# Struggling newbie



## n00b13

Hi guys. 

I'm a new 'vaper' and have been lurking around here to get some help, but I think I need more help now. 

I have been vaping for about a month now and the experience has been very mixed. I failed Allen Carr so thought I'd give this a shot but I'm on the verge of giving up vaping. Let's hope I can get some results here. 

I bought myself a twisp edge 5 weeks ago. Ordered polar mint liquid (thinking it was menthol)... Too sweet. Bought the twisp tobacco to mix which actually made a nice flavour. Also bought a different brand's cappuccino and menthol (12mg) and made some enjoyable blends. Problem was that I burned through 5 coils in 4 weeks. 

Another user on one of the forums had the same problem and got convinced to get the aero, more suitable to his vaping style with lots of success. 

I managed to get refunded and after lots of research I opted for the eGo One in Monday subox was disregarded due to its bulkiness. Might reconsider at a later stage. Bought two new liquids with it (6mg) from VaporFi. Classic tobacco and chocolate. Mixed them and I wanted to puke it was so horrible. When I got home I made an even bigger mistake and mixed my 12/18mg concoctions into the ego. Rookie mistake but the nic was too strong and tip got extremely hot (1ohm). So we learn. Bought two more zero flavours from twisp and managed to tone it down. 

I'm getting great vapour from the ego and temperature is fine now with the new juices, but everything tastes too sweet. I know that no one can really suggest flavours as its a personal thing, but some suggestions would be appreciated. Not enjoying any flavours at the moment and I've spends out 800 on juices already. 

I also preferred the feel of the drag on the edge, but could probably get used to the eGo. Might get the aero mouthpiece as a start, and play with airflow until it feels right. 

Now my biggest problem is that since Monday I seem to have a fairly upset stomach. Probably no need to go into all the details, but I'm not feeling great and obviously this is discouraging the eGo and encouraging stinkies. Some suggest that this could either be nicotine overdose (unlikely considering how much I vape) or PG 'allergy' or body adapting to new stuff I'm feeding it. 

I have no clue what the PG/VG ratio is for any juice I bought. Didn't even know that was a thing!

Would love to get some thoughts, especially if someone else had a similar experience. Really want to make this work 


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## Nova69

I wish I could help, I started of on the old twisp and do remember feeling a bit crap for a day or two.I can't remember the exact symptoms as it was two years ago.
On the subject of ego(not familiar with the aero drip tip) drag just close or adjust the airflow till you find your sweet spot.When I was on the twisp I mainly used the classic tobacco or peach.Just have a look at the vendor section and get some samples of juice (it's a journey on its own).Good luck and resist those stinkies you doing good so far


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## Andre

First of all, do not feel discouraged even if you have take take up stinkies again for the interim. This is not a race. You have time on your side.

Seems to me you have now sorted the equipment to your satisfaction, but the juices are all to sweet for you. This was my main problem when I started vaping too, even now to some extent. Imo the best tobacco juice, which has just a natural sweetness, is AshyBac by Mike's Mega Mixes, available at www.vapeclub.co.za. But, they also have a wide variety of other juices. Dragon juice (also by Mike's Mega Mixes) might also suit you.

All the best. Please keep us updated.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Christos

Just my 2c on the matter. 

It could be possible that your body is getting rid of a lot of toxins that it has stored. You could think of it as a detox which is never pleasant. 

It depends on how much you smoked and for how long. 

The body does not like sudden change especially if it is used to 40 cigs a day over let's say 10 years. 

My advice would be to make gentle changes even if it means smoking less cigs a day.

Reactions: Like 3 | Agree 1


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## Mike

Very curious about the tummy stuff man. Some people do have allergies to flavours in fact, I know for a fact that some people react badly to vanilla and I've _heard _of people not being able to handle cinnamon, but never in terms of what you're experience. I do get heartburn from vaping certain things, but I generally have a sensitive stomach. Can't say I've ever experienced that.

Perhaps stop at Spar / Dischem etc and buy a bottle of pure BP or USP (grade) vegetable glycerine. Give that a bash for a couple of days and slowly start reintroducing things until something acts up?

