Something is missing and I'm not sure what

[Fenrir]

I was smoking 1.5 to 2 packs a day for 30 years..I've been vaping for about 8 days with a Valcano/Blu and i doubt i'll be going back to analogs anytime soon, but like the subject says, something is missing..

I'm not sure if it's the rat poison, arsenic, cyanide, etc etc.. but I'm still craving something.. it's not the nicotine as i've gotten myself high and a little sick feeling on more then one occasion during my first few days .. the throat hit, while not consistent, doesn't seem to be it either..

Anybody else know what I'm talking about, have any suggestions as to what it might be and/or where to look in the forum for an answer? As any search I've done, the amount of results I get makes my eyes bleed before i read any threads

I did lurk, before a becoming a member, so before you L88 haters say it.. I have an eGo on the way to keep up with my demands

Thanx

 

[bearscreek]

I'm sure someone will be along ASAP with the links, but until then, get yourself some snus or some Stonewalls. Swedish snus is the best, but you might like Marlboro or Camel until you can get better. Call your local smoke shops and ask for Stonewalls or Ariva.

 

[CaptJay]

Wait until you get your eGo which is more powerful than your Blu before you draw any firm conclusions.
It could be that you're missing hte MAOI in tobacco in which case you might want to slide down to the smokeless tobacco forums here and have a read down there about supplementing vaping with something like Swedish Snus but give your eGo a crack first and see if you feel the same way after you've used it for a little while.

 

[christina7]

I found I am missing the..............guilt. Seriously though. The thought of sneaking a smoke is more rewarding and exciting for me than actually smoking it. Which I now hate. I know, makes no sense. My eGo really does satisfy all my cravings and fixations. Its just that guilt thing that I miss.

c.

 

[5cardstud]

I know exactly what your talking about. It haunted me for a very long time but has finally ceased. I thought it was smoking so I tried one and it was terrible plus that wasn't it. I think it's just the mechanics of smoking and the smell that is missing. The good news is it does eventually go away, at least it did for me. By the way I smoked between 45 to 50 yrs.

 

[dshack]

The frist 1-2 weeks after quitting, I still wanted to smoke but not for the nicotine. I couldn't put my finger on it either. I finally came to a conclusion….
#1 I was missing the HABIT of pulling out a pack of cigarettes, lighting it up and using an ashtray. It sounds strange, but I was addicted to the ritual of smoking. This passed however in the 3rd week.
#2 I wasn't getting a big cloud of vapor like a cigarette. Switching to a +20% VG liquid solved that! Seeing and feeling that big cloud was also a big part of the habit.
This is way e-cigs are so great, they address about 90% of what a smoker needs to quit. There is a hump to get over though and it will pass soon.

Also, I agree with CaptJay. The eGo will blow the doors of a Blu! You also need to try 5 volts. MUCH better flavor and hits! Try a 5v USB Passthrough from Electro-Nic-Stix. ~$15 and well worth the money!

 

[Automaton]

Try taking "smoke breaks."

Go outside, take 10 to 15 pulls over a few minutes, and go back in.

I found that for the first few weeks for me, this helped calm the "something's missing" feeling. The habit. The behavior. The "break" of smoking.

If that doesn't help, it may also be, as someone else mentioned, the MAOI's in cigarettes. E-juice doesn't have MAOI's, and there are some smokers who are just as addicted to MAOI's as they are to nicotine.

MAOI's slow the re-absorption of dopamine in your brain, and thus they are a very effective anti-depressant. And nicotine hikes up the amount of dopamine your brain produces. So between the two of them, your average smoker has a LOT of dopamine in their brain.

When you switch to e-cigs, and just nicotine with no MAOI's, some people find they begin to have withdrawal from the MAOI's. They may compensate by vaping more, and taking in more nicotine.

If you think you can tough it out, then do. But if you need extra help, you can try smokeless tobacco products.

Snus is basically a tobacco "tea bag" that you put in your mouth. It will give you the MAOI's that e-juice lacks, and hopefully calm the MAOI craving.

Snuff is a powder-y tobacco that you sniff gentle into your nose. You pinch a bit between your fingers, and sniff a bit into each nostril. Sounds weird, I know, but this will also work.

I didn't find the MAOI withdrawal to be too bad, personally, but I do sometimes get that urge. And I have a couple of very small containers of snuff for those times.

 

[satoshi]

I know exactly what you're talking about, so I've remained on analogs along with my vaping for the past 6 months or so. Wouldn't recommend that, but...

You can try snus...personally I thought they were terrible, and I tried several different varieties. I lit up immediately after each time no matter how long I forced myself to keep it in there.

There are actually lot of people who have experienced the same thing, it's a common topic on the forum. More power to anyone who finds that with smokeless tobacco, it just isn't the case for many people.

