Still smoking support and chat thread

[Hopeful64]

I think when I die and go to hell, this is what I will be made to do..FOR ETERNITY..as punishment!

Possum, you going to hell too!! Yay! Meet you there my friend! lol And yes, I HATE cleaning now. I'm old. I want to play now. I don't want any responsibility. I want to win the lotto and give this house away and go to Cuba where you are allowed to smoke and die on a beach in the sunshine a happy person!!!

Juuust joking. No, I'm not...... Lol

 

[Hopeful64]

Now is in reach, and when you keep the now very positive the associations with vaping turns into a happy positive thing.. better than smoking because you never got to reward yourself with smoking.. lol.

Thank you so much for taking the time out to share this! And you are so right! Just yesterday, when I was running my errands, I bumped into the cutest little summer dress for $14.00 and I said to myself, ''This is the 1 pack of cigarettes you didn't buy today!'' So I bought the dress as my reward. One of the only friends I have who was a chain smoker just started vaping 3 months ago and she told me that she has paid off $2000.00 on a credit card! Can you just imagine the amount of money we could have? I want mine to go into a 'trip fund'. Thank you. I am going to take out the jar I have and put it in full view!! I am so happy for you! (hug)

 

[Possum64]

A 'trip fund' is a fabulous idea! So glad you bought yourself that little dress too. We all need a pick-me-up every now and then.

Bed time for me....I will probably have nightmares about cleaning out closets

 

[Thayamax]

Hey, @Hopeful64. I see you had a shaky start today. No big deal...just put it behind you and start over. You'll most likely have to do that many times as you advance in your journey into vaping. @KCOYNU, @Possum64 and @Opinionated have already given you some great advice to get you jump started. I'll add a little hint for your morning smoke: put your vape on your nightstand next to your bed, and your smokes in an inconvenient spot far from your bedroom. Vape as long as you can until either the urge passes or you can't fight it any longer. You should notice that your vape time will gradually increase.

Don't feel like you're all alone in this. We're all here to help you in any way that we can. Consider this your 24/7 helpline anytime you're struggling.

PS: I hate cleaning of any kind.

 

[Hopeful64]

Don't feel like you're all alone in this. We're all here to help you in any way that we can. Consider this your 24/7 helpline anytime you're struggling.

Thanks so much for this concern thayamax! The funniest thing happened to me today. I was totally discouraged this morning (and agitated) and as proud of myself that I was yesterday, I felt a dread come over me that I had to do this stupid vaping again today so I automatically lit one up.... and then another and another and by noon had smoked about 7 cigs. (I did some vaping in between) Now, this actually is still pretty good for me because I would normally have smoked about 13-15 cigs by noon. ( it was always around 2 o`clock in the afternoon that I would open my second pack) but still, I wasn`t looking at what I didn`t smoke this morning and felt that failure feeling again. (I learned that from you guys already!!lol) I LOVE this quote! ``STOP counting the ones you do smoke and START counting the ones you don't smoke.``

Something happened around noon and I grabbed the vape and kept it in my hand all afternoon. I took a few real cigarette breaks so I thought to myself, ``At least you are putting some effort in``.

But now it is getting late here and I just counted the real cigs in my package and there are 7 cigarettes left in that pack!!!! How did that happen!! I actually, if I am counting cigarettes, did better than yesterday! I had only allowed myself one pack both days (cause I am a 2 pack a day smoker.) So yesterday I was so proud of myself for only smoking 17 but so far today, I've only smoked 14!! I will probably be up for another hour so I`ll sneak one in before I go to bed. Lol Isn`t that something!! It wasn`t a bad day after all!!

I will also take the advice to leave the package way out in the living room and put my vape by the bedside. I must learn to kick the morning cigs before I could EVER transform over to 100% vaping.

I also today, took the advice of some of you and bought 2 new pieces of equipment. Much more power than what the fake ciggies are. I`m going to try it out. It says that one charge and it`s good for 300 puffs. (they specified chain smokers) I have to constantly charge these fake vape ciggies`` and it's quite frustrating so I am going to become a `real`vaporer!! (sticks out chest and ready to swing to a different tree!!) And it`s pink and blue sparkles for this ole`doll!! Lol (it`s a good model) I am so excited because it should be here within the week. I ordered 2 of them.

Oh lord, I`m talking too much (it`s the hairdresser in me ). thank you so much for what you all have given to me in the last couple of days!! Love and (hugs) to all of you!

 

[KC0YNU]

@Hopeful64 another little trick your self method that I just gave to a co worker,
only buy cigs a pack at a time and DO NOT buy your regular brand, IE by an off brand today and tomorrow buy a cheap generic and so on,

I found not getting the same flavor/taste made the cigs start to taste foul to me. Vape is flavors I LIKE!!!!!!

 

[Hopeful64]

@Hopeful64 another little trick your self method that I just gave to a co worker,
only buy cigs a pack at a time and DO NOT buy your regular brand, IE by an off brand today and tomorrow buy a cheap generic and so on,

I found not getting the same flavor/taste made the cigs start to taste foul to me. Vape is flavors I LIKE!!!!!!