Reactions: Thanks 1


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## argief

Hi n00b13,

On the upset stomach, I can relate. I had a similar experience in the beginning. It was about the second week of vaping, I was drastically reducing my stinkies and vaping heavily (3/4 refills om twisp claero). At the time I was trying out a 100% PG juice which did not help I guess given the reported incidents of sensitivity. I stopped the 100% PG juice and returned to twisp juice and it helped a little, but I still felt sick. I noticed it would worsen after I have vaped and I actually could not vape for to long at a time before I would feel the sickness coming... 

At the time is was a real hurdle. I was motivated to quit stinkies, yet what proposed to be my new life was not acceptable! 

I thought it was nic poisoning, as at the time I got some juice in my mouth as it condensed in the tip and quite liked the taste! I tried not to ingest too much thereafter. Also, I was being heavily, so my body could have been getting too much nic? 

Lastly, I read that it could also be as a result of quiting (or down sizing) on stinkies. It was suggested as something that is common with quiting. 

I finely could not take it anymore, and had a chat to the guys at Twisp (I had not found this forum yet). They weren't surprised by my complaints and suggested I obtain Petrolite from my pharmacy. I immediately purchased same and started taking 2/3 teaspoons 3 times per day. It pulled me through! I gradually reduced petrolite (only used it for about 5 days in total) and all is well! 

I still can't finger exactly what the problem was, but petrolite helped significantly with the symptoms. 

As for finding your flavour, good luck. It's a process of trial and error, and could cost your a bit! But the experience had been unequalled. Try Mike's juices, they are great! 

Don't force yourself to quit stinkies, don't punish yourself or make ultimatums about stopping. Ease into vaping, and the stinkies will taper of naturally when you have found your sweetspot ito flavour and device. 

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2 | Winner 1


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## Silver

n00b13 said:


> Hi guys.
> 
> I'm a new 'vaper' and have been lurking around here to get some help, but I think I need more help now.
> 
> I have been vaping for about a month now and the experience has been very mixed. I failed Allen Carr so thought I'd give this a shot but I'm on the verge of giving up vaping. Let's hope I can get some results here.
> 
> I bought myself a twisp edge 5 weeks ago. Ordered polar mint liquid (thinking it was menthol)... Too sweet. Bought the twisp tobacco to mix which actually made a nice flavour. Also bought a different brand's cappuccino and menthol (12mg) and made some enjoyable blends. Problem was that I burned through 5 coils in 4 weeks.
> 
> Another user on one of the forums had the same problem and got convinced to get the aero, more suitable to his vaping style with lots of success.
> 
> I managed to get refunded and after lots of research I opted for the eGo One in Monday subox was disregarded due to its bulkiness. Might reconsider at a later stage. Bought two new liquids with it (6mg) from VaporFi. Classic tobacco and chocolate. Mixed them and I wanted to puke it was so horrible. When I got home I made an even bigger mistake and mixed my 12/18mg concoctions into the ego. Rookie mistake but the nic was too strong and tip got extremely hot (1ohm). So we learn. Bought two more zero flavours from twisp and managed to tone it down.
> 
> I'm getting great vapour from the ego and temperature is fine now with the new juices, but everything tastes too sweet. I know that no one can really suggest flavours as its a personal thing, but some suggestions would be appreciated. Not enjoying any flavours at the moment and I've spends out 800 on juices already.
> 
> I also preferred the feel of the drag on the edge, but could probably get used to the eGo. Might get the aero mouthpiece as a start, and play with airflow until it feels right.
> 
> Now my biggest problem is that since Monday I seem to have a fairly upset stomach. Probably no need to go into all the details, but I'm not feeling great and obviously this is discouraging the eGo and encouraging stinkies. Some suggest that this could either be nicotine overdose (unlikely considering how much I vape) or PG 'allergy' or body adapting to new stuff I'm feeding it.
> 
> I have no clue what the PG/VG ratio is for any juice I bought. Didn't even know that was a thing!
> 
> Would love to get some thoughts, especially if someone else had a similar experience. Really want to make this work
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



Hi @n00b13
Fistly, welcome to the forum. Congrats on the vaping. You are doing a great thing!

