Was: 25 Years. Now: Over 48 Hours.

[Emilie]

I just wanted to update this thread.

I haven't had a cigarette since the 29th of April at 10pm. My signature is close to accurate.

I sold my VV3s and Vamo, and bought a spare SVD.

And this week I'm going to use the machinery I have to get into the accessories game to sell to local shops.

I've cut down from 18mg to 11mg, and when these two 30ml bottles of juice get about half-way, I'm mixing in 6mg strength. I'll continue to mix in the 6mg juice until I'm at 6mg strength, then start to lower it even more. Currently I'm vaping 2.5-3ml of juice a day. I was smoking a pack-and-a-half of cancer sticks a day.

I like these flavors I have, though, so I may continue to vape casually at 0mg strength once I'm there. The act of smoking is a coping mechanism for me, and helps treat boredom, depression, and anxiety.

I can't call myself a success story yet. At least, not until I've given up the death sticks for six months, but I don't crave those things anymore. Well, I've had two or three momentary cravings, but they've only lasted as long as remembering that my PV is in another room, first thing when I wake up.

My husband smokes less than I ever used to, and now that I'm not asking him if he'd like to join me for a cigarette every half-hour, he's down to about a half-a-pack a day or so. Maybe just a little more. He's considering vaping, and has all the paraphernalia, but hasn't actually made the decision that it's time to give up tobacco.

Oh, and I'm also eating less (I'm a bit overweight).

All-n-all, pretty good, though I can't say "cheaper".

 

[B2L]

Glad to hear things are going well, best of luck with your new venture!

 

[Jugband]

Sounds great! Congrats!

 

[Emilie]

Thanks!

I've passed three weeks, now.

When I don't vape often (for various reasons), I get strong cravings and think I want an analog, but then I vape and it all goes away.

I was just at my doctor's today, and my O2 sats are up, BP is also up (it was WAY low before, to the point I was always light-headed), and though I've had a few issues, I'm needing less insulin than I did before I gave up cancer sticks.

With my luck, though, my body will probably rebel and develop cancer, anyway.

I've had a few distractions the last several days, so I haven't been able to get out to my shop yet, but I hope to apply to be a supplier here soon. According to the rules, I believe that may be all I'm allowed to say, and even that may have gone too far (drat, already cited for the awesome banner I was using!).

 

[regal55]

I also was a 25 year smoker. But I didn't have any luck until I found the natural tobacco e-juices, now I'm going on 2 months without touching a cig.

But I am still at 25mg/ml nic, but my goal is not to get off nicotine and the 24mg sometimes just kills any desire for a cig. I am a believer that nicotine is beneficial to the brain mental/physical a lot of studies show this. However I'm probably just jealous.

I still don't know all the terminology, what is the difference between a cart, tank clearomizer, etc? I just know I have good luck with my svd and vtr with aerotanks (what are they classified as?).

 

[Emilie]

Nice!

It's been a month for me now (well, tonight at 10pm).

I'm afraid I can't help you with all the terminology. I only know that what I use are called clearomizers, and since they're glass, they're often called glassomizers, or glassos (at least, that's what I've gathered).

I love SVDs, but my first one failed already. I had a backup (and just ordered a third), but I may move to something else. I've considered the VTR, but I think I'll stick with tube mods. I'm kinda being sucked into the whole Provari thing, though I'm not sure I want to spend that much yet.

Like you, I don't plan to completely give up nicotine, though I'm going to keep mine on the low end. I'm a little under 12mg strength right now, but plan on leveling off at 6mg.

 

[gorillas]

congrats on the success!!

 

[regal55]

Nice!

I love SVDs, but my first one failed already. I had a backup (and just ordered a third), but I may move to something else. I've considered the VTR, but I think I'll stick with tube mods. I'm kinda being sucked into the whole Provari thing, though I'm not sure I want to spend that much yet.

.

Boy that's some bad luck, mine has acted squirrely at times but I found two issues: some of the ebay coils just don't fit. And two you have to change the coil quite more than the aero tank.

 

[Emilie]

50 days now, and 6mg strength.

I still can't call myself a success story as it hasn't been the insurance industry's required 6 months to call yourself an ex-smoker, but at this point, I'm not getting even the slightest craving for analogs.