This is great! I had bought a carton of cigarettes at the duty-free shop that I ended up absolutely hating. I have 5 packs left and I thought I might even throw them in the garbage I hated them so much, but now.... Now, I will keep them and I will force myself to smoke those. That will save me from buying 5 packs. I am a very fussy smoker and mostly only like my own brand.

I went out to supper tonight and took my vape with me and left my cigarettes at home. My boy smokes and after supper, we got in my car to have a little gab and he offered me one of his cigarettes and I said yes. (He`s very proud that I am trying to quit smoking) He lit it for me, I took 2 puffs, hated the taste, put it out neatly for him so I wouldn`t ruin a perfectly good cig for him and continued to chat and vape! So this idea is perfect! Thank you so much!

 

[Possum64]

@Hopeful64 WOW! Just WOW! I love your day two update! You have done amazingly well already. 14 (or so) cigs instead of two packets! And you haven't killed anyone yet?

Those morning cigs were the worst for me too. It took me MONTHS to stop those, but I told myself that it was ok. I would slam down 5 or 6 in a row every morning, but during the day I was cutting down on so many cigs. I finally got to the stage that I only smoked in the morning and vaped the rest of the day. Baby steps for me.

Great idea from @KC0YNU to try a brand of smokes you are not keen on - and you have the very thing in your house! Certainly meant to be.
How did you feel leaving the house without your cigs tonight? That would have been very strange. Good call on your part to try it out....and it worked! That should give you some encouragement. You are doing so very well

 

[Hopeful64]

How did you feel leaving the house without your cigs tonight?

Thanks Possum! I think I feel more encouraged for tomorrow morning. I am going to put the effort in and have my morning coffee with the vape. (that is my hope right now. Lol)

That is really BIG for me to leave my house without my cigarettes. I guess deep down I knew I would only be gone for an hour or so, so it wasn`t the greatest feat I have ever made. But the next test will be when I go out for 2 hours. I will keep you posted. I am hoping by posting every day, it will make me accountable to me and all of you. I need that so I hope nobody minds. Thanks again for your support! (hug)

 

[Possum64]

Love the Avatar! Leaving the house without cigs is a BIG thing....was for me anyhow! Smoking was such a bind for me - always looking out for where I could go for a quick cig, worried that I may run out etc.
You and your vape will be fine for a couple of hours I am sure. I hope your morning coffee goes well!

Edit.....You just changed your avatar again! Lovely

 

[Thayamax]

HOLY COW!!! I never left the house without cigarettes "just in case" even after I wasn't smoking for a while. I even kept a stash at work until they got stale. I never ended up using them, but I still had them in case of a meltdown. I'm so very proud of you doing it on day 2!

I encourage you to post multiple times daily, whether you're having a good day or a bad one. We're here for you either way, to encourage and congratulate, whatever the case may be. You'll soon find yourself having more good days than bad ones anyway.

PS. I love your avatar!

 

[Hopeful64]

Thanks, guys. So here I am vaping and coffee. Counting down till I get my first smoke. I won`t lie to you. But I really want to see if I can conquer this. I`m really excited about my new vapes coming in a few days.

5 minutes has gone by....5 more to go before I have my real cig with this coffee. I think this is going to be the biggest hurdle. `The morning cigarette.`

I picked out 2 avatars. One is the innocent child that is looking at me and asking me to stop harming myself.. and the other is the real me. Rebellious and when she makes up her mind to do something, she dares the world. Which one do you guys like better? I put the saucy one up first and then took it down.

OK....10 minutes has gone by. That's enough for me this morning.

You have a great morning, all of you! I'll be back later. (hugs)

 

[Hopeful64]

Why do we crave this 'paper' cigarette? Is it habit? Do we need the carcinogens? It can't be the nicotine because we are getting that from our vape?? This is not as good as I thought it would be. They burn down so quickly. I'm on my second one and thinking to myself, 'there goes your trip money''..''there goes your breathing''...

It's like you guys give me permission to smoke and even admit when I'm having one and now it's not as good as I was thinking it would be. How interesting.

One thing I want to do today is start walking again. I also have a mini rebounder that I love to bounce on to disco music. lol I am petrified to put on weight because I have fought for many years to keep my weight down. I am making a vow to myself not to gain any weight. The last attempt I made to vape 3 years ago, I gained 8 pounds and just got it off again. I have stage 1 Copd and it is very hard on my breathing when I get heavier.

Well, I've had my second real cig with you guys and it wasn't as wonderful as I thought. That is strange??

 

[Gratch]

Hey hey, not not strange at all, on my first time giving up with vape last year i found that when i did start to smoke again each and every one has tasted horrible. I think once you have given them up for a couple of months like i did, you really taste them for what they are when you go back. Give me my strawberry lime fruity clouds any day. Well unless i have strssed myself but at least i am smoking so much less.

And hello to this thread. Second time giving up, lots easier this time but having issues. But ooh what a day. I LOVE the month of May!

