Still craving analog

[delirium]

Hi everyone. I got my ecig a few weeks ago. I'm having a hard time adjusting from analog to this. I can't smoke it at work. (work for Dept of health. Someone will complain.) So I've been just smoking analog on breaks (outside) to make sure I get enough nic while at work(I work customer service. Not a good time to be cranky). But even when I'm at home, I'll vape, but feel like I can't get enought nic to fix my craving. I've been using 16-18 juice. Should I go to a higher level nic? Also I have a 510 model and its not excatly portable. I lose the tip in my purse all the time, or the ecig all together. Is there a smaller/more portable model out there that is on the level as the 510 (or a 510 that is smaller)Or is there anywhere I can get a case for it. I like it otherwise. And one more question, I filled all my dual coil cartrages with the 16-18 juice. Is there any way to get that out and refill it with a high level of juice or should I buy more? (I have to get more tips anyways...) Yes, still a newbie.... Thank you.

 

[Hoosier]

Last things first, yes buy more cartomizers. (One piece units that screw on the end of the battery.) If you are using an atomizer and cartridge, then buy more atomizers, but the cartridges will last so you can skip that part of it. (This is the two part unit that screws onto the same battery.) From your description, it seems as if you are using cartos (cartomizers), but use the term "cartrage" which seems to indicate cartridge which are used with atomizers.

You can spin the carto with a sling to get juice out, but it's easier to vape it out.

Yes, get higher mg juice. I had to go above 36mg and find a flavor that worked before I never wanted another cigarette. Everyone is different and it is more important to find what works for you than follow someone else's "rules of vaping".

How can a skinny little 510 that is skinnier than the pens I use to write with be "not excatly portable"? That confuses my mind. (Granted, that's not too hard as it is mostly gone anyway.)

 

[melloyello]

you can vape the cartomizer somewhat empty and keep refilling a higher nic level into it (thats what i do sometimes).

you dont even have to wait until the carto is dry before you add the drops.

one thing to keep in mind is this: the smaller 510 style you go, the shorter the battery life. especially if you
are using dual coils.

i also think that you are craving more than the nic (all the other additives in an analog), the transition to e cigs isnt completely pain-free.

 

[wv2win]

As others have stated, you need to up the nicotine level to at least 24mg. There are many who vape 36mg level.

But a bigger problem is probably the model you have. A small 510 is a weak battery model that is not made to use dual coil cartos. Get a better model, at least an E-Power 510 or a Riva 510 so your batteries will stay at peak power much longer and better heat the eliquid, thus providing better vaporization.

 

[cags]

when I started I did not stress about quitting cigs. when I wanted to smoke, I would vape awhile first. then if I still wanted a cig I had it. I delayed my morning and after meals cigs by 10 min, then 20, then 30, you get the idea. everyday I "accidently" smoked less cigs than the day before. don't stress and see if it will come naturally. I'll leave equipment and liquid recommendations to others. I still use my joye 510 and riva 510
oh, I use an eyeglass case to hold my joye 510.... I went to the dollar store, found some reader glasses that had a small case - I use the case and tossed the glasses, they were crummy <g>

 

[Zogem]

when I started I did not stress about quitting cigs. when I wanted to smoke, I would vape awhile first. then if I still wanted a cig I had it. I delayed my morning and after meals cigs by 10 min, then 20, then 30, you get the idea. everyday I "accidently" smoked less cigs than the day before. don't stress and see if it will come naturally. I'll leave equipment and liquid recommendations to others. I still use my joye 510 and riva 510
oh, I use an eyeglass case to hold my joye 510.... I went to the dollar store, found some reader glasses that had a small case - I use the case and tossed the glasses, they were crummy <g>

cags is spot on..

If you need to, get rid of mind set thats all or nothing. Simply set goals and reach them... easy.

I started @ 24 mg, coming off of a carton of camels every 6 days. This was with a flavor that was mostly 'Ok".. Now that I have settled on some flavors I actually enjoy, I'm in the process of dropping down to 18mg.. Perhaps lower later; who knows.

Don't feel you have to get there all at once, else it can be self defeating. Just set the goal of getting there, and let it fall into place - with the help of all the great people here, who have "Been there, done that, bough the t-shirt".

