@aroutt1 Welcome to the Ex. Brain fog is a well known withdrawal symptom from nicotine. I don't know about your professor, but you might want to share your temporary brain fog is because you're doing something really special for your physical and mental health. It will be temporary, but well worth it.
Other vapers have described what you have. It seemed like a good idea to quit smoking, but often vapers are actually getting more nicotine than when they smoked.
It's not too late to late to educate yourself about nicotine addiction and putting a plan in place with how you'll deal with cravings, identifying your triggers and creating the new associations you'll create instead of smoking. What can you do instead of smoking? Change up your routine. Go for walk, read material on the Ex, if you drink coffee, for example, drink it in a different place, etc. Be creative.
And you just found an amazing group of quitters here to support you on this journey to becoming an Ex. There will be ups and downs, but that is part of the journey. We're here for you, so just reach out anytime we can help or want to share your experience.
This link is a great place to get you started on the right track. https://www.becomeanex.org/guides/?cid=footer_community_linktobex
You might find this helpful from the Mayo Clinic to see of your on the right patch for vapers.
"If I vape, smoke cigars or pipe, or use chewing tobacco, how much nicotine replacement should I use when trying to quit?
Knowing how much nicotine replacement to use when trying to quit vaping, chewing, or smoking cigars or a pipe, is more difficult than when the tobacco user uses cigarettes exclusively. The following are general recommendations when considering quitting these tobacco products and wanting to use nicotine replacement therapy (NRT).
For those who vapes, or uses a pipe or cigar, a good guide to NRT is the following:
If you are a non-daily user of vape, cigars or pipe, try a 2 mg nicotine gum, 2 mg nicotine lozenge, or the nicotine inhaler. While those who vape are aware that different devices or nicotine liquids are advertised as having specific concentrations of nicotine, these labels cannot be relied on to estimate total nicotine exposure, so the general rule of trying the 2 mg nicotine gum, 2 mg nicotine lozenge, or the nicotine inhaler with those who are non-daily users is best. The nicotine gum and nicotine lozenge are available over the counter. You can use 1-2 pieces of the gum or lozenge every 1-2 hours. The nicotine inhaler (available only by prescription) has a maximum daily usage is 16 cartridges per day.
If you vape, or use a cigar or pipe daily, you can also try adding a 14 mg nicotine patch to the 2 mg gum, 2 mg lozenge or nicotine inhaler. Nicotine patches last 24 hours; so, you put it on in the morning, wear them to bed at night, and put a fresh one on the next morning. A general recommendation is to taper down 7 mg on the patches every 4 weeks, and to use the patches for at least 3 months.
If you are getting too much nicotine, the symptoms would be dizziness or nauseousness. In this case, you will want to consider stepping down on your patch, gum, or lozenge dosage.
Reference: Nicotine percentage replacement among smokeless tobacco users with nicotine patch - PubMed (nih.gov)
*Note: These are just examples. Please connect with a physician and the manufacturer of the NRT to ensure you're using the product correctly for your specific case."
Join many of us on the Daily Pledge to stay on track one day at a time.
Congrats on 2 days of success. So proud of your effort to quit.
Stay busy and stay close.
Barb
