smoking and transition.

[Missadventure]

I had a strange and pretty messed up incentive to quit smoking. My former downstairs neighbor ended up needing oxygen to breath as a result of smoking, and yet he kept on smoking. One night he fell asleep while smoking and using oxygen. The result was I woke up to flames crawling up my bedroom wall. Thankfully everyone made it out of the house safely. But, the house was a loss, and I lost everything I owned but the clothes I had on and my pets. So, right then I decided not to smoke ever again.

I do miss it though. Working retail just screams "take a smoke break - it'll get you out of the building for 15 minutes where you don't have to deal with psychotic bull->-bleeped-<- customers" But.. I can't let myself do it. I just keep flashing back PTSD style to the image of the flames crawling up my bedroom wall.

[kariann330]

I am 45 years old and started smoking when I was 12. I tried e-cigs in an attempt to help me quit smoking last year. I wound up with a nasty respiratory infection and was coughing up blood. Not a pleasant experience at all. I pretty much gave up on quitting until last week when I met with a new doctor within my health plan that told me he will not prescribe HRT to a smoker under any circumstances. So I got some nicotine gum and have not had a cigarette in three days. Getting any of the various illnesses that smoking can cause was not enough incentive for me to quit, but being told I could not have HRT if I smoked was.

Tried the gum, couldn't keep it lit. Tried the patches, they tasted awful and kept sticking to my lips....carrots won't light to save my life....and i tried an Oxy torch at work even. Cold turkey, i prefer my turkey hot and between bread or smothered in gravy, onions and mushrooms.

Any others? I can go all night like this cuz work has me in a goofy sleep deprived mood lol.

[Jessica Merriman]

Any others? I can go all night like this cuz work has me in a goofy sleep deprived mood lol.

Me too! I knew a guy that was offered a high paying job in a Nitrous Oxide plant, but he laughed it off! *giggle*

[Nora Kayte]

Oh im not looking to quit lol. Im just looking for and found a safer way to get my nicotine and found one in my Halo Triton. Heck im even using a 12mg juice when a cigarette has about 6-8mg of nicotine and am considering a 16mg juice so i can spend more time inside on my breaks at work and less time outside in the cold.

I actually am looking to quit. I am hoping to be close to 0 nicotine by the time I start hrt. I have done some research and I don't think nicotine causes DVT. But I could be wrong. Research pages are hard to read sometimes. Check this and you tell me

http://www.ehealthme.com/ds/nicotine/dvt

And right now I am vaping 12mg (down from 24mg) of torque56 in my princess pink Triton from halo cigs. And my wife has the purple. She does not know I am reducing the nic every order. We did agree to. But she remembers nothing.

[kariann330]

I actually am looking to quit. I am hoping to be close to 0 nicotine by the time I start hrt. I have done some research and I don't think nicotine causes DVT. But I could be wrong. Research pages are hard to read sometimes. Check this and you tell me

http://www.ehealthme.com/ds/nicotine/dvt

And right now I am vaping 12mg (down from 24mg) of torque56 in my princess pink Triton from halo cigs. And my wife has the purple. She does not know I am reducing the nic every order. We did agree to. But she remembers nothing.

Omg i love there Tiki Juice and Kringle's Curse. Im thinking about ordering the torque or Voodoo when i wake up and my check has cleared. Too bad they don't have a cherry vanilla tho or i would be in heaven. I have the 650 battery in iridescent.

[kelly_aus]

I actually am looking to quit. I am hoping to be close to 0 nicotine by the time I start hrt. I have done some research and I don't think nicotine causes DVT. But I could be wrong. Research pages are hard to read sometimes. Check this and you tell me

http://www.ehealthme.com/ds/nicotine/dvt

And right now I am vaping 12mg (down from 24mg) of torque56 in my princess pink Triton from halo cigs. And my wife has the purple. She does not know I am reducing the nic every order. We did agree to. But she remembers nothing.

When considering the risk of DVT from smoking/nicotne, you also need to factor in the effects of HRT..

A study on rats showed that nicotine exposure abolishes the beneficial and protective effects of estrogen on the hippocampus, an estrogen-sensitive region of the brain involved in memory formation and retention. And that seems like a good enough reason to me to stop.

[kariann330]

When considering the risk of DVT from smoking/nicotne, you also need to factor in the effects of HRT..

A study on rats showed that nicotine exposure abolishes the beneficial and protective effects of estrogen on the hippocampus, an estrogen-sensitive region of the brain involved in memory formation and retention. And that seems like a good enough reason to me to stop.

Can ya possibly dumb that one down for us raised in the backwoods?

[kelly_aus]

When considering the risk of DVT from smoking/nicotne, you also need to factor in the effects of HRT..

HRT, regardless of delivery method, places some strain on the liver.. The stuff that makes your blood clot is created in the liver.. Smoking on it's own increases clotting risk.. HRT on it's own increases clotting risk.. These risks are don't just add together when you smoke and take HRT.. They multiply.

A study on rats showed that nicotine exposure abolishes the beneficial and protective effects of estrogen on the hippocampus, an estrogen-sensitive region of the brain involved in memory formation and retention. And that seems like a good enough reason to me to stop.

Nicotine reduces the ability of the part of the brain that remembers stuff to actually work..

[Nora Kayte]

When considering the risk of DVT from smoking/nicotne, you also need to factor in the effects of HRT..

A study on rats showed that nicotine exposure abolishes the beneficial and protective effects of estrogen on the hippocampus, an estrogen-sensitive region of the brain involved in memory formation and retention. And that seems like a good enough reason to me to stop.