Just enjoy the ride, you'll get there...

-Z

 

[YetiHunter]

First of all, continuing to smoke cigarettes isn't going to get you anywhere.
When you go outside, why aren't you using your electronic cigarette instead of cigarettes? I don't
quite understand the logic there.

Please understand with e-cigs, you are only replacing the nicotine. Not "freebase nicotine", not MAOI's, not
freebase sucrose, not other alkaloids that may or may not do something to you. It will take time and withdrawal
to eliminate cigarette addiction. Don't ever look at it as "nicotine addiction". Nicotine is merely (albeit addictive)
nicotine.

Be careful during this time period. You're used to getting a cocktail form of anti-anxiety medication mixed with stimulants.
Increasing nicotine alone may likely cause anxiety. It may not.

I suggest you investigate SNUS, there's online vendors that ship from SWEDEN. I, among others, mixed snus with e-cigs for the first couple of months. You can use it, inconspicuously, at work.

Concerning e-liquid, I recommend 24 mg.

There's a learning curve with e-cigs. If it's manual, just casually drag the vapor into your mouth until the safety cuts it off.
Then inhale.

You mentioned that you own a 510, which is a great e-cig. I suggest you also try out the automatic batteries from
BLOOG. They operate much more like a conventional cigarette in terms of inhalation.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, there is the Boge Leo. The cartomizers are very large, and if operated like a cigar (slow long drag into mouth, then inhale), allows for a larger cascade of nicotine hitting your lungs.

Also, don't forget, you can always "tail pipe" these things. Take out the mouth pieces, less effort, more impact.

I was rolling my own, after two packs of Lucky Strikes a day. There is light at the end of the tunnel.

 

[Running Wolf]

Whatever works for you, everyone is different so don't fret.

I agree with Cags and Zogem though. For a little over a month I was using a PV and smoking. I was smoking a lot less, but if I did get a pack I was vaping less and usually killed a pack in about a day. But I was starting to vape more days in a row than I was going out and getting analogs.

There is a whole bunch of other chemicals in cigarettes than nicotine, that's why sometimes it feels like you aren't getting the satisfaction from vaping.

I think I went maybe 3 or 4 days without analogs, just vaping. Picked up a pack of analogs and was disgusted with the taste and that it lingered in my mouth and throat after the cig was gone. Over the weekend I ran out of juice and bought a pack. Instead of the first few disgusting me it was all of them. I was reaching for my eGo more than I was going for the pack of smokes.

You're smoking less than before you were vaping? It should be a good sign if you are. If you get three breaks at work put off having a cig on every break, vape your first break, have a smoke on your middle break, vape your last break.... Longer you go between the more you'll condition your mind and body to it.

I've only been vaping since late Sept. Like I fell off the wagon last weekend. Before that I had tapered off to maybe 5 packs in a month. Don't beat yourself if you screw up and smoke an analog. Congratulate yourself for going a day or two without a cig. Easier to say to yourself I went 2 days without one, next time I'm going to go 3.

You are still going to get some craving and have some withdraw effects when you completely give up analogs.

 

[K I W I V A P E R]

When I first started I was using a $99 model from a pharmacy that looked like a cigarette. This lasted about a week before I was dissatisfied with it and I have subsequently used an ECHO device, a larger 1000MaH battery with a dual coil cartomizer, and more recently a provari.

It was a harsh learning curve and lots of $$ down, so when a friend of mine who is a heavy smoker was interested in buying one, I recommended that he immediately jump straight to a variable voltage Infinity Pro device (similar to the provari but cheaper). He has managed to cut down to no cigs almost immediately because the device is perfoming as he expected it to and the batteries last most of the day. He uses 26mg strength liquid.

If he had started with the same crappy device I did, then it would most likely not have worked for him. That said, I would recommend you buying a gruntier device with better power control

 

[deluxe]

Some thoughts from a different direction. Plenty of people try nicotine replacement using gum or the patch and they are getting the same amount of nicotine as they did from smoking but they still crave cigarettes constantly. It's not just the nicotine or even the other thousands of chemicals found in cigarette smoke that people crave, there are other important cues associated with smoking and if any of these are too far "off" for you, you might feel unsatisfied by vaping. You might want to take a look at the PV you're using and figure out if there is anything about it that frustrates you - is it too hard or too easy to draw on it, is it producing enough vapor, is the vapor temperature "right" for you, etc. I find that regardless of nicotine level, if the draw on a PV doesn't feel "right" to me, or if I have too many problems trying to use a device (leaking etc) my vaping experience is more frustrating and the thought of just having a tobacco cig is more likely to pop up.