 

[Hopeful64]

@Gratch, so good to see you and thanks for the support! Aren't you the one who gave me this wonderful quote to live for right now as I continue to eliminate my real cigarettes?


'STOP counting the ones you do smoke and START counting the ones you don't smoke'.

 

[Gratch]

I don't think it was me i just passed it on from someone that said it to me last year Good to see you are doing better each day with the vaping. 1 roll up this AM for me because i was a little stressed. No more for the rest of the day now hopefully. It is May, the sun is shining, the vape juice is yummy and all is well. almost

 

[Possum64]

Hey @Hopeful64 - I love both of your chosen avatars. (I know, I am such a big help ). There is no reason to stick with just one. I change mine on occasion - depending on my mood, maybe the season or a holiday. I find it a bit of fun.

It is interesting to hear about your mind set. It seems, even after a few days that you are starting to look at cigarettes differently. Congratulations on putting off that first morning cig! I didn't do that for months when I first started vaping!

With regard to weight gain, I haven't read about many people gaining weight when they change over to vaping. In fact, some have said as they cut down on the amount of cigs they are smoking a day, their energy levels increase, their health improves, and this leads them to become more active. Makes sense really.

Anyhoo, enough from me. I am looking forward to your next update

 

[Thayamax]

It amazes me that you're already wondering what the attraction to cigarettes is all about and regretting burning up your trip money. You really seem to be getting into a good mindset pretty quickly. Bravo!

I'm afraid to light up even 1 cigarette to find out whether I find it disgusting or not, because I fear being sucked back into smoking. And this is after not having one for almost 5 years. I haven't had a craving for so long I can't remember. My son and grandson live with us and they are both heavy smokers but it doesn't bother me at all as long as I have my vape. I could most likely smoke a cigarette and never want another, but why tempt fate? I know me too well.

Quick (?) story...I finally married my fiancé (non smoker) of 13 years this past July (still not sure why) in a very small ceremony. As we were leaving to go to the restaurant afterward I dropped my mod and it fell upside down squarely on the drip tip. Luckily nothing broke, but the tank was stuck in the mod and wouldn't fire. I went into panic mode since I had not brought a backup. When we got to the restaurant my oldest son and his wife (smoker) were waiting out front. I rushed up to my son and asked him if he could get the tank off for me. Then I asked his wife for a cigarette. As she was reaching into her purse for one my son got the tank loose. I tried it and it worked! Yay!! No cigarette necessary.

Mind you, I've gone much longer than that without vaping plenty of times, but I always knew I had it if I needed it. Being away from home without a working vape was a whole different thing, even for that short of a time. I'm sure I could have smoked that cig and gone straight back to vaping when I got home, but I really just wanted my strawberry custard vape. Now I make sure to carry my backup at all times. You just never know. But I know if I didn't have vaping I'd go right back to smoking in a heartbeat.

 

[Hopeful64]

@Possum64 @thayamax Thanks so much for the responses. You guys have given me some hints already for the day. I didn't have a great day yesterday, hence, I was in a sookie mood last night and didn't feel like writing. Two days ago, my mouth started burning and I didn't think too much of it because I went through that 3 years ago when I started to vape. I can't remember if it went away or not because I only vaped for about 6 weeks but at that time, I was down to 5 cigarettes a day. Anyway, it was really bad yesterday and I went to visit a vape store and got no help. They told me that my equipment would not hold the 80/20 Vg/pg juice because it was so thick. They had heard of the 'sore mouth' from a couple of people but didn't seem to know much about how to fix this. I felt that I already knew more about the burning mouth than they did. They tried to be helpful but I walked out spending more money again on other things.

I got home and phoned every vape store in our city and have an appointment with someone this afternoon who knows all about the sore mouth, why I might need the nicotine 'salts', (I know nothing about any of this except I have heard you guys mention it) so I am feeling more hopeful today. I ended up smoking 22 cigarettes yesterday compared to 40-45. I guess that's not so bad now that I look at it in a better frame of mind this morning. (I used to think people who smoked a pack a day were light smokers. Lol)

I rinsed my mouth with coconut oil at least 4 times yesterday (found that suggestion on the internet) and it seems to feel better this morning. So far, I've been up for an hour and a half and have had 3 cigs but I can feel that darn sore mouth happening again. I read on the internet yesterday where one fella went back to his cigarettes because he could not find a solution to this. I was really discouraged when I read that because I don't want that to be me.

So I will check in later tonight and let you know how this appointment goes today. I'm sure I am going to need more equipment but I guess reading your posts this morning that the 'vapes' I have now might come in handy for my 'back-ups'. I can't wait to find the right juice and equipment to conquer this addiction. The guy on the phone told me that I need the 'salts' and that I would be very pleased with the effect. We will see. I am hopeful again.

Have a wonderful day and again, I thank anyone who can encourage me on this journey. Love and hugs to you all.

 

[Gratch]

I think that being a smoker for so long you are going to get a few oral issues. Just face each one as they come and dont let them get you down. I am enjoying reading your progress.

I have currently got as nasty virus the last 2 days have been horrible. Not smoked much though. Too achey to get outside