20 days ago I said that I would probably stick with low-nic, but now I'm thinking I may cut the nic out completely after a while. Depends. I have a LOT of it (for me), but I may never get through it at this point.

I decided to go DIY with e-juice, and I bought my PG/VG/Nic in bulk, so other than flavor concentrates, batteries, and coils (and perhaps more SVDs), I'm done spending gobs of money on my nicotine habit. According to my calculations, I have about 5-10 years worth of PG and VG, though it will most likely need to be replaced before then.

 

[Emilie]

Just adding this about my husband because he'll never join, himself:

 

[Mssunn]

I guess I'm really one of the lucky ones. Since I smoked my last cigarette and started vaping I've never had the urge to start smoking again. There were even some packs of my usual brand in the house for awhile too since my hubby was still smoking. The habit part was hard to break like not taking a lighter with me when I left home, looking for the ashtray and all those weird little things. It's been over 4 months and I do sometimes catch my self looking on the shelf in the laundry room where we'd keep the cigarettes. lol Other than that there haven't been any problems. I'll let you know how I do when I have to quit vaping next month. I'm down to 3 mgs of nic in my juice now and hopefully nothing starting the end of July. I guess I should get a zero nic just to have just in case? What would you guys do?

 

[regal55]

50 days now, and 6mg strength.

I still can't call myself a success story as it hasn't been the insurance industry's required 6 months to call yourself an ex-smoker, but at this point, I'm not getting even the slightest craving for analogs.

20 days ago I said that I would probably stick with low-nic, but now I'm thinking I may cut the nic out completely after a while. Depends. I have a LOT of it (for me), but I may never get through it at this point.

I decided to go DIY with e-juice, and I bought my PG/VG/Nic in bulk, so other than flavor concentrates, batteries, and coils (and perhaps more SVDs), I'm done spending gobs of money on my nicotine habit. According to my calculations, I have about 5-10 years worth of PG and VG, though it will most likely need to be replaced before then.

Now that's confidence, I am past the 3 month mark now and just started my first batch of DIY ( a NET.) I look at DIY more as a backup in case of a tax levy as I doubt I could compete with some of the extraordinary commercial nets.

 

[Emilie]

I have very simple taste buds, so all I really need are enough flavors to make a good cinnamon roll and I need a good strawberry (and a strawberries and cream).

I admit, I bought the PG/VG on sale before I calculated how long it would last. I wish I knew more people that vaped! Right now, it's just me and my husband.

 

[Emilie]

I guess I'm really one of the lucky ones. Since I smoked my last cigarette and started vaping I've never had the urge to start smoking again. There were even some packs of my usual brand in the house for awhile too since my hubby was still smoking. The habit part was hard to break like not taking a lighter with me when I left home, looking for the ashtray and all those weird little things. It's been over 4 months and I do sometimes catch my self looking on the shelf in the laundry room where we'd keep the cigarettes. lol Other than that there haven't been any problems. I'll let you know how I do when I have to quit vaping next month. I'm down to 3 mgs of nic in my juice now and hopefully nothing starting the end of July. I guess I should get a zero nic just to have just in case? What would you guys do?

I enjoy smoking/vaping, so I don't plan to give up vaping altogether, but in your case, since you're planning on quitting, I'd probably get an emergency supply of 0mg to at least satisfy a part of your craving/habit.

That's just me, though. For me, I think my addiction to the physical action of bringing my cig/e-cig to my mouth and inhaling is at least as strong as my nicotine addiction.

 

[Emilie]

My husband let me know last night that he's really having an easy time with not smoking while using his PVs.

His plan is to use them while he needs to, cut back on nicotine, and quit everything, altogether.

My plan is/was to cut back on nicotine and continue vaping, as I enjoy it, but I've noticed over the last few days that I'm vaping less and less. I'm sometimes going for a couple of hours or more without vaping at all.

I guess this is a good thing, but with my memory, I'm interested in the memory benefits of nicotine (or scared of the consequences of quitting it, the way mine is currently). I also really enjoy vaping. Call it a "guilty" pleasure.