As for the upset stomach, lots of changes happen when you quit smoking - they normally subside after a while. Try different juices. If it persists, go see a doc. 

Vaping is one massive journey. On both the hardware front and the juice front. 
Check out the following posts which may help you
http://www.ecigssa.co.za/enjoy-the-journey.t10559/#post-209158

Here is a post on the juice journey
http://www.ecigssa.co.za/new-to-vaping-what-juice-brand-is-the-best.t13164/#post-246212

Dont give up. You WILL find the right setup and juice to make your vaping GREAT!

Reactions: Like 1 | Thanks 1


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## MJ INC

No idea about the stomach problem but my advice is try some of the Vape stores that have samples out for you to try. There a bunch of them and you will find something you like even if it's only in a tobacco variety for now. I hate buying a new juice without trying it. There too many varieties and I'm told too often something is good only to find it a massive disappointment.


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## zadiac

n00b13 said:


> Hi guys.
> 
> I'm a new 'vaper' and have been lurking around here to get some help, but I think I need more help now.
> 
> I have been vaping for about a month now and the experience has been very mixed.* I failed Allen Carr* so thought I'd give this a shot but I'm on the verge of giving up vaping. Let's hope I can get some results here.
> 
> I bought myself a twisp edge 5 weeks ago. Ordered polar mint liquid (thinking it was menthol)... Too sweet. Bought the twisp tobacco to mix which actually made a nice flavour. Also bought a different brand's cappuccino and menthol (12mg) and made some enjoyable blends. Problem was that I burned through 5 coils in 4 weeks.
> 
> Another user on one of the forums had the same problem and got convinced to get the aero, more suitable to his vaping style with lots of success.
> 
> I managed to get refunded and after lots of research I opted for the eGo One in Monday subox was disregarded due to its bulkiness. Might reconsider at a later stage. Bought two new liquids with it (6mg) from VaporFi. Classic tobacco and chocolate. Mixed them and I wanted to puke it was so horrible. When I got home I made an even bigger mistake and mixed my 12/18mg concoctions into the ego. Rookie mistake but the nic was too strong and tip got extremely hot (1ohm). So we learn. Bought two more zero flavours from twisp and managed to tone it down.
> 
> I'm getting great vapour from the ego and temperature is fine now with the new juices, but everything tastes too sweet. I know that no one can really suggest flavours as its a personal thing, but some suggestions would be appreciated. Not enjoying any flavours at the moment and I've spends out 800 on juices already.
> 
> I also preferred the feel of the drag on the edge, but could probably get used to the eGo. Might get the aero mouthpiece as a start, and play with airflow until it feels right.
> 
> Now my biggest problem is that since Monday I seem to have a fairly upset stomach. Probably no need to go into all the details, but I'm not feeling great and obviously this is discouraging the eGo and encouraging stinkies. Some suggest that this could either be nicotine overdose (unlikely considering how much I vape) or PG 'allergy' or body adapting to new stuff I'm feeding it.
> 
> I have no clue what the PG/VG ratio is for any juice I bought. Didn't even know that was a thing!
> 
> Would love to get some thoughts, especially if someone else had a similar experience. Really want to make this work
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



Don't feel bad about failing Allen Carr. That is a load of crap anyway. Some of the things he said are true, but not all. I switched it off very early when he said "no one wants to smoke". Crap. I wanted to and I enjoyed it. I loved smoking. I quit because of health reasons.

As said earlier, don't be hasty. If you feel you really have to take a cigarette, then take one. I did. I told all my converts exactly the same thing and they're all now permanent vapers. I smoked two or three cigarettes a week when I started vaping. Did that for a month and then went over to vaping completely. For some it's a slower process than for others. Just take it one day at a time. Good luck!

