Week 3 and seeking some motivation to dump analogs

[SharonH]

I'm finishing up week 3 vaping. I had smoked 50 analogs a day. Week 1, I was off regular work and was able to get analogs down to 7. Then I had to go back to work and had a huge amount of life stressors to deal with. Plus, am having some health issues. Last week, I averaged around 18 a day and this week it's maybe 19 or so. I have been tracking on calendar and on blog here but need to total up on blog for the last 10 days.

I had THOUGHT that giving myself permission to reduce analogs would relieve the stress but it's like the worst of both worlds for me right now. I've also discovered that below about 10 analogs a day, any smoking symptoms are gone but they are back over 12.

I'm using an Ego and alternate between 24 mg and 11/12 mg liquid.

Part of the problem for me is that I continually feel light headed... even with what I am back to smoking now, this isn't going away. I am having serious concentration issues with work.

If anyone who has been there, done that with heavy addiction plus the concentration issue who was able to ditch analogs entirely... would love to hear any advice. I am almost positive that the Ego & liquid are fine, it's how to contend with the rest I am battling.

 

[ZNinja]

I think you may need a higher nic level if you were smoking 2 1/2 packs a day. I was 1 pack a day and 11mg was too light when I started. I'm still on 18 now. I'd stick with the 24 exclusively for a while.

Sent from my MB886 using Tapatalk 4

 

[State O' Flux]

Rather than pretend to know what I'm talking about, or applying unique my situation to your equally unique situation... I will respectfully suggest that you review the Health and Medical Issues forums section of ECF.

Best of success Sharon.
C

 

[soba1]

A suggestion as far as juice strength, u may wanna rotate between 12mg and 6, use 6 mg for chain vaping. Also drink a lot of water which I don't but was told at a vape shop water helps move the nicotene through u.

First off remember u can smoke anytime u want. When I knew I had a chance was when I took that first vape with my morning coffee, I knew I could.
It's all a matter of habit.
So what I did in the beginning, when I woke up, instead of grabbing that cigarette I vaped first then smoked.
That first cup of coffee, I vaped first then I smoked.
When I jumped in the car I vaped first then lit up.
Whatever u do that triggers u to light up, vape first then smoke....
For me is was a matter of shifting my habits.
Oh and definitely after u eat vape first, although vaping right after I eat still doesn't set well lol.
That's what worked for me, and know this being a two pack a day smoker hopelessly hooked.
If I can I know u can as well......

Also for me pg/vg mix irritated me. So I use all vg..
U can you already are a full time vaper...

 

[SharonH]

I think you may need a higher nic level if you were smoking 2 1/2 packs a day. I was 1 pack a day and 11mg was too light when I started. I'm still on 18 now. I'd stick with the 24 exclusively for a while.

Sent from my MB886 using Tapatalk 4

I think there's a lot of factors on nic strength. Analogs = ultra light and less than 0.1 nic per. If I do too much of 24 mg, I get shaky and have trouble sleeping.

 

[SharonH]

Rather than pretend to know what I'm talking about, or applying unique my situation to your equally unique situation... I will respectfully suggest that you review the Health and Medical Issues forums section of ECF.

Best of success Sharon.
C

Thanks!

 

[SharonH]

A suggestion as far as juice strength, u may wanna rotate between 12mg and 6, use 6 mg for chain vaping. Also drink a lot of water which I don't but was told at a vape shop water helps move the nicotene through u.

First off remember u can smoke anytime u want. When I knew I had a chance was when I took that first vape with my morning coffee, I knew I could.
It's all a matter of habit.
So what I did in the beginning, when I woke up, instead of grabbing that cigarette I vaped first then smoked.
That first cup of coffee, I vaped first then I smoked.
When I jumped in the car I vaped first then lit up.
Whatever u do that triggers u to light up, vape first then smoke....
For me is was a matter of shifting my habits.
Oh and definitely after u eat vape first, although vaping right after I eat still doesn't set well lol.
That's what worked for me, and know this being a two pack a day smoker hopelessly hooked.
If I can I know u can as well......

