no real mood swings, depression, or flu symptoms. Immediately did not miss analogs. five packs still sitting on a shelf getting dusty.

One thing I did get was some crazy acne. Never had bumps like this, some as big as a nickel and embedded deep in the skin, very red and inflamed in appearance. Scared to go out lest someone think I'm diseased.

Remembered something from a naturopath visited years ago and started taking a mega B vitamin, also supplementing with C to balance it out. Helped some, but not all. Found some great black Moor Mud soap 2 weeks ago that's finally clearing it up. So this is almost over.

Before switching my left lung felt deficient and restricted like the air wasn't getting in there. After three months I can feel the air moving into it.

Not much else since I was already using analogs outside my apt was already clean. Oh yes, my sense of smell got better fast and the smell of someone smoking is unpleasant.

That's it right now.

 

[UrbanZexy]

Have any of you guys begun to drop down the nic levels yet? If so, how long did it take you to feel comfortable enough to try it?

 

[UrbanZexy]

P.S. I feel like eating a horse. And that's coming from a vegetarian. Ha!

 

[novicecrafter]

I have had to drop nic levels against my will I ran out of my good stuff and had to buy the lame stuff from 7/11. It was kinda lame at first and you never quite feel satisfied but it is tolerable. Just having that mental "I can vape if I want to" helps. And as for the eating.. well I say just let yourself do it. I couldnt handle trying to maintain self control against smoking AND the increased appetite at the same time. And they say eat carrot sticks or celery. Yeah right.. that wont satisfy. I ate donuts (which I have NEVER done otherwise- just not my thing), ice cream, burgers... (not at once) but still!!! Way unusual for me but you know what just eat what your body wants for a week or so. You may gain a pound but you will feel better mentally.

 

[GitMoe]

Smoked PAD Parliament UL. My quit symptoms lasted about a month and they were awful. Felt really sick, tired but insomnia, headaches, bad muscle pain, and terrible bloody gums were just the worst of the symptoms. They all finally went away after about 30 days. Some lingered a bit longer.

 

[ShannonA]

To the OP I smoked for 20 years a pack 1/2 to 2 packs of lights a day. As far as withdrawels day 4 was the only rough day I had. My hubby who smoked for about 25 yrs and smoked full flavors had a very rough 1st week. I even considering spiking his tea *Evil grin*. Since then I have had no withdrawels. I never coughed up anything but I did have stuffy sinuses and soreness in my mmouth and gums for a month or so.

Have any of you guys begun to drop down the nic levels yet? If so, how long did it take you to feel comfortable enough to try it?

I started out on 18 and vaped hubby's 24 once or twice when hard cravings came on. After about a month I dropped to 15, another two weeks I dropped to 12 and now I'm at 10 but I feel like I need to stay at 10 for awhile. When I start vaping less (meaning when I'm still I'm not puffing that often) I feel its time to drop a level.

 

[DirtyLefty]

I quit smoking and started vaping a year ago yesterday. It was my last day on analogs.

For some background, I had quit a couple of times using Commit Lozenges for extended periods (6 mos - 9 mos) but I had always come back to smoking. I loved smoking more than I loved candy, apparently.

I smoked for 13 years, from age 18-31 at about a pack a day (usually a little more, but I only sleep about 4 hours a night usually so yeah, that contributed to smoking extra). My brand was Marlboro Lights with an occasional pack of Camel Red Lights thrown in every once in a while.

I decided to quit again, having just gotten engaged and feeling like I owed it to my Fiance (now my wife ) to make that whole "rest of my life" thing carry a bigger warranty. I had heard commercials on the radio and seen some things on the internets, but my first e-cig came from a 7-11 - an NJoy 2n1 duo kit, that I picked up for $20.

I had never allowed myself to smoke indoors (too many electronics to ruin), so immediately the ability to vape indoors was a huge selling point for me. Before I vaped through my second carto on the njoy, I was registering here and checking out cignot.com to order better gear. The rest, as they say, is history.

I vape 24mg tobacco flavors, with an occasional fruity sample thrown in (right now my fruity sample is Jungle Juice from FSUSA - which is pretty good).

I went through some weird cravings about 4 weeks after I started during some equipment failure (more accurately, I hadn't gotten used to having to order things online and let my supply of cartridges/atomizers lapse) - I fell back on my trusy nJoy and made it through. I still get the occasional craving for a cigarette when my stress maxes out and I'm in a place where I can't vape, but I have so far been successful at staying off the ledge.

For health stuff, I had pretty bad sores in my mouth for the first couple of months. I thought I was burning myself with the vapor, but read some of the health things here and realized it was my mouth freaking out from the lack of nicotine. I had pretty bad bronchitis symptoms too, but over the first six weeks my lungs started clearing out. Occasionally I still get a chunk or two in the morning. I did not have other cold or flu symptoms at all. I did notice an increase in perspiration (heavy flop sweats, especially at night) but those subsided too. I also gained about 30 pounds, which I am now trying to combat with diet and exercise. I have no change in mood - I was depressed while I smoked, and I'm still feeling depressed pretty often now.

