all the support really helps guys! Its nice to know im not alone in this. Its officially day 4
and something incredible just happened. i went the whole day with no cigarette, only a couple of puffs off of one in the morning that my girlfriend was smoking. It was a little hard don't get me wrong, i had to fight the urge, but as suggested I learned to distract myself (I would drive to the store and get a soda - while taking my ego, and leaving anything smokeable at home....I even cleaned the ashtrays out of my truck) and the cravings would subside.
I decided I would reward myself tonight and have a "well earned" quick smoke.
And something happened that shocked me, and im still in shock.
It was the worst tasting cigarette I have ever had. it felt like I was smoking dried up bubble gum from the sidewalk. I remember puffing on one yesterday morning and it tasted great.
I couldnt force myself to smoke it. I still "miss them" terribly, i have to admit. It just feels off without one in my hand.
Theres part of me thats scared I will never want them again, but theres a bigger part saying this is really happening and its amazing.
Real familiar stuff you're describing. Lot of variation between people in this, oh, call it "experience" but once in a while you run into others on the forum you can only say, "Yeah, that."
The "miss them" will lose it's grip. May not go away totally. I don't know. I still get it. But now, most every time, it's just kind of a mild... "gosh I miss that". Easy to distract myself from.
Those moments where you "give in" and react with, "these things are
awful!" are great moments. Hang on to 'em. I got to a point I started to dread that "I wanna real one" urge. Cigs started giving me headaches. It became a terrible experience. Vaping was so, so much better.
Try not to think of the vaping as a "quit" thing. Think of it as a new, enjoyable hobby. Try flavors. Try different PG/VG mixes. Do some exploring. Lot of folks (myself included) tell stories of that first, "OHMIGAWD" liquid. One you like so much, you start to wonder what you ever saw in cigarettes in the first place. I'm convinced a big, big part of this vaping thing is focusing on the positive. Switching long term habits is not easy. Find the vape "incentives" that'll pull you away from the cigs. Whatever those may be for you.
I can honestly say that though I still sometimes feel a "miss them" thing about cigs, I like
vaping much, much more. When I started hitting the right "combinations" of stuff so I enjoyed vaping more than smoking, that's what tipped it all over in the right direction.
I'll keep you posted! thanks for all the of the support!!
p.s I wasnt aware how difficult breathing has been while smoking. I feel like i've been using an inhaler all day or something! I already have a Very noticeable amount of extra energy. Daily chores seem less draining, I feel more motivated (were all adults here? ) Even sex is noticeably better on both ends! lol.
Heh. Speaking of positive incentives.
(In all seriousness, smoking has been known to degrade sexual performance. It has multiple bad effects on those... um... systems? Particularly that one we males are a bit... obsessive about. Something to remind yourself of should you be tempted to smoke?
)
p.p.s the only downside to vaping thus far is that it REALLY dehydrates you. Which i've been expectant of from reading other stories and posts. I carry a bottle of water everywhere, and the constant trips to the bathrooms can be annoying.
I found that evens out over time. Since both PG and VG "steal" water to make vapor, you'll always need some extra hydration. But it seems the body adjusts and you'll level out at something more reasonable in time. You're just starting out. Give yourself some time. It's actually a big adjustment physically. You're still getting the nicotine but you've quit about 4,000
other chemicals known to be in cigarette smoke. Folks all over the forum report all kinds of oddball adjustments. Rarely anything serious. Often annoying. But they pass.
I had weird dreams. And I'm not the only one. I thought no way that was cig/vape related but lots of people here said, "yep, happened to me" or "me too right now". I slept way, way better (shoot, I slept like I was 20 years younger) but the dreams were psycho. It was a weird period.
I'm also worried that I'm vaping to much... im at 1.8% ( 18 mg I guess? )
I know i'm probably no where near the toxic limit, but should i expect any repercussions from the amount of nicotine im taking in?
