Will i ever get off nicotine?

[Deeo]

I am doing great 4 months quit today! However i have lowered myself to 6mg ejuice the past few weeks. I get cravings for analogs but i wouldn't really call them cravings , more i grieve them. My husband is using 18mg ejuice and i find that if i haul on his from time to time during the week that my cravings are not there. So i know i should move back up in nicotine. My question is does this mean i will never be comfortable at a low nic? Has anyone here ever moved down in nic and then back up to finally back down and off nicotine completely?

 

[Fizzpop]

My wife and I started with 24mg juice and pretty quickly stepped down to 18mg. We tried to go from 18mg to 12mg and... it was rough. We are taking smaller steps these days and are down to 16mg. I think you are doing great going to 6mg in 4 months. We've been at it over a year. If you are finding the nic is just not enough, bump it up a bit. We are doing better with smaller steps.

 

[YKruss]

I started with 36 mg on May 1st of 2009.
After 5 years (my anniversary was 2 days ago) I am at 12 mg.

I never think or wanted to reduce nicotine level but it happened naturally and I know many ECF members who experienced the same.

Let it go naturally!

BTW - I don't have a goal to reduce my nicotine to zero, don't see why I have to.

 

[Lillie Bennett]

I am doing great 4 months quit today! However i have lowered myself to 6mg ejuice the past few weeks. I get cravings for analogs but i wouldn't really call them cravings , more i grieve them. My husband is using 18mg ejuice and i find that if i haul on his from time to time during the week that my cravings are not there. So i know i should move back up in nicotine. My question is does this mean i will never be comfortable at a low nic? Has anyone here ever moved down in nic and then back up to finally back down and off nicotine completely?

I'm on my way to 0.75mg. Okay, 16 puffs equals one 12mg puff. The theory is that all the puffing is part of the analog habit so I can puff away without ending up reeling. Good luck

SM-N900V DE

 

[CassiusCloud]

I move up and down all the time,sometimes having 1.2,1.6,1.8 with me in my setups.
sometimes i just want a really good one shotter.
sometimes the nic helps the flavor..

The main thing is we are off the cancer cocktail and healing up with a heck of a lot more time to decided than before

We could go the rest of our lives vaping with nic in our juice and be miles ahead and better off than before..

Nic is about as bad as caffeine in the way we are inducing it..I know i'm never switching to decaff,that crap is nasty

 

[neutrontech]

Is started with 24mg 6 months ago. Now I'm down to 12 during the day, then switch to 6mg in the evenings. Been working great for me

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

 

[DavidOck]

I agree, the question is why? With the current research being done on nic withOUT smoking, it's about as harmful as caffeine.

Start your reading here: FAQ: Nicotine (tobaccoharmreduction.org)

 

[LondonGirl]

4 months is actually not very long. 6mg is quite low, so maybe you need to step back up to 12 or maybe even more for now. Alternatively you could have two setups, one for general use with lower nicotine, and another higher nicotine one to stave off cravings. That way you might notice if there is a natural drop off in cravings. Nicotine has got to be one of the least harmful things in smoke anyway. The important thing is that you are off the cigarettes, I would lower the nicotine in a way that is most comfortable for you.

I don't think this means you can't ever lower or even cut out the nicotine. It just means maybe now is not the right time.

The e-cig is a great way to help you quit smoking. Don't make it harder than it needs to be.

 

[TheJakeBailey]

To me, the answer to "why" is easy. I would like as little dependence on nicotine as possible.

Op, have you considered keeping one tank filled with a higher nic liquid that you REALLY like. If you get a craving, switch to that one until it passes, then move back to the lower nic. When I started dropping down this really helped me. At 6 now with no issues. Good luck!

 

[grannykimmy]

Yesterday was for first day stepping down to 12mg from 18 mg. It was easier than I thought it would be. In fact I vaped less liquid than I have been using and I was relieved that I didn't have bizarre dreams last night that I have been having nightly since I started vaping.

 

[TheJakeBailey]

Londongirl beat me to it!

 

[Rickajho]

My question is does this mean i will never be comfortable at a low nic? Has anyone here ever moved down in nic and then back up to finally back down and off nicotine completely?

It sounds like you are trying too hard. Let's review:

A lot of people jump right on that "monkey on my back, bad person" morality thing when they switch to vaping, and then try to get to no nicotine ASAP. Well, you know how that usually ends when you try to do that with conventional NRT - it doesn't work and people end up right back at smoking. Especially if you have been smoking for decades, you just can't separate yourself from all that history in a matter of weeks or months.

At nine months I was still having the occasional "wanna cigarette" craving - even using 24 mg liquids. At three years I have only recently started playing with my first drop in nic level - three years after I started - with no intention or particular goal in mind. Now it doesn't feel like I'm fighting with anything to do it. But at nine months - let alone only four - dropping my nic level wasn't any place on the radar. At all.

Keep in mind that the win here is not smoking. The big damage is caused by that smoke and the tar you get from it, not the nicotine itself. If you need the nicotine to keep you and your brain away from cigarettes now don't over-think it. And this is the first time you have something that can work to get you quit and keep you quit - without it being an agonizing ordeal in the process.

