Still smoking support and chat thread

[ShawnB85]

Whoa. I got recommended to this thread because of my "newbie but not really a newbie" post in the new member forum. Long story short, vaped about 3-4 years ago MTL (wasn't called that back then). Managed to give up smoking for about 4ish months because I picked up cigarettes again. Decided to give vaping another shot and was amazed at how many sub ohm kits are available. The only people around here who did sub ohm years ago were those who really got into the whole vaping culture. I have since found that sub ohm is what was missing and DTL makes it feel so much better. I haven't decided to put down cigarettes as there are certain ones in the day I crave more than others (morning, before bed). Not considering that a failure this time and just going to work on getting adjusted.

Yesterday I rode my motorcycle to work so I smoked a regular cigarette at about 6:15am. Brought the vape to work but decided to not touch it all day. Got home at about 4:15pm and had my second cigarette of the day. Since I didn't touch anything for almost 10 hours I got extremely light headed and had to put it out and picked up the vape (3mg). If memory serves me I didn't smoke another until bedtime and just vaped the rest of the time from when I got home.

 

[Thayamax]

Welcome aboard, @ShawnB85, nice to meet you. Many people are happy being dual users and that's perfectly fine. We're here to support those who want to quit altogether as well as those who simply want to cut down. There is no pressure to quit, just support for each individual's choice.

It appears that you can go for long periods without smoking or vaping. I can't do that. I was a chain smoker and now I'm a chain vaper. Any smoker or ex-smoker can certainly tell you that there are several cigarettes that are super hard to give up. Morning, after a meal and at bedtime seem to be the most difficult for many. If you're happy smoking a few cigarettes a day and vaping the rest of the time, then we're happy for you having cut down to so few.

I also started off as MTL vaper since that's the way I always smoked. After I started making my own coils I gradually switched to DL vaping, and I can't imagine going back. I always enjoyed watching the smoke from my cigarettes and now I especially enjoy watching the billowing vapor from my mod.

So, again, welcome and feel free to post here anytime about anything. We are a "still smoking support" thread, but people seem to have forgotten that we're also a chat thread, so make yourself at home and feel free to chat as well.

Thaya

 

[FranC]

Welcome,Shawn As far as I can see you're doing great.

 

[Hopeful64]

Welcome @ShawnB85 ! So good to have you here and congratulations with all your wins in this battle!

I can certainly see where stress plays a huge part in my own journey. Things have settled down from the past 2 weeks and I did fabulous today. I am going away for the weekend and I looked to see what stock I had of the real ciggies and I have 6 packs left from a carton I bought a week ago tomorrow so I am still under a pack a day from 2-2 1/2 packs.

Funny thing is I was thinking today about my stock being that low and I would have gone over to our cigarette shop for another carton today to take with me on the weekend just because I always had to have a large stock of my cigarettes on hand or I would panic. Today I can say that I have enough to take with me as to not panic. If I stay under a pack like I have been doing, I won't even have to think of buying new packs until next Wednesday! Now, don't get me wrong. I can't WAIT for the day when I don't have to go at all but I did give myself until November to conquer this habit. (my birthday)

So very soon, I am going to take another jump down in the number and put in a huge effort to vape even more. Maybe 15 from the 18 I am doing right now. Then I'll tackle 10. Then 8. Then 6. Then 5..... Then 3. Then 2. Then 1. Lol

I'm going to order the WFT juice next week when I get back.

Everyone have a wonderful weekend! love and (hugs) to all of you.

 

[FranC]

Glad the stress level is down.You have a great plan but remember not to kick yourself if it doesn't work exactly that way My birthday is in November too

 

[Thayamax]

Stress is a killer. You never know where it's going to come from or how bad it's going to be. It certainly can sidetrack the best laid plans. Eventually, with practice, you learn how to deal with it as a vaper instead of a smoker.

The same can be said of triggers. Wake up...light a smoke. Start the car...light a smoke. Eat a meal...light a smoke. Talk on the phone...light a smoke. Ready for bed...light a smoke. We all have triggers, but again, with time we learn to deal with them as vapers.

Good luck this weekend, Donna.

 

[tgs3]

When tgs first posted here he was really struggling and wasn't sure he'd be able to do it. Now look at him...he's been smoke free for nearly a month!

​

Hopeful, Thayamax is totally right. I honestly did not believe I could do this. I smoked 25-30 cigarettes a day for 45+ years. But I kept vaping and showing up at ecf and it is finally working out for me - tomorrow will be 28 cigarette free days. When I first started reading what ex-smokers said on ecf about cigarettes tasting bad, I thought, propaganda - I don't believe it. Now I realize, they were right. When I had reduced my smoking, cigarettes all of a sudden were awful. It took me the best part of a year to get to this place. But I am happy to be here.It is totally possible.

 

[Skwij]

@Thayamax thanks for the reminder that this is also a chat thread. I'm taking that to heart this evening.

I'm so tired I'm practically crosseyed, and that makes me want to smoke. He!!, that's made me smoke more than I have in a while.

In addition to the crazy hours I work, (40-45 in four days so I can claim a 3rd day off for !!!GOLF!!!) I also played hookie from work this past Friday afternoon and Saturday, for tournaments. Also was in a tournament Sunday but that's a normal day off anyways so no biggie.