That's exactly why I want to be done with nicotine by the time I start hrt. Unfortunately I have more I need to get out of my system and it won't be as easy as nicotine to quit. I am disabled with chronic pain and on narcotics and other antidepressants. and I have found out that those affect hrt as well. I  have been weaning my self down and I'm half way there. My therapist is going to work with me on relieving my pain with meditation and exercise.

Norma Lynne.

[TerriT]

I loved to smoke. It was beautiful. Two packs camel lights a day. I would never touch some ridiculous ecig or whatever.

I never wanted to quit. I never even tried. I got sick once and was wiped out for about 10 days and was literally too sick to smoke. By the time I was able to light one up I was so impacted with mucus and sinus stuff that I couldn't breath and for the first time in years it tasted bad. I told my gf and she said to keep see if I could keep from smoking.

To this day I have nightmares about smoking and breaking my streak. I basically quit cold turkey by default and have rode it out ever since. But I miss it so much.

I don't know anything about nicotine and dvt, I suspect nicotine isn't the problem so much as all the smoke toxins are. But it's up to you.

[Tori]

HRT, regardless of delivery method, places some strain on the liver.. The stuff that makes your blood clot is created in the liver.. Smoking on it's own increases clotting risk.. HRT on it's own increases clotting risk.. These risks are don't just add together when you smoke and take HRT.. They multiply.

Nicotine reduces the ability of the part of the brain that remembers stuff to actually work..

I fear the effects of HRT without nicotine, if nicotine is reducing them. I forgot what we were talking about.

[Allyda]

I kinda' feel for smokers when they ask questions on forums.

Nobody can smell their 2nd hand smoke from a computer screen. Also, I do not believe this thread was ever singing the praises of the health benefits of smoking. I think we can take it as a thread where the OP is seriously looking at options to help quit. So there is really no need to use this thread as a soapbox to yell, "Smoking is bad.... Mmmmmkay?"

(Tori steps down from her own soapbox and straightens her skirt.)

As a quitting option, e-cigs are a very useful tool... and at your pace, you can scale down the nicotine level to zero and still use it.

This is how I have to quit. I'm 50 and have been smoking since I was 12. Never heavily mind you, only about a pack per day (less now that I'm switching over. Have the Blu pack that charges my batteries and stores my atomizers. Way cheaper than cigs too in the long run.). But when you've had this habit as long as I have ya don't just quit cold turkey.

[ErinM]

In the past I used Champix (Chantix in the US) to quit and it worked quite well. Sadly I had started up again.

When I started HRT I asked for another prescription, but found that I was getting some kind of reaction.

What I ended up doing is carrying and e cigarette and nicotine inhaler. In Canada e-cigarettes with nicotine are illegal, so I needed one for the nicotine craving and one for the sensation of smoking. The idea being that they would act as a security blanket if sorts when I would get a craving. I would then wait 30 seconds after getting a craving to use either one. I found that after a while the craving would pass before I took a puff.

This worked well for me considering I was a pack a day smoker who would otherwise be insufferable when I attempted to quit cold turkey before.

The second part of this was that I would never allow myself to touch a cigarette. It was always that one that did me in and I'd start right up again.

[stephaniec]

I quit because my lungs started sticking together.

[calico]

I know a guy(not trans) who after 23 years he quit cold turkey. I was with one day we were in the gas station and he asked for a pack when they told him the cost he said  " how much?" and after they told him again he said "f-that"  and straight up quit, and never smoked again,  I was amazed that he did that I know it's hard to quit even though I never smoked.  Just blew me away.

[RosieD]

The only scientific opinion I have read (like from a scientist what does science and stuff) said that nicotine is a relatively harmless molecule, it's the other 3000 or so  chemicals in cigarette smoke that are the problem. So if you're vaping it probably isn't going to make too much difference one way or the other. No-one is certain as eCigs haven't been around that long.

You might be able to find someone who will (very stridently) inform you about all the ways in which cigarettes are the very foodstuff of the Nephilim and being within 100 metres of one will cause every cell in your body to hit the self-distruct button REALLY HARD.  But whatever. You weren't asking about cigarettes were you?

Rosie

[Tori]

Besides nicotine and flavoring, the other two ingredients used in e juice are glycerines, one is a common food additive and the other is what makes fog machines work in stadium rock concerts.

E cigs have not been proven safe, but it is quite likely they are way safer than cigarettes or 2nd hand smoke, since everybody, not just people who use e cigs have injested large amounts of those glycerines before.

[allisonsteph]

Besides nicotine and flavoring, the other two ingredients used in e juice are glycerines, one is a common food additive and the other is what makes fog machines work in stadium rock concerts.

E cigs have not been proven safe, but it is quite likely they are way safer than cigarettes or 2nd hand smoke, since everybody, not just people who use e cigs have inested large amounts of those glycerines before.

This is true. My concern is that because e-cigs are not regulated in any way there is no way to ensure that they contain what the manufacturer claims they do.

[Tori]

This is kinda' true.

A safe bet would be to spend a few extra dimes and buy juice made in America where such things must meet FDA standards or other countries with similar standards.

Cheap Chineese juice is not regulated.

The brand, Halo, which the OP mentioned is a very good brand that meets all regulations and requirements from the FDA. Know where your juice comes from.

[kariann330]

This is kinda' true.

A safe bet would be to spend a few extra dimes and buy juice made in America where such things must meet FDA standards or other countries with similar standards.

Cheap Chineese juice is not regulated.

The brand, Halo, which the OP mentioned is a very good brand that meets all regulations and requirements from the FDA. Know where your juice comes from.

I agree, support the economy and buy American. Plus as already stated everything Halo uses in there juice is FDA certified for human consumption....the stuff from China or Japan, while it may be cheaper, could contain battery acid for all we know.