MayMirabella

Thank you B Carter. My Quit Counselor did say every person is different and unique in terms of how they quit, when they quit, and the level of anxiety and withdrawal experienced. So what you are saying makes perfect sense. I think also because I am retired and much of the time, homebound, it has been much harder for me than my husband who is still working and also he does not have a sleep disorder like I do. Insomnia nights which happen at least once weekly with my disorder, are the worst for the urges and smoking. I noticed you were using 24 mg nicotine and I only ever used 11 mg, maybe i need to increase my nicotine levels. That may finally help me get to the point where I am not relying on analogs and ecigs both. Also there are some fascinating new studies out there about how some nicotine replacement methods work better on men than women and some work better with women than men.

I may have to go back and look at some technical terms but what does throat hit mean? Is that what I am looking for and not doing it correctly to get that? Is that what helps calm the urges. Ecigs are great and help a lot to cut back drastically but when the big urges hit, I need to start with analog then to ecig.

Also, apologies for the long post. And I just realized that I never post this personal of information on the internet. But smoking is an addiction and I have been encouraged by my Quit counselor to confide in some ex smokers who can lend me the support and help I am currently lacking. Another E Cig question that may sound dumb but isn;t it true that you do not vape like you smoke ? Ie you do not take a puff, inhale, exhale. Instead you take a 4 to 5 second drag on it and keep it in as long as possible, then exhale? I may be doing something wrong. As when I do it the way i saw on you tube as far as how to vape, if I inhale the vapor, I start couging. I take a long drag but then it has to just stay in my mouth and not be inhaled. What do you suggest? Does just keeping it in my mouth for a long time and then exhale work as good as inhaling? Or should I take shorter drags like I do smoking to avoid coughing? All I know is that no matter what brand or method I tried in the last year and I tried several...I cannot seem to quench the cravings. And I was not ever a heavy smoker and I never smoke anything but light cigarettes and never more than a pack..in the 30 yrs I smoked...often less than that. But I cannot get rid of the urges. They are still bad in the morning and before bed mostly. I have tried the ones online suggested here and before that , tried others in the stores and I am not sure what I am doing wrong, but ecigs are great, fabulous, wonderful for cutting down or when I cannot smoke for some reason and I am down to 5 to 7 per day but I cannot completely quit. I am discouraged as I have been working on this with ecigs for almost a year. I feel like an abysmal failure as most of you all starting vaping and quit on the spot or shortly thereafter. What is your secret>

Hello, I started vaping about a year ago. Due to ecigs, I have been able to cut down on analogs a great deal ! I went from smoking a pack a day to 15 a day , then 10 and now I am down to 4 to 5 cigarettes. But I have reached an impasse and I am really struggling to let the cigs go entirely. So I now have a counselor with Quit for Life ( employer requirement if I ever want discount as nonsmoker on the insurance policy ). They, of course, cannot recommend or talk about vaping. They cannot even discuss the vaporizer or anything prescripton wise either. They will only talk about the patch, lozenges and gum, none of which I can use due to skin problems and my dentist said No to the nicotine gum and lozenge. Vaping is all that works for me and the only thing that has helped me. What I am having trouble getting past is when the urge is strong, vaping just does not take away the strong urges. I find I have to take 2 to 3 puffs of the analog cig and then go back to vaping. How did you all get past this and do it successfully? When the urges are very strong, how did you learn to cope with the fact that vaping takes much longer to satisfy that urge than does regular smoking. Or maybe I am not vaping correctly ? I am wondering if I need a higher nicotine level as I have been using 11 mg all along as I never, ever smoked more than a pack a day and often just 15 max per day. I really need some input with what works for you when: 1. The urges are bad and time is limited and you try to settle that urge a bit. I am an emotional closet type smoker and not a social smoker. I guess you could say I almost always used smoking like an anti anxiety medication. I struggle with anxiety and insomnia due to a chronic illness. So I smoke when anxious or depressed more. 2. When I am around some family and friends, they do not want me vaping in front of them so I have to sneak some vaping in a restroom or away from them and hide that too from view. So I need to get some quick hits that will last to curb the urge..thus far, the vaping only craves about half the urge. 3. How are you all coping with the irritablity or depression or anxiety of withdrawal. ? I have a great family and husband but they would rather not talk about this issue or quitting..even though they are all either ex smokers or non smokers. So I have very little of a support system. They all just tell me, Well Quit All ready but Don;'t be Talking about it. Just do it . So it is tough for me as I have so few who lend me support, they just are disgusted with me that I smoke still and they do not want to ever talk about it. My husband quit cold turkey and he disapproves of nicotine replacement therapy. He thinks vaping is a crutch. But he says whatever it takes, go for it but I cannot talk about my struggle because he thinks if he quit, the world can quit cold turkey. And my sister just nags me about the smell and how my clothes smelling like smoke inflames her allergies and how it affects her. She only wants me to quit so my house smells better and because she does not like the smell. She refuses to lend support until I quit. 4. So I guess I am looking for some ideas, input, and so on as everyone who is close to me is not comfortable with this topic or are lifelong nonsmokers who think people can quit smoking as easy as they gave up sugar or soda.