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Give and get support around quitting

ncooper17
Member

The struggle is real

Hi Everyone,

This is my first time posting on here so please bear with me through my venting..

So it has been about 3 weeks since I stopped vaping. In high school I smoked my first cigarette and eventually switched over to vaping. I vaped for my first 3 years of college until I started to realize that it had become very addicted and dependent on it. My parents luckily convinced me to quit. Now I am 3 weeks without vaping and for the past few days I have been craving nicotine more than ever. I am at the point where vaping will actually make an appearance in my dreams.

I thought that after the first week or so the cravings would get easier to manage, but right now I feel weaker than ever and it is taking all my willpower to stop myself from driving to a gas station to get a nicotine fix. I keep reading my reasons for quitting but I somehow find it so easy to validate that vaping is okay and I should just go back so I am not as miserable. I miss the tingling I would get in my toes and fingertips when I would vape, the satisfying feeling of the fruity flavors hitting my throat and the extra boost of energy. Also, when I think about it, you only live once, so why am I not just doing what makes me happy? But does vaping really make me happy? I don’t even know.

Luckily I am spending the summer with my family so I have their support and I am not around other people who vape. However, when I go back to school in August, I will be around so many other people who vape. When I walk to class I will see at least 10 people who are vaping and I don’t even know how I am going to handle it. Sometimes I think I am just going to go back anyway, so why not go back sooner than later. I feel like I am loosing confidence in myself and I don’t think I can keep myself from vaping.

Anyway, I decided to post here since I felt like it may be helpful venting to people who understand the struggle and maybe get some advice on how to push through these really hard times. If anything at least writing this is helping me release some of these awful and guilty feelings and maybe I will gain a new supporters.

Thank you for reading,

Natasha

6 Replies
sweetplt
Member

Hi and Welcome to Ex’s 

Vent away...it is good and highly recommended and needed in the early days quit.  Three weeks of not vaping/smoking is great, however, you are so early in your quit.  Your healing from all the chemicals you have been feeding to your body and brain.  

You are an addict and the addict in you wants you to feed yourself more nicotine.  It is trying to get you back and trying to convince you .. You can’t live without the vape.  You can, but it takes time.  I recommend you read at My EX Plan | BecomeAnEX , also read the blogs at Ex’s to become more knowledgeable in addiction.  Stay close to us for support.  

You are young, just think by quitting now you may be able to reverse the bad effects vaping have done to you.  Hang in there, and keep busy...it does get better.

You may also, want to join the  group here E-Cig and Vape Quitters and Users 

Keep close to us...we are here to help...Colleen 556 DOF 

ncooper17
Member

Thank you so much for your response. I did not know about the e-cig quitting group so that was especially helpful. Honestly, I do not use this resource that often and I know I should because it would be very beneficial to me. I was wondering if there is an app for EX community? That would make this site so much more accessible for me. 

sweetplt
Member

Sorry ncooper17 there is no app at this time...

0 Kudos
YoungAtHeart
Member

Welcome to our community!

There is a sign-up to receive texts here:  DITCHJUUL to 88709 to get started.  I am assuming you are a young adult; this was designed for that age group.

 

Although primarily a smoking cessation site, I have seen a huge increase in the number of people coming for help to break free from vaping. You will need to substitute “vape” or “device” as you do the reading I will recommend. Research suggests nicotine may be as addictive as heroin and cocaine. Because vaping is available to you most anywhere, anytime, I believe it might be more difficult from which to break free than regular tobacco products - but it CAN be done!  The first couple of weeks suck, no doubt about that, but as time passes it WILL get easier.  The only way out is through, though, so you just have to get through it the best you can.  Hopefully be the time school starts in the Fall you will be happy you are no longer an addict and those you see vaping still ARE!

 

Considering vaping to be “safe” is far from a given - there is much research to be done. What we know is that vaping raises your blood pressure and spikes your adrenaline, which increases your heart rate and the likelihood of having a heart attack. There are many unknowns about vaping, including what chemicals make up the vapor and how they affect physical health over the long term. Recently vaping has been in the headlines because of the possibility of it causing severe lung damage in young people. An August, 2019 study at the University of Pennsylvania showed that a single instance of vaping immediately lead to reduced vascular function: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/08/190820101601.htm I am glad you have decided to seek our help to break free! It isn't easy – but it IS doable!