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## Rafique

Your stomach is upset because u taking in more air then solids meaning u vaping more than normal. It's normal. The same applies with cigarettes. Your stomach is filling up with air hence the bowl movements.

This occurs alot also with menthol flavours

Reactions: Like 1 | Informative 1 | Disagree 1


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## Coco

zadiac said:


> I switched it off very early when he said "no one wants to smoke". Crap. I wanted to and I enjoyed it. I loved smoking. I quit because of health reasons.



Out of all the guys I got onto vaping (except those converted this year), I'm the only one still vaping the rest are all stinky & cig free. (Except one that started with me, he fell off the horse, but he is back here - things have improved since 2009 when you had that little black & gold number @GlacieredPyro haven't they?)

They all wanted to quit, I never wanted to quit, I loved smoking. Vaping was just a bit better for my health.

As to the OP - I've had that right at the start: could be too much nicotine, too little nicotine, too much air, your body missing all the other stuff in cigs, the flavourings, etc. I'm not a doctor, but changes does do funny things to the body. One thing I could say - lay off mixing the flavours too much. I know you are like a kid with a new toy (most of us never grow out of that vaping phase), but just try to stick to one thing at a time and don't go too crazy - you need to adapt.

Don't be too hard on yourself, when vaping you will stop naturally - if you feel like a cig, have one, in-between you will suck on the vaping device and either won't enjoy the cigs or won't feel the need for them. It is not a sprint, it is a marathon.

PS: For my first 6 months I was a dual user until I didn't feel the need to smoke anymore. (Granted the equipment was bad, really bad...) Dual-use and cutting down your cig consumption by 50% is still much better than smoking 100%

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## Alex

I went through a similar stage last year in terms of not being able to stomach any sweet juices at all. So I resorted to mixing up some unflavoured juice using "Dolly Varden" VG from dischem and nicotine. This worked out really well for me, while my taste buds had a chance to rest up.

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## n00b13

Thanks a lot for all the replies! A lot of valuable and encouraging info. I'll spend some time over the weekend to process it all 


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## n00b13

Christos said:


> Just my 2c on the matter.
> 
> It could be possible that your body is getting rid of a lot of toxins that it has stored. You could think of it as a detox which is never pleasant.
> 
> It depends on how much you smoked and for how long.
> 
> The body does not like sudden change especially if it is used to 40 cigs a day over let's say 10 years.
> 
> My advice would be to make gentle changes even if it means smoking less cigs a day.



I would have expected this if I switched over 100% but I attempted cutting analogs per day in half as a start. That was not successful due to reasons in first post.



MJ INC said:


> No idea about the stomach problem but my advice is try some of the Vape stores that have samples out for you to try. There a bunch of them and you will find something you like even if it's only in a tobacco variety for now. I hate buying a new juice without trying it. There too many varieties and I'm told too often something is good only to find it a massive disappointment.


2 juices I bought were recommended as 'really nice' or popular, and I personally hate them the most.  Cannot stomach that chocolate, even the smell of it makes my stomach turn.


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## n00b13

argief said:


> Hi n00b13,
> 
> On the upset stomach, I can relate. I had a similar experience in the beginning. It was about the second week of vaping, I was drastically reducing my stinkies and vaping heavily (3/4 refills om twisp claero). At the time I was trying out a 100% PG juice which did not help I guess given the reported incidents of sensitivity. I stopped the 100% PG juice and returned to twisp juice and it helped a little, but I still felt sick. I noticed it would worsen after I have vaped and I actually could not vape for to long at a time before I would feel the sickness coming...
> 
> At the time is was a real hurdle. I was motivated to quit stinkies, yet what proposed to be my new life was not acceptable!
> 
> I thought it was nic poisoning, as at the time I got some juice in my mouth as it condensed in the tip and quite liked the taste! I tried not to ingest too much thereafter. Also, I was being heavily, so my body could have been getting too much nic?
> 
> Lastly, I read that it could also be as a result of quiting (or down sizing) on stinkies. It was suggested as something that is common with quiting.
> 
> I finely could not take it anymore, and had a chat to the guys at Twisp (I had not found this forum yet). They weren't surprised by my complaints and suggested I obtain Petrolite from my pharmacy. I immediately purchased same and started taking 2/3 teaspoons 3 times per day. It pulled me through! I gradually reduced petrolite (only used it for about 5 days in total) and all is well!
> 
> I still can't finger exactly what the problem was, but petrolite helped significantly with the symptoms.
> 
> As for finding your flavour, good luck. It's a process of trial and error, and could cost your a bit! But the experience had been unequalled. Try Mike's juices, they are great!
> 
> Don't force yourself to quit stinkies, don't punish yourself or make ultimatums about stopping. Ease into vaping, and the stinkies will taper of naturally when you have found your sweetspot ito flavour and device.
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk


