Stepping down in nicotine.

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Jahjah1121

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Jan 5, 2014
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Hey guys. Let me start by saying I am a very OCD person. I need control. Not a positive or negative thing in my opinion but moving on. My biggest reason for wanting to quit cigarettes, besides health, was the loss of control that I felt. Using e cigs I am now successfully over two weeks without a cigarette. A huge victory considering I never went a day without an entire pack of cigs.

When I started with my e cig I was at 24mg of nicotine. I was shaking and got side effects I didn't care for so I stepped it down to 18. Easy switch. Felt much better. Since then I bought another bottle of 15mg juice and the transition was again, easy.

My ultimate goal is 0mg so I plan on buying a 12mg bottle in a week or so. My question is this. Does anyone have experience with dropping this quickly and does anyone have any experience with quickly going from 24mg to zero? Anything I can expect as far as difficulty? Again I feel the need for control so the ultimate goal is to break the nicotine addiction completely. I'm done rambling. Any help is appreciated.


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Razzlematt

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Feb 26, 2014
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Started on the vaping journey a bit over two years ago.

24mg at the start, stepped down to 18 and then 12mg pretty quickly. I'm now regularly using 6mg in my drippers or Kayfuns/Russians. I often vape 0mg, and really don't feel any different.

Could likely just quit at this point, but really enjoy vaping and the flavors I enjoy! Keep dropping down your nicotine levels, maybe switch to unflavored juice (it's really not bad!). Best of luck to you, just listen to your body/brain!
 

Iffy

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I recommend that you continue to take the '3mg steps' all the way down to zero; less chance of a strong nic urge. Also have the higher levels around in case of stressful moments.

No need to rush your plan. 'Listen' to your body.

Good luck!
thumbsup.gif
 

Gato del Jugo

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Dec 24, 2013
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Only issue in doing it too much too quickly is having it back-fire, sending you back up to a much higher nic level -- or even worse, back to cigarettes..

That's happened before, posted by other ECF members...


Going to zero-nic takes different timelines for different vapers.. Some do it in a few months, while it takes others a few years...


My suggestion is to make sure that each step-down is only a 25%-33% cut in nicotine, maximum.. Any more than that and you start to really notice it..

Whenever I cut down, the worst, which isn't that bad at all, is most noticeable the 1st day or two, and occasionally during the 1st week.. I compensate by vaping a little more, and using a harder-hitting topper -- then just dial that back to normal after that's over..

I also tend to stay at the new lower level for anywhere between a week & a few months..


I'm in the camp that nicotine, by itself, isn't as addictive as some like to claim.. There are other compounds which occur naturally in tobacco (smoke) which have additional addictive properties, not to mention the things that tobacco companies add to most cigarettes to make them more addictive, as well... In other words, I think it's much more difficult to switch from cigarettes to vaping, than it is to step down in nic levels while vaping...


It personally took me 5 months to go from 18mg to 1.5mg... Arguably I could have done it even quicker, had I not stayed at one level too long.. In fact, I'd probably be at zero-nic right now, except for the fact that I still have some 3mg left that I'm too cheap to just throw away, instead of mixing it with zero...

Plus I'm just a wimp.. :D


Honestly, don't try to push it or rush it too much.. Slowly introduce the new lower level, mixing for nic strength, while keeping some of the higher stuff on hand just in case until you're comfortable to mix down the rest of it...

Good luck! :thumb:
 

Bontasia

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Mar 22, 2014
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To add to all the great advice here, I'd say each time you step down a level, hang onto a bottle in the strength you are stepping down to. That way if you do get a craving that won't go away you can switch to the higher level for a few minutes. It's worked well for me. I've gone from 36mg to 12 in under 2 months. Next order will be 6.

Good luck!


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DomGuy

Full Member
Feb 9, 2014
24
11
NYC
I started at 24, moved down to 18, then 12. When I was consistently vaping 12mg, I tried some old 24mg that was laying around....gave me a headache and nausea. Now I'm down to 6mg, but I don't think I'd ever go lower than 4 for that nicotine zest :vapor:

EDIT: forgot to add, I haven't had my vape for about a week and have little to no nic cravings, but I do crave that Ruthless Mandingo banana nut bread flavor!
 

TheColdHandedVG

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May 30, 2013
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Hey guys. Let me start by saying I am a very OCD person. I need control. Not a positive or negative thing in my opinion but moving on. My biggest reason for wanting to quit cigarettes, besides health, was the loss of control that I felt. Using e cigs I am now successfully over two weeks without a cigarette. A huge victory considering I never went a day without an entire pack of cigs.

When I started with my e cig I was at 24mg of nicotine. I was shaking and got side effects I didn't care for so I stepped it down to 18. Easy switch. Felt much better. Since then I bought another bottle of 15mg juice and the transition was again, easy.

My ultimate goal is 0mg so I plan on buying a 12mg bottle in a week or so. My question is this. Does anyone have experience with dropping this quickly and does anyone have any experience with quickly going from 24mg to zero? Anything I can expect as far as difficulty? Again I feel the need for control so the ultimate goal is to break the nicotine addiction completely. I'm done rambling. Any help is appreciated.


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It sounds more like you haven't even really found your sweet spot in nic content yet. I used to use 24mg/ml when I first started and dropped all the way down to 12mg/ml in a few months. It was very easy because I was actually overdoing the nic without even realizing it. But at this point I think dropping down to 6mg/ml would be much harder because anything below what I am at now would be the first real drop in nic ever since I found the correct amount of nic. I hope that makes sense...

My point is, it may be more difficult than switching from high to medium nic because going from medium to low nic content may make you have cravings...that's my point...
 

Rat2chat2

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Apr 16, 2013
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I wish you well in stepping down since that is what your goal is. I am also thankful that can stay at the same nic level I started with because I love my nic. That is what is so wonderful about vaping as opposed to smoking. We all have a choice. Good luck to you and happy vaping no matter what nic you're at. :)
 

Joie

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Apr 7, 2012
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:vapor:At this point, I think I'm more addicted to my home-brewed MBV Butterscotch and Bananas Gone Nuts than I am the nicotine.

==========================
So I am a butterscotch nut from MBV....so what recipe did you come up with...I havent been able to duplicate it yet. You can PM if its a secret :)
 

Razzlematt

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Feb 26, 2014
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==========================
So I am a butterscotch nut from MBV....so what recipe did you come up with...I havent been able to duplicate it yet. You can PM if its a secret :)


Oh, I just use their butterscotch flavoring and mix it with their 50/50 nicotine juice.....not really a "recipe". I don't like my juices to taste very strong.
 
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