Also for me pg/vg mix irritated me. So I use all vg..
U can you already are a full time vaper...

Great suggestions! Yup, I'm on all VG. I get allergies/sensitivities easily and it was suggested out the door for me to go that route. I got one 70/30 PG/VG mix and cannot use it.

I think the VAPE first is the approach I need to take. Morning, post-meals and evenings are the worst. Other trigger times like phone calls etc I've worked through pretty well.

Thank you!

 

[Gaspar74]

Morning ones were toughest but it passes. Try stronger nic in AM then lower through out the day. Worked for me. 6 weeks almost seven vaping and almost 10 days no cigs. Even when I still smoked it was down to a couple a day mostly. I believe it's a about having the right delivery devices and juices. That's the hard part it gets easier once you find what works for you.
Best of luck!

 

[Statistic]

A suggestion as far as juice strength, u may wanna rotate between 12mg and 6, use 6 mg for chain vaping. Also drink a lot of water which I don't but was told at a vape shop water helps move the nicotene through u.

First off remember u can smoke anytime u want. When I knew I had a chance was when I took that first vape with my morning coffee, I knew I could.
It's all a matter of habit.
So what I did in the beginning, when I woke up, instead of grabbing that cigarette I vaped first then smoked.
That first cup of coffee, I vaped first then I smoked.
When I jumped in the car I vaped first then lit up.
Whatever u do that triggers u to light up, vape first then smoke....
For me is was a matter of shifting my habits.
Oh and definitely after u eat vape first, although vaping right after I eat still doesn't set well lol.
That's what worked for me, and know this being a two pack a day smoker hopelessly hooked.
If I can I know u can as well......

Also for me pg/vg mix irritated me. So I use all vg..
U can you already are a full time vaper...

^^^ this this this one thousand times this

I never denied myself a cigarette when I wanted one, just didn't want to put that kind of stress on myself. Instead I committed to simply having a few puffs of vapor before every cigarette. Cigarette consumption was a steady decline for me and within a few weeks I was done.

If you want to smoke.. vape some.. then smoke if you still want to.

That's my anyways. Hang in there, you can defeat this monkey on your back!

 

[DantesInferno]

I tricked my brain when I first started. Used the nicotine addiction against itself. I vaped a higher nic content so after a few days the analogs don't satisfy the nicotine cravings. I was forced to vape to get more nicotine. Worked for me anyway. More than a year later and I've never looked back. Money's tight but it also helped when I just splurged and bought a provari. After spending that much on a piece of vaping equipment there was no way I was buying anymore cigarettes.

Sent from Galaxy Note 2 via Tapatalk 2.

 

[Mike Sheda]

I tricked my brain when I first started. Used the nicotine addiction against itself. I vaped a higher nic content so after a few days the analogs don't satisfy the nicotine cravings. I was forced to vape to get more nicotine. Worked for me anyway. More than a year later and I've never looked back. Money's tight but it also helped when I just splurged and bought a provari. After spending that much on a piece of vaping equipment there was no way I was buying anymore cigarettes.

Sent from Galaxy Note 2 via Tapatalk 2.

That's pretty much what happened with me. I started at 24, and stayed there for 6 weeks, after a week or two, the cigs weren't doing anything for me but leaving a bad taste in my mouth. I've just recently started backing down on the nic (but I still have 32 in an Evod that I carry with me if the urge returns, or when I can only take a quick break from my desk). I'm at 11 and 18 now. Slowly coasting down, but if I get the urge, I still have some 24 left. After almost 8 weeks without an analog, I really don't want to go back at this point. I'm just starting to recover my breath, and can mostly go up a flight of stairs without getting out of breath.

 

[SharonH]

Morning ones were toughest but it passes. Try stronger nic in AM then lower through out the day. Worked for me. 6 weeks almost seven vaping and almost 10 days no cigs. Even when I still smoked it was down to a couple a day mostly. I believe it's a about having the right delivery devices and juices. That's the hard part it gets easier once you find what works for you.
Best of luck!

Thanks Gaspar! Congratulations to you!