Nicotine addiction is nicotine addiction - no matter the delivery device - and how to beat any of them is about the same. Every time you read :"cigarette" in the information I will give you, just sub "Juul" or “vape,” or “device.”   The one thing different I would recommend is that you first start to reduce the nicotine content of the pods.  Start with a lesser amount in, like, one in every four, then three, etc. until you are only using the smallest amount, or reduce the amount of nicotine in the pods over time. That way the physical withdrawal should be more manageable. You might find useful information, as well, here: https://truthinitiative.org/research-resources/quitting-smoking-vaping/quitting-e-cigarettes.

 

I recommend that you educate yourself on what nicotine does to your body and mind.   To that end, I suggest Allen Carr's “The Easy Way to Stop Smoking.” . Vaping was not a concern when this was written, so you will need to sub “vape”as necessary. This is an easy and entertaining read which can be found online or at your local library. If you do nothing else to get ready for your quit, please do give this a read. Here is a video to inform you further about nicotine addiction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpWMgPHn0Lo&feature=youtu.be.

 

 After you have completed the recommended reading, it will be time to make an informed choice of the quit aid, if any, you will use. If you go that route, I personally recommend the aids that don't let the addict control the dose such as the available prescription drugs or the patch. If used properly, gum, lozenges and inhalers are fine, but they need to be used only as a last resort after you have tried to delay and distract.   I have seen folks become addicted to them if they substitute them for every cigarette they used to smoke - just trading one addiction for another.  You need to start out with a plan to reduce use of them over time - which the patch does by decreasing the dose contained in them..  For the gum, you can start by cutting each piece in half, then in quarters, then sub regular gum of the same flavor in between, adding more and more regular gum.  For the lozenge, you need to start subbing a mint in between to begin, increasing the number of them over time.

 

It will be informative if you do the tracking and separation exercises recommended here on the site. As you track each device use, note its importance, and what you might do instead. Put each use off just a little to prove that you don't NEED a puff just because you think you do

 

The idea is to change up your routines so the vaping associations are reduced.  Drink your coffee with your OTHER hand in a place different from where you vaped. Maybe switch to tea for a bit.  If you always had that first puff with your coffee, try putting your tennies on right out of bed, going for a quick walk, then taking your shower and THEN your coffee! Rearrange the furniture in the areas you used to vape so the view is different. Take a different route when you are out and about so you aren't driving by your vaping supply shop. Take a quick walk at break time instead of vaping.


You need to distract yourself through any craves.  You can take a bite out of a lemon (yup - rind and all), put your head in the freezer and take a deep breath of cold air, do a few jumping jacks, go for a brisk walk or march in place, play a computer game.  Keep a cold bottle of water with you from which to sip. Don't let that vaping thought rattle around in your brain unchallenged. Sometimes you need to quit a minute or an hour at a time.  You will need to be disciplined in the early days to distract yourself when a crave hits.    Get busy!  Here is a link to a list of things to do instead of vape if you need some fresh ideas:
 https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/blogs/Youngatheart.7.4.12-blog/2013/02/25/100-things-to-do-instea...


The conversation in your head in response to the "I want to vape" thought needs to be, "Well, since I have decided not to do that anymore, what shall I do instead for the three minutes this crave will last?"  Then DO it.  You will need to put some effort into this in the early days, but it gets easier and easier to do.

 

Stay close to us here and ask questions when you have them and for support when you need it. We will be with you every step of the way!


 Nancy

Barbscloud
Member

Welcome to the Ex.  Glad you found a community to get some support.  Since smoking and vaping are both nicotine addictions, you will find the information and support on this site applies.  Three weeks nicotine free is quite an accomplishment.  What you're feeling now, physically and psychologically, are normal.  You are not alone. It takes work and commitment and you're doing it.  This is an addiction and there will be various stages on your journey.   For many, having support from other's really makes a difference.  

When you go back to class you'll pass 10 people vaping.  How many people will you see that aren't?   Those of the people you want to model your behavior after.  

Read the material suggested and reach out if you need support.  We're here for you and want you to be successful.

Keep moving forward.

Barb

green1611
Member

Welcome to EX. 

You are at right place. There is plenty of material available here and you need to go through that thoroughly, I would suggest ! Going through it, reading it, understanding will give you confidence.

And another thing, when you go back, 10 students will be vaping, so let it be, there will 20 others who do not vape, so you join them.

No worries, select right company, right Path.. you will succeed ! You have got fantastic parents who convinced you to quit, love them, love your family.

All the best !