Sudden, Unexpected, Precipitous Drop in Nic tolerance...?!?

[chapeltown]

well chapel dear ya know me I was vaping 36 nic or higher a year ago and am now pretty much solidly at 6mg....but some of that has been due to better equipment and then using drippers mostly

i forced myself to 24 then decided to cut back to 18...and from there it just kind of happened (though a lot of mine was also just sampling different vendors most were under 12)

I don't think it's any issue...as robin said too, now that your life is calming down and stress levels decressing it is only natural to not need as much nic

and as for needing to buy more juice....you could look at the juice swap threads to switch some that you have higher nics for some lower nics
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-please-read-first-post-rules-guidelines.html

and hey even if you do end up mostly using 0 nics you don't have to give up vaping it's still a fun habit and stress reliever even if ya don't need the nic anymore (which is a good thing btw)

Yes indeed. [emoji4] . Good resource! Thank you!

 

[BigEgo]

It is known that pH has an effect on nicotine absorption. So this might explain why some juices with 6mg seem to hit harder than other juices with 6mg (just as an example).

 

[JimmyDB]

Example: 2 - 30 ml bottles

12 + 6 = 18 divide by 2 = 9mg.

You would end up with 2 - 30ml bottles of 9mg

A 12 MG mixed with a 6 MG in equal parts does not equal 18 Mg. It would make a 9 mg.

I'm glad you agree with Robino1.

meanwhile... back to the topic at hand.

I have not needed to drop much ratio wise... but that may not being saying all that much. I started at 3.6% and after a month I dropped to 2.4%... I have not dropped any further in the last 3 months. I agree that it might be a mix of equipment, vaping experience and total consumption with a little outside environmental influences from stress that's causing you to get enough nicotine. It's easy to develop a bit of a vaping habit, especially if you really enjoy your juices.

As others have said, you can dilute your existing stash... if they are unopened, you can probably sell them off and buy new.

If you had the same reaction to cigarettes, would you take different actions such as talk to a qualified medical person? I just want to make sure it's clear that changes such as this which puzzle you, may or may not be as simple as they seem. You could always talk to a doctor and substitute vaping with smoking just to stop them from being able to blame vaping distinctly and feel them out a bit... but I have a feeling that any such conversation will still lead to them wanting to run at least a few quick tests anyhow.

You are finding it strange to drop around 12mg/ml in 5-6 weeks... I just figured it was normal to drop that much in about a month.

 

[JimmyDB]

It is known that pH has an effect on nicotine absorption. So this might explain why some juices with 6mg seem to hit harder than other juices with 6mg (just as an example).

Worthy point... not sure it's related in this respect... but perhaps depending on the factors. I'll add a little backup about this, I *think* it's safe to ignore the 'burning tobacco' portion... I could be wrong, we already know our particle size is different (larger), so the lungs are less helpful.

Nicotine is distilled from burning tobacco and carried proximally on tar droplets (also called particulate matter), which are inhaled. Absorption of nicotine across biological membranes depends on pH. Nicotine is a weak base with a pKa of 8.0. In its ionized state, such as in acidic environments, nicotine does not rapidly cross membranes. The pH of smoke from flue-cured tobaccos, found in most cigarettes, is acidic (pH 5.5–6.0). At this pH, nicotine is primarily ionized. As a consequence, there is little buccal absorption of nicotine from flue-cured tobacco smoke, even when it is held in the mouth (Gori et al. 1986). Smoke from air-cured tobaccos, the predominant tobacco used in pipes, cigars, and some European cigarettes, is more alkaline (pH 6.5 or higher) and, considerable nicotine is unionized. Smoke from these products is well absorbed through the mouth (Armitage et al. 1978). It has recently been proposed that the pH of cigarette smoke particulate matter is higher than previously thought, and thus, a larger portion of nicotine would be in the unionized form, facilitating rapid pulmonary absorption (Pankow 2001).

 

[chapeltown]

Jimmy, I love you man! Lol

In any case, no, I would most likely not head in to the doctor if it was cigarettes rather than vaping. It is an interesting thought though...
I think Robin and Shadav are correct. It has been one heck of a year, and they are both close friends here on ecf, so they know. Our family has been through death, divorce, interstate moving, a whole lot of chain yanking on location and timing of said move, flipping a house from another state on the weekends, taking a full three months to move, nearly brand new house with an already failed septic system, misbehaving kids, a grandchild in the middle of her *sadistic threes*, and more. We have only started to come out on the other side in the last 5-6 weeks actually. That is enough to deal with on its own, but add to that the fact that I have PTSD, depression, ADHD, and a wanna be auto - immune that refuses to be diagnosed.
Yep, I think when the bottom of the basket fell out on the stress level, the need for high nic did too.
As for the PH stuff, all I knew is that PH of your nic juice is actually what determine whether it cracks polycarbonate or not. But I try only to use glass or ss, so that's kind of moot...

 

[Just1Fixxx]

The only time this has happened to me was when I switched hardware.

I needed 24mg using Kanger T2's and Carto's. When I switched to BVC's I had to drop to 12mg. The BVC's were just that much more of an efficient delivery system.

 

[Ryedan]

I switched to vaping at 18 mg and over about nine months reduced to zero nic. Since then I've vaped nic when I've felt like it. These days 3 mg is too much for me, I get over-nic symptoms. I would say 98% of the time I vape zero nic, the rest is at 1 1/2 - 2 mg.

 

[Grimwald]

I found that I had to cut back after 2-3 months from 24mg...I also needed to cut other stimulants like caffeine and sugar. I read on the internet ( and everything on the internet is true...right?) that when your liver starts to recuperate from all of the chemicals in cigarette smoke, it begins to do a better job of processing nicotine and caffeine. That made sense to me. So I cut back gradually and started drinking more decaf.

I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV.

 

[The Torch]

Going from clearo's to RBA (Kafun and Russian) I had to cut from 18mg to 9mg and quickly down to 7.5 (6 + 9 / 2 = 7.5) after a month. After a few months, I now have to go even lower, else the headaches come back. I still have to vape 18mg in a clearo, though. In a Nautilus, I have to stick to about 9mg or the throat hit seems overwhelming, but no headaches.

 

[The Torch]

I found that I had to cut back after 2-3 months from 24mg...I also needed to cut other stimulants like caffeine and sugar. I read on the internet ( and everything on the internet is true...right?) that when your liver starts to recuperate from all of the chemicals in cigarette smoke, it begins to do a better job of processing nicotine and caffeine. That made sense to me. So I cut back gradually and started drinking more decaf.

I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV.

Errr... your liver is there to filter out the crap, not make it more potent... perhaps the absence of the other chemicals in cigarette mean that your system is generally more sensitive. Just a thought.

 

[chapeltown]

Well that is a smidge confusing....
Either my liver is cleaner so the nic is hitting me harder or the liver is cleaner and....my system is now more sensitive to stims....
Well, at least you both agree my liver is in better shape! ;-)