I don't believe there is such a thing as "vaping too much". Others may argue that point but I'm stubborn.
If you get too much nicotine, you'll know. The side effects are very unpleasant. Headaches, dizziness, nausea, shortness of breath... you can find lists around. Like, oh, the Wiki:
Nicotine poisoning - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. It'd be like drinking way,
way,
way too much coffee. I mean huge, excessive amounts. Not "a lot". Absurd amounts. It starts as an "overstimulation" kind of thing.
But the level of toxicity is around 40 to 60 mg. A 1.8% mix means 18mg/ml so I would advise that you do not
drink your e-liquid.
That is, I know of no other way for you to hit toxic levels other than drinking the e-juice by the bottle. The amounts actually in the vapor are much, much lower. At 1.8% if you have 1ml in your PV, you have around 18mg of nicotine total. You don't vape the entire ml in one long draw obviously. 18mg is just what's "present".
Then the liquid is vaporized. How much nic makes it into the vapor? We're not sure exactly. Some early testing says roughly half. So that 1 ml of 1.8% is capable of maybe delivering a total of 9mg. Not "per puff" but total. So you'd have to count "puffs" and divide the 9mg by the number of puffs (I ain't gonna... not unless somebody gives me a research grant
).
Let's pick a number outta the air. Something simple. 90 puffs. Whatever. So you inhale 0.1mg of nicotine each puff.
Of
that (totally made up) number, how much does your body actually absorb and how fast?
Uh... dunno. Guess you could get blood tests done while you vape?
(No, seriously, at some point, some folks with grant money hopefully will actually do blood draws and test this stuff out. Be interesting to see. So far, what I have read is that the "experienced vaper" maintains a blood level of nicotine equivalent to a smoker. Nobody can give you "hard numbers" at this point but, basically, your body "knows" how much nicotine it wants. You'll fall into a habitual pattern without thinking much about it because your body "craves" some amount of nicotine. It'll push you to get that nicotine. Just like when you smoked. You didn't think about why you "wanted a cigarette", you just reached for the pack.)
In short: trust yourself. If you were "getting too much", you'd be feeling bad, not better. Most people I see talk about a case of too high a nic level, the first thing everybody mentions is getting a headache when they vape. Yeah, cut your nic then. Immediately. Nausea is a sign also. Feeling "queasy" when vaping. Light headed. Such things. And clearly connected to when you vape (since, after all, those are also signs of just getting plain old sick).
And 1.8% (18mg/ml... just move the decimal, works every time), isn't actually all that high. Is for some. Not for others. The NJoys I supplement with sometimes? They're 4.5% (45mg/ml). About three times stronger. I can even get a "head rush" off one.
Also, you're not stuck with "a" level of nicotine. Mine varies from 9mg to 24mg. I do things like start off my day with 18 to 24 then switch down to "coast" at 9. I'll drop as low as 6 (or less) in the evenings before bed (nicotine is a stimulant, I found if I don't cut way, way down on evening nic levels, I can't fall asleep until after two or three in the ayam). Though, lately, I'm moving back upward. Not in big jumps but edging my way up.
All of us who smoked (dipped, chewed, hooka...ed?... whatever) have some level of nicotine that we become used to having circulating in our bloodstreams. Whatever level that may be for the individual. However you "deliver" the nicotine, your body is going to try to hit that level. Whatever it is for you.
And, at first, you "flounder" a bit. You're not used to this new thing and it'll take a bit of adjusting. But you'll get that down pretty fast. Nicotine stimulates dopamine production. The "reward" neurotransmitter. The better you get at "delivering" the nicotine your body wants, the more "reward" you'll get. It'll happen fairly quickly and without you having to think about it much at all.
Oh for crying out loud, I've done it again. I just wanted to write a post not a lecture for a symposium. All these years later I have to admit that every single professor that told me I was an academic at heart and should become a professor at university was right.
<mutter>
<grumble>