 

[SharonH]

^^^ this this this one thousand times this

I never denied myself a cigarette when I wanted one, just didn't want to put that kind of stress on myself. Instead I committed to simply having a few puffs of vapor before every cigarette. Cigarette consumption was a steady decline for me and within a few weeks I was done.

If you want to smoke.. vape some.. then smoke if you still want to.

That's my anyways. Hang in there, you can defeat this monkey on your back!

Thanks! Your and Soba's advice on this seem to be a missing piece for me right now on getting this monkey off my back!

 

[SharonH]

I tricked my brain when I first started. Used the nicotine addiction against itself. I vaped a higher nic content so after a few days the analogs don't satisfy the nicotine cravings. I was forced to vape to get more nicotine. Worked for me anyway. More than a year later and I've never looked back. Money's tight but it also helped when I just splurged and bought a provari. After spending that much on a piece of vaping equipment there was no way I was buying anymore cigarettes.

Sent from Galaxy Note 2 via Tapatalk 2.

I'd been reluctant to vape 24 mg more often - it didn't feel like I NEEDED it. But you might have just explained why I DO need it. Missing piece of the puzzle #2!

 

[SharonH]

That's pretty much what happened with me. I started at 24, and stayed there for 6 weeks, after a week or two, the cigs weren't doing anything for me but leaving a bad taste in my mouth. I've just recently started backing down on the nic (but I still have 32 in an Evod that I carry with me if the urge returns, or when I can only take a quick break from my desk). I'm at 11 and 18 now. Slowly coasting down, but if I get the urge, I still have some 24 left. After almost 8 weeks without an analog, I really don't want to go back at this point. I'm just starting to recover my breath, and can mostly go up a flight of stairs without getting out of breath.

That's awesome! Fantastic for you!

So I think I'm going to go ahead and order some more stronger juice to get in. If I order it today, I should have it in for Monday. Weekends tend to go easier for me.


I REALLY appreciate the comments everyone has given. I've been beating myself up since day one on this being so much harder for me than it seemed to be for others.

 

[soba1]

Morning ones were toughest but it passes. Try stronger nic in AM then lower through out the day. Worked for me. 6 weeks almost seven vaping and almost 10 days no cigs. Even when I still smoked it was down to a couple a day mostly. I believe it's a about having the right delivery devices and juices. That's the hard part it gets easier once you find what works for you.
Best of luck!

That's exactly what I did stronger in the morning...

 

[Johnny101]

I found chain vaping on 24 or 36 nic worked when I was having some bad cravings

 

[BigBen2k]

Did you use to smoke Ultra lights? 50 per day? You're not quitting like most, if that's what you used to smoke. Most 2 1/2 pack a day smokers, smoked regulars.

24 mg might be too much. This is very subjective, but I was on Ultra Lights too, and I used 12mg for the first couple of weeks. I tried 6, and it left me wanting.

tip: keep some 0 nic handy; for those moments you have cravings, but don't want more nicotine.

You can do it!

 

[SharonH]

I found chain vaping on 24 or 36 nic worked when I was having some bad cravings

Chain vaping helped in week 1... I need to get back to there!

 

[Cactus Breath]

I was an ultra-light smoker (pack and a half a day), and started off with 18 mg. I was chain-vaping like crazy in the beginning, and my strongest urges for a cigarette were in the morning with my coffee. I bought some 24 mg juice for the mornings and told myself that I'd vape first, then smoke if I still had the urge. The 24 mg took care of it for me and after a few vapes, the urge for that morning cigarette subsided and I never needed to light up.

I'm currently still vaping 18 mg all day (still occasionally hit the 24 mg with my morning coffee), but don't feel the need to chain-vape as much as in the beginning. I'm trying 12 mg on my next juice order, but keeping some 18 and 24 mg handy in case I start getting urges.

Bottom line, it doesn't matter what nic level "should" do it for you based upon what you smoked before - all that matters is what nic level actually works for you. If it's 24 mg in the morning and cut back to 18, or 12, or 6 throughout the rest of the day, hey, whatever gets it done.