This pretty much sums up my situation. I am a bit wary of taking something to 'harden' the stomach, as I do suffer from constipation at times, and I have some gastrointestinal complications. So apart from some cramping, this actually helped as I have a fear of laxatives.  Also, I could not find petrolite when searching for it, seems it is called pectrolyte (in case someone else is considering it).

But I am trying to ease into it, especially now with the more powerful device. Twisp was actually perfect, apart from the damn coils that would just not last, but I think I am getting used to this now. Adapting a little better to the current flavour (especially since I opted for the larger eGo, juice never seems to run out).

Very keen on giving @Mike s juices a bash though. Might get a starter pack soon

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## ConradS

Some juices contain sweeteners such as sucralose that can cause an untrained digestive track some serious hassles. Maybe try some unflavored juices a try such as VM clean cut a go for a while


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## n00b13

Just a bit of feedback. Stopped at vapeking in centurion today to buy some coils. 

I sampled some juices and bought VK4 and VK Menthol Ice which tasted nice in samples although flavour is very reduced. Only used menthol ice in ego and it's quite nice but don't think I'll want it for all day vaping. 

There was a bit of a misunderstanding as I confirmed 1ohm stock of coils telephonically but they only had 0.5ohm, so I bought them. The guy Said it will just produce more vapor with slightly less flavour. Popped in the 0.5 I received in my kit it test it first, but it was horrible. I assume nic content too high for a newbie (6mg). So the pack is still unopened but I understand that coils are not returnable. So I'm slightly disappointed with that. Juices seem to make up for that at least. 

VK juices does not seem to bloat me as much which is great


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## zadiac

Rafique said:


> Your stomach is upset because u taking in more air then solids meaning u vaping more than normal. It's normal. The same applies with cigarettes. Your stomach is filling up with air hence the bowl movements.
> 
> This occurs alot also with menthol flavours



How does the vapor get into your stomach when you inhale? When you inhale something, it goes to your lungs and not to the stomach. It doesn't go to the stomach, unless you swallow the vapor like you would water.


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## n00b13

zadiac said:


> How does the vapor get into your stomach when you inhale? When you inhale something, it goes to your lungs and not to the stomach. It doesn't go to the stomach, unless you swallow the vapor like you would water.


I completely agree with your logic, and have been trying to figure it out myself. The process is no different from smoking, but it does still bloat me as if I had swallowed he vapor


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## theyettie

@n00b13 What you can also do is mix Dolly Varden (pure VG) that you can buy at Pick n Pay, Spar and basically anywhere with a juice that you like. It dulls the flavour quite a bit. Don't know if this was obvious, but it really works for me. Upside: lekker cloud. Downside, dulls flavour and throat hit. Pure VG is a bit boring IMO... 

Don't give up, vaping is the answer, I believe this with all my heart!!!

