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Well, it's been about a month now, so I thought I would let you know some of my experiences, as they might be helpful to someone.
I'm still not smoking, but still using the e-cig. I have two rechargers, in case one runs out (as it does within a day). My cartridges are 16mg ones, and one cartridge lasts about a day. But it took a while to get that right. At the beginning, I seemed to be going through them quite quickly, and I didn't seem to be getting satisfied, so I would start a new one, thinking the old one had run out.
But my technique was wrong. Watch out for this, because it could screw up your nicotine dosage quite easily. But I read on a website that you shouldn't smoke it like a cigarette at all. Instead you should treat it more like smoking a cigar. The nicotine is absorbed through your mouth and nose, and so there isn't much need to inhale at all. Fast drags will also probably fail to release much nicotine, so drag gently. I generally keep dragging until the e-cig flashes (at which point it cuts out, anyway).
The taste should be familiar to anyone who has tried nicotine gum - but that's what you are aiming for, as the taste indicates that you are getting some nicotine, and can help you moderate the dosage. I think I overdosed a bit at times, causing dizziness, or headaches, until I got it right.
What I do now is just gently breath it into my mouth, and leave it there a bit. You can even breath through your nose when you do this. And you can then inhale if you want to. I typically do 6-7 drags per "smoke".
When you start a new capsule, you may get bigger hits than towards the end - the cartridges are uneven in this respect, so bear that in mind. If you just breath it into your mouth, you seem to get more vapour than by inhaling into the lungs. The amount of vapour can help you identify that a cartridge is getting towards the end, or how many drags to take (eg. maybe take 8 drags of an almost empty cartridge, instead of 6, for the same hit).
Also, it takes longer than a real smoke to get the nicotine hit. So you should resist the temptation to keep dragging more/harder. In a few minutes, you'll lose the desire to have a smoke. But it's worth doing the full 6 or so drags, otherwise you may find you want another smoke again in about 10 mins. And break 30 secs or so between drags.
At one point I got a sinus infection, which was unpleasant but only lasted a couple of days. I am blaming this on the e-cig. Breathing out through your nose may irritate your node/throat/sinuses initially. But that's where you absorb the nicotine, so it may help your cartridges go further.
I think it's worth treating this as is more akin to gum chewing, than smoking - in as much as the absorption is happening in the mouth/cheeks, rather than the lungs, and that may take a bit of getting use to for a smoker. But I still find it more satisfying and easier than gum, as a smoking substitute. The taste of nicotine isn't particularly pleasant, but that doesn't worry me because it's a disincentive itself.
Now my usage has stabilised, and seems to be consistent and at the right level for me, I'll see if I can cut down. I may get some 11mg cartridges, or maybe I'll just try to reduce the daily usage. The goal being - to make going cold turkey easier at some point.
Anyway, that's how it's going for me, so far. I have no real desire to smoke a cigarette again. |
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Author: MikeTV
26-11-2019 20:58:59
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