All in all, was it worth it? Oh hell yes, vaping is so much better even with all the quitting syndrome.

 

[renstyle]

A few questions if I may.

1. How long did it take to really feel "better" after making the switch. Not necesarily including minor physical symptoms like a sore throat etc- but the obnoxious withdrawl ones. Depression, fatique, flu like symptoms and of course missing analogs because ecigs just didnt "satisfy". (missing all the other alkoloids/maoi)

Felt just fine after 2 weeks. I had a cold at the same time, so it could have been less than that. I wasn't able to take a DEEP BREATH for at least a month w/o coughing, it took that long for the cigarette effects to finally wane. It's so nice to be able to do that now!

2. How much were you smoking before the switch? A pack a day, half that?

When I switched I was down to 3/4 PAD, give or take. High end on that years earlier was closer to a firm 2 PAD, but it varied considerably over time (for me was 20 years).

3. Strength and purity of what you used to smoke? Flavored ultra light type stuff (sweet dreams anyone) or camel non filtered or rollies and everything in between.

Marlboro Reds, and Marlboro "Blue pack" 72s were my two main choices. Went on Camel Wides stints several times for a while as well. Of course, there were always the Doral/Basic/GPC days where you'd almost re-light a .... you were so broke!

 

[Becka]

I'm still in my first week of quitting, so we'll have to see how it goes. I have been vaping for only 3 weeks. When I started I had no intention of quitting, I was just planning to use the vaping to cut back on analogs and save some money, since vaping is much cheaper than smoking. I preferred vaping immediately, so when I ran out of cigs on Monday I just decided not to buy anymore and see what happens.

I was fine the first day, the second and third day I was extremely irritable and was vaping like crazy, yesterday and today I have been fine although I think I am starting to get the quit zits (I thought it was due to the weather, but after reading the side effects on here I think it's from quitting).

My sinuses have been very stuffy but I haven't figured out if its from vaping or not. I had a upper respiratory infections recently and was having a lot of sinus drainage before I started vaping so it could just be from that. I also have severe allergies that I get shots for so it's hard to tell if any of the changes are caused by vaping or just my normal allergy problems.

So, that was week one... to be continued.

 

[mostlyclassics]

1. How long did it take to really feel "better" after making the switch?

I went through a lot of symptoms during the transition, but not all of the usual ones. Right off the bat, I hawked up all sorts of unappetizing "lung oysters," and this went on for about a month. The acne, especially scalp acne, started within two weeks and finally went away about three months later. Three weeks in, I came down with what I thought was the Mother of All Colds, but now I recognize it as one of the symptoms of switching nicotine delivery systems. I never had depression or fatigue. And I never craved cigarettes, in small part because I've been reducing my stash by a couple or three cigarettes per day (I invested in them, so by gum, I'm going to smoke them!). But I have to consciously make myself smoke those few cigarettes per day.

2. & 3. How much were you smoking before the switch? A pack a day, half that? Strength and purity of what you used to smoke?

I used to smoke three packs per day of Marlboro Ultra Lights or equivalent, each one smoked down to the filter and each drag inhaled down to my toenails. The few I smoke now, I generally snub out about 3/4ths of an inch from the filter, and I only inhale only down to about my larynx, much as I vape.

I'd been a smoker for 45 years, starting in high school. I'm 63 now. I'd tried every way to quit, excepting hypnosis and Chantix. I thought my starter kit from Liberty Flights would be a fun toy, or at best a way to slightly moderate my cigarette consumption, much as I used tobacco pipes. Instead, I took to vaping almost instantly. After a couple of weeks of vaping exclusively, I realized I hadn't lit a single analog. Then, because I still had six cartons, I came up with the "few per day" approach, simply to use them up.

Bear in mind that I'm somewhat weird, insofar as I still enjoy the taste and smell of smoldering cigarettes. You'll never find me calling them "stinky sticks" or anything like that. I also totally enjoy really pungent English or Balkan pipe tobaccos, both while I'm puffing on a pipe or when I'm not and merely in the presence of pipe smokers puffing away.

My general health seems to have improved somewhat, but it was pretty good to begin with. The incipient COPD has disappeared — no more chronic coughing or wheezing. My blood pressure has dropped from about 120 / 70 (measured in the doctor's office) to 105-110 / 55-60 (according to my wife's blood pressure monitor). If I sit up in bed too quickly, I'll get a brief case of the whirlies, but that disappears in seconds. My gum color has returned to a normal pinkish. My sense of taste is marginally better, but it was pretty good even when I smoked three packs per day.

The main impact on my life has been the acceptance factor. People I know are universally supportive. I've even converted smoking friends: more than half of my smoking friends have now converted to vaping. (Those that didn't convert mostly used pipes for some of their nicotine delivery.) And I can vape in taverns and restaurants instead of having to go outside to smoke a cigarette.

 

[sidetrack]

smoked 25 cigs per/day of Marl lights. I quit back in January and didn't notice any withdrawal symptoms. Lungs quit gurggling on day 3 and morning "smokers caugh" at about the same time. Things don't taste any better or any worse. Smell is the same as before..smoking never seemed to affect my sence of smell, it has always been unusually good.