My brain is done in. Toast. Fried. Friday was decent even though I never play well when racing from work to golf. Saturday was BRUUUUUTAL on a really tough course and I probably smoked 6 during the round. Add a couple of beverages after the round (I never imbibe on the course, just after) and there was a couple more.
Yesterday was more of the same, although the golf was way better and I managed to do well in that tournament. Still smoked way more than I have been lately though. Oh well, c'est la vie, n'est ce pas? That's a tough habit to break. Reward a great hole with a puff, bury a dismal hole with a puff......

Today was just brain dead. Two ciggies total on the course, but of course there were the wakeups, and the middle of the night one because I JUST COULDN'T FALL ASLEEP demmit. Too hot, too clammy, the fan wasn't exactly on me, AC not cold enough, restless legs, you name it, it was my night last night.
It's been a long time since I took an Advil nighttime, and had a smoke at 2 am, but that was my night last night. Grrrrrr

Tough slog coming up work wise this week, but the weekend will be totally worth it. Thousand Islands golf, Malone (NY) golf for 2 days, then Canton (NY) golf on the way back home. So looking forward to this, as it's an annual thing, and my good friends' Aunt and Uncle put us up in Mountainview (Owl's Head) NY. A truly beautiful spot and fantastic company.

I will NOT be getting smokes at the duty free heading Stateside.

I will be getting Marlboro lights or whatever they're called these days for my brother coming back across the border to Canada. Those won't be touched by me.

 

[tgs3]

Skwij, you are definitely in that right place. Vent as much as you want. I am no expert, but I am 31 days cigarette free. Here is something I learned in getting to this place (it took 9 months). There are mindless cigarettes and there are situational cigarettes. A mindless one is one you lite up without even thinking. I managed to get rid of those by carrying around a pocket notebook and writing down the time of every cigarette BEFORE I lit up.

In my experience, situational cigarettes are harder to deal with - you know a big meal, drinks, sex. waiting for a bus, etc., I personally had to deal with each of those situations individually. I literally trained myself (behaviorist psychology) to not smoke in those situations.

I think I have been successful, at least up to now, because by cutting out the mindless smoking my physical addiction reduced. When I finally stopped smoking, I have not experienced any cravings or other duress. And the psychological addiction has lifted as well. Yes, I still think about cigarettes occasionally. But just occasionally. They also taste bad (now), which makes their memory less of an attraction.

Everyone had a different road. But one of the things that kept me coming back to ecf was reading about the particular roads that people travel. Good luck on your journey!

 

[Thayamax]

Well @Skwij, it sounds like you had a great weekend of smoking with a little golf thrown in. Just kidding you. Isn't it amazing how smokes are great for celebrating wins and commiserating lows? An all purpose companion. I guess that's part of the reason they're so hard to quit.

I've been working a schedule similar to yours for a while. I work a double on Friday, another double on Saturday and a single shift on Sunday with barely any sleep all weekend. Then I have the rest of the week off, It's a killer while I'm doing it, but so nice to have 4 days off in a row. Unfortunately my schedule will change soon to accommodate a new hire. Since I'm the only one who doesn't have little kids I get screwed around for everyone else's convenience. Oh well, you're right, c'est la vie.

Right now I'm into my second week of vacation I had to either take or lose. We haven't gone anywhere but that's par for the course. (see what I did there? ) I guess I'll just be hanging around here until I go back to work on Saturday.

 

[Thayamax]

@tgs3, that is one of the best posts I've seen in a long time with an actual stop smoking plan. Kudos to you, my friend. It has definitely worked for you and likely will be very helpful to others. Thanks for continuing to post helpful hints and suggestions even though it appears you've won not only the battle, but also the war.

 

[tgs3]

I should add, that I am a total chain vaper. When I can, I vape non-stop at 12mgs.

 

[Thayamax]

I should add, that I am a total chain vaper. When I can, I vape non-stop at 12mgs.

You're not alone, tgs. I'm a total chain vaper as well. I'm also allowed to vape at work and I have quite a bit of down time. One of my co-workers calls my mod my pacifier since it's always in my mouth.

I started out vaping 24mg nic and MTL, but now I sub-ohm and DL at 3mg.

 

[FranC]

Chalk up another chain vaper here Down to 6 mg MTL.

 

[tgs3]

FranC that's really inspiring to me as a mtl vaper. I would like to be at 6mg by December. Thayamax, also inspiring to hear that you too are a chain vaper. When smoking, I was an occasional chain smoker. Now I really do chain vape. Was a bit worried about it. To me, now, that's something I can deal with later. Right?

 

[Thayamax]

You, Fran and I are all chain vapers, as are quite a few people on ECF. If that's the price we had to pay to get off cigarettes I'm happy to pay it. As far as cutting down on chain vaping looking forward...I'm pretty sure it would be easier to do than quitting smoking was. I'm in no hurry. I was a chain smoker before I became a chain vaper.

 

[FranC]

I blame it on loving the flavors of my DIY mixes

 

[Thayamax]

Hah! I was thinking the same thing, even if I only DIY a few flavors so far. They're way better than what I was buying. Maybe that's a way to slow down the chain vaping...go back to buying flavors that cost big and taste bad.

 

[FranC]

I completely lost my taste for vendor juice 6+ months ago. I'm 100% DIY now. More recently I've had to start dropping my flavor percentages also.

 

[Thayamax]

I haven't bought any eliquid in quite a while. I'm still pretty heavy on the flavor percentages but hopefully I'll be able to lower them before too long.