 

[tchefunkta]

I first got a electronic cig a year ago from Greensmokes and it was one that a resembled a real cigarette. I briefly tried it but found it pretty ineffective. Recently, I read on this forum and subsequently bought an Ego-T and it was a HUGE DIFFERENCE...I actually get a full throat hit and it more closely resembles smoking. Tommorrow it will be a week since I've smoked an analog and that is the longest I've gone in 18 years. I definitely have moments in which I miss analogs, but then I just madly puff/vape away and it passes. Trust me, I have no will power, so if I can make it smoke free, anyone can. Get a better e-cig, DEFINITELY get a higher level of nicotine juice (i use the 24 mg) and you'll be able to do it!

 

[Zogem]

First of all, continuing to smoke cigarettes isn't going to get you anywhere.
When you go outside, why aren't you using your electronic cigarette instead of cigarettes? I don't
quite understand the logic there.

With all due respect..

The OP has stated that she (I assume she due to the mention of a purse) is a) vaping a dual carto on a 510, and at b) @ 18mg.. She's still smoking as cessation is not working for her with those parameters, and it's understandable, as to "why".

 

[Running Wolf]

Some thoughts from a different direction. Plenty of people try nicotine replacement using gum or the patch and they are getting the same amount of nicotine as they did from smoking but they still crave cigarettes constantly. It's not just the nicotine or even the other thousands of chemicals found in cigarette smoke that people crave, there are other important cues associated with smoking and if any of these are too far "off" for you,
<<snip>> I find that regardless of nicotine level, if the draw on a PV doesn't feel "right" to me, or if I have too many problems trying to use a device (leaking etc) my vaping experience is more frustrating and the thought of just having a tobacco cig is more likely to pop up.

For me when it was the patch or the lozenges it was the taste! You can get into the psychology of it the oral fixation for some people. The hand to mouth (nicotine is a stimulant so quitting it slows down your metabolism) which contributes to the weight gain when quitting for some. That tactile sensation of somethign in your hand. The inhalation and exhale almost like meditation breathing.

Ask any junkie trying to quit (including booze and cigs in this), there is also the rituals associated with the addiction. Having that cig waiting while waiting for the coffee to brew when you wake up. Lighting up after a nice meal. While driving and on the computer. After knocking boots with you SO. Getting ready to go to sleep. All those actions get locked into the habits and rituals that go with the psychosocial addiction.

Bummer it's after midnight. I'd call my step-mom and ask her about it too was was an addiction counselor/shrink. I'm sure she'd be good for the medical aspects of it.

With all due respect..

The OP has stated that she (I assume she due to the mention of a purse) is a) vaping a dual carto on a 510, and at b) @ 18mg.. She's still smoking as cessation is not working for her with those parameters, and it's understandable, as to "why".

Common that new vapers are often 'afraid' or 'embarrassed' for lack of better term to vape in public at first. I know I was, and I have seen a lot of other new members have the same type of feelings at first. That you'd get looked at funny. It's a new technology.

Same type of feeling I had when I took my reading glasses into work with me so I could read on break.... more a self-conscious things (but the other factors are there to a smaller extent).

 

[DeviantDe]

Well 1st, what 510 are you using? I have a joye 510 that's skinny like a pen and I have a silver bullet (size-wise think 4 regular sharpie markers taped together lol) that is a 510 as well... so technically a 510 is just the thread connection.

If you are using the skinny one like a joye 510 then you can also get a pcc, it will help keep batteries charged throughout the day, store a couple of carts or cartos or tanks, and hold the batteries. If you aren't worried about charging then an eyeglass case really is perfect, just find a size that works for what you want to be able to take with you(bottles, batteries, cartos, etc).

