Struggling to make the transition

[rladson]

2 PAD guy for 30+ years.
About 4 weeks into vaping, and I'm having a hard time trying to decide if my ills (reflux, dizziness, overall lack of energy) is a result of vaping, quitting analogs, or a combination. I almost want to go back to analogs for a while to see if I feel "better".

Have tried a variety of PG/VG mixes, nic strengths from 12-36. Same results. Pretty constant dizziness almost instantly after vaping regardless of mix and strength. Still have my smoker's hack too, and sometimes the vaping seems to aggravate it even more and to the point where I can't inhale the vapor.

Went to doctor, of course he said stop both vaping and analogs. Not much help.

Am jealous of all the success stories of folks who were able to quit smoking so easily with little to no side effects.

 

[sailorman]

Hi, Sorry to hear of your difficulty.
I was a 3 PAD for 35 years, so hopefully I can give you some helpful info.

First suggestion, try to stabilize the nic level. I used 24mg. You should try to settle on 18mg if you can, and use 24 if you have to. 18mg should give you plenty of nic., depending on how often you can, or want to, vape.

I got dizzy some at first as well with 24mg.
Don't inhale much. In fact, if you can vape like you're smoking a pipe or cigar, you'll still get the nic. Most nic is absorbed by the mouth and sinuses. That'll give your lungs a break.

A lot of people report increased coughing as their lungs clear. I wouldn't worry too much about that just yet.

Try Snus. It has the Whole tobacco alkaloids that many people still need. It will also let you vape less without going back to analogs. Snus is really great stuff and has helped a lot of people give up those last analogs.

Any combination of things can help. You should try to get used to one strength if you can. Save the strong stuff for your normal craving times. Don't inhale, and particularly don't inhale straight into the lungs like you did with cigarettes. That's standard vaping technique. Draw the vapor into your mouth, then inhale slowly, if at all. Hold the vapor in your mouth a few seconds. Open your mouth a little and breathe slowly through your nose, controlling how much you actually inhale.

You also could have an intolerance to PG. Experiment with 100% VG and see if that lessens any irritation or tightness of your chest.

Good luck. You can do it.

 

[Bebe56]

I'm rather new as well, i know what you mean..
For the first 2 weeks or so i went through almost the same symptoms you've described... Drinking lots of water seems to help quite a bit.
I've started with 18mg but reduced it to 12 now. Once in while, just like Sailor said, i use 18mg just to get rid of craving but 12 works good for me.
I'm still amazed e-cigs work, i smoked Lucky Strike, Camel, Marlboro, Pall Mall for over 30 years, 1+ pack a day. I've tried everything there is, nothing worked for me xcept vaping.
I'm sure you can do it, in spite of those temporary problems is the easiest way to get rid of analogs..