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## Eequinox

n00b13 said:


> I completely agree with your logic, and have been trying to figure it out myself. The process is no different from smoking, but it does still bloat me as if I had swallowed he vapor
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


scratches head .... don't you maybe have an underlying medical condition you are not aware of i have read reports of heartburn but not bloating maybe as you have not been smoking for a bit these symptoms are more apparent and no longer masked by smoking


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## Eequinox

Eequinox said:


> scratches head .... don't you maybe have an underlying medical condition you are not aware of i have read reports of heartburn but not bloating maybe as you have not been smoking for a bit these symptoms are more apparent and no longer masked by smoking


i have started to look into this and found this bit of info 



Nicotine causes over stimulation os the stomach and therefore leads to an overproduction of stomach acid. Associated with the fact that it also weakens the sphinchter of the esophagus, stomach acid will rise up when it has no where else to go. If you add that to the fact that it decreases pancreatic making of sodium bicarbonate (witch neutralizes stomach acid) you have yourself a heartburn cocktail in your mouth.
When you inhale you sent additional air to the stomach, more then when eating, and because ecig's tend to be sweet, this happens even more, because everyone likes to taste the flavor, directing more saliva saturated with nicotine, and extra air then a analogs to the digestive tract causing bloating.


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## n00b13

Eequinox said:


> scratches head .... don't you maybe have an underlying medical condition you are not aware of i have read reports of heartburn but not bloating maybe as you have not been smoking for a bit these symptoms are more apparent and no longer masked by smoking


I do suffer from GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease) so that is a very likely culprit. But my previous post still holds (in my non-medical opinion obviously). 
Also haven't completely dropped smoking yet. Trying to cut down slowly, so my body didn't have a complete switchover


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## n00b13

Eequinox said:


> i have started to look into this and found this bit of info
> 
> 
> 
> Nicotine causes over stimulation os the stomach and therefore leads to an overproduction of stomach acid. Associated with the fact that it also weakens the sphinchter of the esophagus, stomach acid will rise up when it has no where else to go. If you add that to the fact that it decreases pancreatic making of sodium bicarbonate (witch neutralizes stomach acid) you have yourself a heartburn cocktail in your mouth.
> When you inhale you sent additional air to the stomach, more then when eating, and because ecig's tend to be sweet, this happens even more, because everyone likes to taste the flavor, directing more saliva saturated with nicotine, and extra air then a analogs to the digestive tract causing bloating.


I somehow missed this post, and replied to the previous one. Very good explanation that does seem to represent my situation fairly well. 

I should add that the menthol juice seems to be the big culprit. I added some to my current flavour and stomach turned for the worst again. So it seems I need to be careful with the menthols, as someone suggested earlier. 

Again, thanks to all for the valuable info provided in this thread. Glad I didn't pull out at the first sign that things seemed bad. 


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## Coco

n00b13 said:


> I should add that the menthol juice seems to be the big culprit.



Happy you found the culprit.

How is cutting down the stinky habit going? Never be too hard on yourself, lots of people manage to drop things immediately, I had around 6 months of dual-use.

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## stevie g

My 2c.

I've vaper for over a year almost now exclusively but have had relapses. Now that I'm experienced I have the right hardware and make my own juices. Now I will never touch another stinky.

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## n00b13

Coco said:


> Happy you found the culprit.
> 
> How is cutting down the stinky habit going? Never be too hard on yourself, lots of people manage to drop things immediately, I had around 6 months of dual-use.


I have cut my 'weekday consumption' in half, weekends are going slower. I am also bargaining on 6 months. Only have 1 device at the moment, I'm sure it will also go better if I get an additional device or two. Flavour variants etc. But I am happy so far


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## Coco

n00b13 said:


> But I am happy so far



Brilliant, that is all that matters, finding what works for you and what you are happy with.

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## DarkSide

Christos said:


> Just my 2c on the matter.
> 
> It could be possible that your body is getting rid of a lot of toxins that it has stored. You could think of it as a detox which is never pleasant.
> 
> It depends on how much you smoked and for how long.
> 
> The body does not like sudden change especially if it is used to 40 cigs a day over let's say 10 years.
> 
> My advice would be to make gentle changes even if it means smoking less cigs a day.



Agree Completely, took me a month to adjust and thanks to encouragement from all on this forum, now cannot even stand the smell of a "stinky". Still learning, still experimenting, still converting and still spending a fortune, but oh! so worth it and @Mike really need more Rumn Rai 9mg PLEASE!

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