As for the nic, I would recommend bumping it up to 24mg or higher at 1st if you don't seem to be getting enough nic from the 18mg. You can get 24mg at most vendors, some go up to 36mg. Definitely find a flavor that you like. I had one I liked, but it wasn't keeping me away from the analogs. I found a new flavor and it was so much easier to stay away from the analogs.

As for vaping at work, I know you are worried about not having enough nicotine from only vaping on smoke breaks, why not stealth vape to help in the time between smoke breaks? If you don't have a private office, take your pv with you to the bathroom, breakroom, supply closet, anywhere you are likely to be alone for the few seconds it would take to take a puff? If you hold the vapor in longer you blow out far less vapor, you can also blow it into your shirt, coffee, whatever.

 

[delirium]

I might be wrong on the kind of model ecig I have. One of my friends recommmended it to me. It is def bigger than a pen. I'm still learning, so please forgive my ingorance. Thank you for the other advice!

 

[Spazmelda]

I was also going to suggest Snus for using at work. I got some for long car trips (where I used to use the nicotine gum). I don't vape or smoke around my kids, and just using my pv at rest stops wasn't enough to get me through an 8 hour car trip. The snus does the trick. It takes a little getting used to (tastes a little salty at first, but that goes away).

Try the Swedish snus. I also tried out a few of the American flavors, but I like the Swedish better. The Camel Snus (wintergreen) just had way too much flavor, although the Marlboro mint flavored was pretty good (but sweeter than the swedish mint flavor).

 

[Fiona65]

It took me 5 weeks to come off the smokes completely...What helped me was going up to 24mg and using boge cartomizers....Finding a flavour I liked to vape all day was the hardest thing for me....But I finally came across Caramel Candy from perfumers Apprentice..

Also it can take a while to find a good set up...An ego battery with a boge did it for me for a long time... Having a battery that lasted longer helped. I'd started with a Titan and it was frustrating having to keep charging the batteries.

Personally I say, dont be too hard on yourself and if you use an e-cig to gradually cut out the smokes then at least your cutting down. Some people say it doesnt work, but we're all different and when we're ready we will know it...

 

[Hoosier]

I might be wrong on the kind of model ecig I have. One of my friends recommmended it to me. It is def bigger than a pen. I'm still learning, so please forgive my ingorance. Thank you for the other advice!

Ah, then maybe an eGo or Riva? About as big around as a sharpie marker? Or maybe a box mod? (I could go on, but those seem to be the most common.) At least you know that it has 510 threads and if it is a larger battery than the skinny 510's, then you should be OK using your dual coil and are not damaging the battery.

Keep experimenting with other juices. Try different flavors and strengths. Like many others here, it took me some weeks to find the right juice and then one day I realized I had forgotten to smoke the day before. Find what works for you and go with it. I had to go to very high nicotine strength juice and find a flavor that was completely different than what I thought I wanted. That may work for you and it may not?

And I also ignored anyone who insisted their way was the only way to do it.

Keep us updated on your progress. We were all ignorant in the beginning! Thanks to ECF and many nights reading, I feel much better now...

 

[bnrkwest]

You know when I smoked, I had this little alarmist in my head that would say "You have to smoke now or you will go insane or die!" It was this annoying little voice in there like it was a life or death message, go smoke now! LOL
Now that I don't smoke, that little messenger is gone, I guess I vaporized him! ha ha Now I get a gentle message of how about a vape break, much more subtle. The only way I have found to vaporize the addiction messenger of go smoke now is to vape more and use analogs less. That messenger go smoke voice is an alarmist and he lies, but it is part of the whole cig addiction package. So hang tough, get more nic with higher level and vape more smoke less. bnrk

 

[delirium]

Thanks again everyone. I should have done this first. The kit I ordered is: 14650 E power personal vapor kit. (I looked it up from where I ordered it).1050mAh battery. It uses a 510 atomizer. Been using the smokteck dual coil clear cartomizers. I hope that helps with the size thing. I'm going to try to find a case for it. And try the higher level of juice. As I said before, sneaking at work is a no go because I work for the dept of health. I can go outside and vape, but I also want to make sure I'm getting "my fix" so been vaping at home more than here. I do apprecate the advice and I will go by my own pace, up the juice level (I was using 16-18 becasue I was smoking ultra lights 1/2 pack a day). Thank you all agian.