 

[voltaire]

You've already been pointed in the right general direction, there are indeed a lot of resources on this forum where you'll find some answers after a lot of reading. If you want the cliff notes, try this: (make sure to read all three parts)
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/blogs/dvap/642-madame-psychosis-summary-pt-1.html

 

[Denrock316]

For the first 2 months I vaped I also smoked 1-3 analogs a day also. I found that I had to finally just tough out the urges for the first couple days to get past it. I'm on day 4 now and it is getting a lot easier. I also just got better juice (from freedomsmokeusa) with 20% vg and it makes a much more cig like vapor compared to the all PG juice I was using. I found that this and going from 12-18mg nic strength really helps.

 

[javajoe]

I have been a smoker and a coffee drinker for well over a decade, but in the last two weeks I have found one thing that satisfies that "something missing" and that is to down a big glass of fresh coffee WHILE vaping 15 -20 drags. Works for me.

EDIT: quick google search found this.

http://www.biopsychiatry.com/coffee-maoi.htm


I also found this, but might be wrong. I think these are foods that react with and lessen the amounts of Maoi's present in the body. Am I correct in this assumption? and if that is so would avoiding them as if recieving maoi therapy have an effect?

http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/maois/maois_info2.shtml

 

[Fenrir]

MAOI's? so I might have a twofer addiction? Awesome.. thanks corporate America

Guess I'll go poke around in the smokeless forums and do some homework, while I stalk my postal worker

thanx for the tips

 

[Sgt.Taz]

I think there is some other chemical in there no one is admitting is there. No conspiracy theory stuff, but honestly the first 5 days I'd get that missing feeling along with a headache. It was like the times I tried to quit without my e-cig. Thankfully it passed and will-power got me through it. I did set up like I was smoking to cure the psychological end of it. I used a clean ash tray by my computer and in my car to hold my e-cig. I'd try and stick it out a bit before going to smokeless or using an analogue.
Hey if you have a iPhone you can use the Zippo app to light your e-cig "ultimate psychological tool"

 

[Denrock316]

You might be on to something. I had a headache when I got up today had to take 2 aspirin to kill it. I've had some pretty vivid dreams the last 2 nights also. Last night I had this dream I was running around a huge stadium in a mad-max post apocalyptic looking setting looking for e-juice, it was pretty weird.

 

[PaulCincy]

One thing that I really missed was the TH....and the way the vaper didn't fill my lungs....like an analog did...
Once I learned how to vape correctly and had the right nic levels with the PG / VG percentage that worked
for me...I have not noticed much difference....It does take time and desire....and of course trying different
things that works for you....P.S....It is so worth it when you finally hit your own "Sweet Spot" when vaping...
Keep at it...you will enjoy it so much better....and of course.......Enjoy the Adventure...

 

[NewLou]

I know what you are talking about. I experienced this, too. I guessed that what I missed was the immediate rush/relief of taking a couple tokes off a cigarette when I hadn't smoked for a couple hours. Ecigs satisfy nic. craving in a much more subtle, gradual way. I would notice myself making that "ah" sigh of relief/satisfaction (from nic. satiation) after about 15 minutes of vaping.

I dealt with this by chain vaping at first. I also started to do the "satisfaction sigh" when I vaped (sort of tricking myself?) Anyway, knowing that the feeling would pass helped. And now I don't miss it as much anymore. I'm more focused on figuring out which flavor I am in the mood for!

 

[fritos1]

Welcome to ecf and the ego club

 

[Bwig]

The throat hit is the problem for me. I haven't found the right juice or liquid so satify that, people are saying up the nic; however I will not increase the nic. so I guess I'll just keep trying. PS many different senior vapors say that pure grain alcohol creats a great throat hit.

 

[voltaire]

The throat hit is the problem for me. I haven't found the right juice or liquid so satify that, people are saying up the nic; however I will not increase the nic. so I guess I'll just keep trying. PS many different senior vapors say that pure grain alcohol creats a great throat hit.

Bwig: Try this if you haven't already... Inhale directly from the ecig into your lungs. If you're used to inhaling into your mouth first, then inhaling some air to get it down into your lungs, it will be a little hard to get a hang of, but it should give you the TH you're looking for.

ETA: If you're already direct inhaling into your lungs, and that's still not cutting it, then what you need is warmer vapor - so you need to either go with LR attys or HV mods.

 

[Denrock316]

Bwig: Try this if you haven't already... Inhale directly from the ecig into your lungs. If you're used to inhaling into your mouth first, then inhaling some air to get it down into your lungs, it will be a little hard to get a hang of, but it should give you the TH you're looking for.

This is what I do. This is also how I smoked and after 19 years of smoking it's really a deeply ingrained habit. I find holding it in my mouth then inhaling rather tricky and I really have to concentrate to do it.