I went the DIY route, at first because that seemed to be the only way of getting eggnog, and then for harm reduction after reading about all the nasties in some e-juice. I'd like to know (to the best of my abilities) what I'm putting in my lungs and body. Oh, and that means no eggnog for me unless I can find a safe recipe for it.

So, in conclusion, not only has it been nearly two months, not only am I not craving tobacco at all, now I'm rarely craving nicotine!

C'mon politicos, can't you see that these things are a GOOD thing?

E-cig manufacturers, if you'd named them something else and marketed them as a stop-smoking aid, people's insurance would be paying for them right now instead of policy-makers banning them.

 

[starwatching]

Congrats on your success!! I have been vaping for 3 years or so now. I tried it back when a 510 kit with cartridges was the only option. Hated it. Then I read about clearomizers, went to a local vape shop, and tried it again. I have been hooked ever since. I own 3 Provari's at this point. I bought all of them off of the classifieds. If you are wanting to try one, buy a used one first. Usually they are about $50-$80 cheaper than a new one.
My boyfriend started vaping in October. He hasn't had analogs since. He does still chew, which is more convenient at work for him. His employer informed all the employees that they are allowed to vape while they work. I thought that was cool. He's still on 18mg. I think the next time I make him a batch, I will try to sneak in 12mg and see what happens.
I enjoy vaping. I agree with you on the hand to mouth motion and the inhaling.
Sometimes, when me and my boyfriend are traveling in the car, I'm sure people laugh at us as we go by. It kind looks like Cheech and Chong going down the road with the haze that's in our car. Sometimes when we open the doors and the vapor escapes, we just kind of chuckle because we know it looks funny. Neither of us like the smell of cigarette smoke anymore. We can smell a smoker coming from a far distance. It's amazing to think, "I smelled like that all the time?" Yuk!
Keep up the good work. If you need a cheerleader, there are many of us here on ECF. Feel free to shout out to any of us. The people on here are great. They are very knowledgeable and will help in any way. Best of luck to you and your husband!

 

[Emilie]

Yes, clearomizers are the way to go for me, too!

With the older cigalikes I was using before, the liquid leaked onto my lips all the time and I would get major nicotine highs and the jitters. It was pretty nasty.

I think I have eight iClear X.I glassos now. I haven't even tried my Nautilus yet. I go for Pyrex as I like to vape cinnamon.

 

[Emilie]

Two months in as of last night at 10pm.

No analogs since. Dropped from 18mg to 6mg, and now I believe I'm on the verge of dropping to 3mg or just keeping a couple of bottles of 0mg on the side if I'm feeling a little over-nic'ed.

DIYing, and other than the flavors themselves, I'm set for supplies for the foreseeable future. My vaping budget is down to about $10/mo+shipping.

My husband is just over a week off of analogs and doing well. I'll probably start weaning him off of nicotine soon, and then he'll be done vaping on a regular basis (unless he really feels like he needs it).

I'll be continuing to vape, because I enjoy it. I'm also considering the potential benefits of a small amount of nicotine on memory (mine is horrible).

***I feel weird having "ECF Veteran" by my name. I'm NO expert on any of this. I just happened to join, give up on vaping after purchasing cigalikes, and come back after purchasing an APV after a couple of years of being back on analogs.

Take anything I say with a grain of salt. I'm still very much a noob.

 

[jumphour]

I was a smoker for 31 years, pack a day to recently 6-8 cigs a day, which made me feel good just cutting down. I quit a few years ago with a pill for about 7 months, and it was such a miserable experience...thought I was resigned to smoking forever after I went back on them. But on a whim back in June, I got these Fin e-cigs really cheap online, and really enjoyed the experience (vaping, not constantly charging tiny batteries!) . I got my iTaste 134 mini the other day, which I LOVE (just cuz it looks cool), and a little eGo to carry around with me, got some good menthol juice that I enjoy (and some custard 0 nicotine for fun), and it's been 11 days since I had a real cigarette, and I feel fairly confident. I'm enjoying vaping, I like forums, like my equipment so far, and I'm not depressed about not having cigs, which is HUGE!!!

 

[Emilie]

Cigalikes failed me miserably in 2011, but higher-powered VV/VW devices have saved me.

I love the 134, too! My husband has a full-size 134, but I was considering getting a mini.

For me, today is 100 days!