You do have flexibility here - both down and up. Again - I can only cite "me" as my own example - but during my first four months I was using two different nic levels every day. There were times - every day - when I needed to use a higher nic level to deal with craving fits, while most of the day I was fine at a lower nic level. That very flexibility is why this works so well, and something that conventional NRT has rigidly held was not an option up until very recently. Change your nic level up or down as needed. Even a change in flavors can help to battle a craving fit. But remember: you are in the driver's seat this time. No one is telling you you have to stop vaping by "X" date, or drop you nic level to zero within "X" weeks. If dropping your level this fast isn't working, you do have the choice to move it right back up again.

Please don't dwell on it. Enjoy the win of not smoking. I don't know how long you smoked, but as a former 30 year 2 PAD smoker, I found myself feeling no rush to get away from the only thing that ever worked to get me quit and keep me there.

Best wishes.

 

[Moedog]

So glad I'm not obsessed with reducing my nicotine.

 

[choochoogranny]

There are some serious studies going on relating to nicotine enhancing people's cognitive abilities especially as we grow older. As an o-o-older person, I need all the help I can get! Started at 9 mg 9 mos. ago, and use 6-9 mg. now......probably as long as I can get it.

 

[Bontasia]

I agree 100% with the people who say to have 2 set-ups, one with higher and one with lower. I started a month and a half ago at 36mg and now I have mostly 12mg e-liquids. I use 12mg when I wake up and before I go to bed and some 18mg during the day if I start feeling like I need it.

If your goal is to eventually get to 0mg (mine is but I don't plan to stop vaping then for now) then just take your time and do what works. You'll get there!

 

[v1k1ng1001]

I agree 100% with the people who say to have 2 set-ups, one with higher and one with lower. I started a month and a half ago at 36mg and now I have mostly 12mg e-liquids. I use 12mg when I wake up and before I go to bed and some 18mg during the day if I start feeling like I need it.

I do something like this. My all-day vapes are usually mentholated fruits and beverages. For these, I forced myself to go 12mg--enough to take the edge off. I keep some desserts and sweet tobaccos around at 18mg as after dinner treats or for when I go out for a few beers.

Fwiw, I started at 24 and that's way too high for me now. I have a few bottles of 6mg juice but I dont' see myself switching any time soon.

 

[CountBoredom]

Like many others have mentioned, keeping a few higher levels around have helped me. My typical setup is several tanks at 12 and one or two at 18. I use the 12 for several hours, switch to 18 for an hour or less, then go back to 12. This schedule has kept me from having any real cravings at all.

I did notice something the other day, however. I recently went a little wild on liquid sales during the Easter holiday and discovered that I had refilled my 18 tanks with some 12 so that I could taste more flavors. I don't think I really missed the 18 all that much, but I still have some 18 liquids around (and some came in my recent buying frenzy). So I filled up a tank with 18 and--let's just say I can tell the difference. It's not too strong, but I think that I will now keep any further purchases at no higher than 12. So, as a few someones have already mentioned on this thread, it can happen naturally...

 

[AveryW]

I'm constantly going between 0 and 12 but six is where I stay the most. It was easy for me to step down to six, that one did have the worse 'detox' feeling though. But when I tried to step to zero, I was stuck at work, bummed two or three smoke, it was a bad day. I decided I wasn't gonna rush myself,wait till I felt ready. I think that will be your best bet.

Sent from the mothership.

 

[SuperAwesomeDudeguy]

I was too concerned with dropping my nic that once I went down to 6mg the craving started hitting me pretty hard.

The more research Ive been doing the less Im concerned about lowering my levels. Sure I get a little jonesing for my nic fix at times now but its way beter than feeling a need to have my lip packed with dip during 80% of my day (the other 20% was spend eating lol)

 

[TyPie]

Lots of great advice here about stepping down.
I agree------don't over-think it. I started with a high nic juice 13 months or so ago, and leaned on it very heavily in order to kill any urge for a cigarette. After just a few days, I was able to back off of vaping frequency with no urges at all for a regular cig. Within just a couple of months, I stocked up on a few 18mg juices. Same procedure------leaned on it heavily at first if I had any screaming urges, finding that after a few days I was able to back off on the vaping frequency. Tho I haven't used it myself, I like the idea of having 2 set-ups with higher and lower nic for those times when a bit of an extra kick would be helpful. Same principle ---- just use more vapor to kill off those urges.

The biggest key for me, I think, was KNOWING that I now had something that would completely kill off those killer urges to smoke a real cigarette, and KNOWING that I now did not need anything else. I just knew in my head and heart that it was just a matter of vaping more or less. I now also know that the odds of me going back to analog smokes is next to nil, as there are just too many tasty vapor flavors that I really enjoy.

I'm now down to 0 nic, keep a supply of 0 and 6mg, using 0 most of the time, and the 6 mg mostly at parties and gatherings, and occasionally at night. I find going back and forth to be easy, and I have no dramatic urges for nicotine when using the 0 that I am aware of.

Just keep at it, and DON'T GIVE UP! I'm sure it can be easier for some than for others, but I'm positive that you can and will eventually get to whatever nic level you want!