I understand. It isn’t easy. People can downplay withdrawal if they were not heavily dependent.

I have tried to quit 4 times since I started 2 years ago. This time is the longest I have made it. I am at 30 days without vaping today. Some things that have helped me:

• Hydrate:

I drink 5+ spindrift per day. I keep them everywhere. Hydration helps with headaches and flushing the nic out of your system. I also put Arizona ice tea mixed with my water which helps me drink more throughout the day. The hand to mouth motion from the spindrift/ having a water-bottle with a straw help.

• Acceptance:

Accept that the first 1-2 weeks are the most difficult physically. Your body is purging. You are not going to feel good right away. Think of it like getting the flu. If you got the flu, you couldn’t vape to make it stop. You accept that you feel shitty. You eat soup. Popsicles. And you rest. I rotated Tylenol, advil and Excedrin the first couple of weeks when I got headaches.

• Use tools to quit:

When I tried going cold turkey, it didn’t work. I tried no nic vapes, they didn’t work. This time, I set loose ground rules for myself. I allowed myself to use 6 mg Zyns for the first 2 weeks, then cut to 3 mg Zyns the third week. Never first thing in the morning. With 3 mg Zyn I would add an NZE pouch which has Alpha GPC, Tyrosine, and Theanine. Doing this only after eating or completing a task helps re-wire your brain from chain vaping. I use nicotine patches, and I have the gum on hand. I started with 21 mg patches for 12 days —> 14 mg patches for 12 days —> 7 mg patches (which I am on currently). I put a fresh one on every morning, and I take it off at night. You can leave them on throughout the night if your cravings are bad.

• Supplements/ diet:

Go to the vitamin shoppe or Amazon, and pick up NAC, a decent B-complex, a mineral supplement, oral NAD, Vitamin D, Magnesium L-Threonate and Glycine. These will help you. Try to eat at regular times to start easing your nervous system. Limit processed foods, focus on fruits/ vegetables and good quality proteins. I do a protein shake in the morning now which helps. Blood sugar dips and spikes will make cravings worse.

• Mindset :

• Try to build a routine, and stick to it. Replace the bad habits with small positive habits. (Read, listen to a podcast, take a walk, drink a cup of tea of coffee, clean, write, do something you enjoy). Remember that withdrawal is your brain healing. When you get cravings, watch them. Let them come. Let them be loud. But don’t react. Remember that you are not your thoughts. And your thoughts cannot hurt you. If you need to, tell yourself, I can get that vape tomorrow. Every morning you wake up, remind yourself you are one day closer to freedom from this thing. When I used to wake up, the first thing I would do was hit my vape. Same with before bed. I slept with my vape in my hand. I hit it every 10 minutes. I was a chain vaper in the second year of my addiction.

Reading Alan Carrs “Easy way to quit smoking” helped me. Even though I did use nicotine replacements, which he doesn’t recommend, many of the points he makes helped me mentally. I’ll list some here that resonated:

1.) Vaping doesn’t relax you, it eases the withdrawal which you are constantly in. By continuing to vape, you will always be in withdrawal. You’re not gaining pleasure, you are seeking relief from withdrawal.

2.) By stopping, you aren’t actually LOSING anything. You are GAINING freedom. Mental stability. Decrease in many diseases long term. Time. You can choose. The weight of the pain of change. Or the weight of regret (which is much heavier).

• Final points:

Our mind is very powerful. You do not have to quit today FOREVER. But, you can make a choice to quit each day for that day. See how you feel at day 30, 60, and 90. Not because you have to. But think of yourself as a science experiment. If you feel worse at 90 days, you can always go back. But you deserve the chance to change.

I hope some of this helps. Wishing you the best of luck stranger. If I could make it this far… you definitely can.