icepie
Postman
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2017
- Messages
- 936
I firmly believe that if I had not quit smoking when I did, I'd only be able to talk to you guys via a medium.
I started vaping four years ago. At the time, I didn't know I had a cardiovascular problem. I was very overweight and struggling to lose it because any amount of physical exercise would immediately leave me gasping for breath. Ten seconds running for the bus, ten minutes to recover! So I got an old-style cigalike. The only flavours available were tobacco, cherry and menthol, which didn't taste remotely like tobacco, cherry or menthol. They were a pain because the cartridges, which claimed to be the equivalent of twenty cigarettes, were actually the equivalent of about two, and the batteries were good for about two cartridges, so I was carrying a pocketful of cartridges and batteries around with me all the time. And I cheated - still smoked about 25% of the cigarettes I had been on, but I figured OK, a 75% reduction is better than no reduction so I stuck with it. And it did improve my breathing, enabling me to do more exercise, which was the whole point so I was reasonably pleased.
Then I had a heart attack, which fortunately did only minor damage and was treated very quickly. I have not smoked a cigarette since that day. If I hadn't already cut out most of the cigarettes a year beforehand, I've no doubt it would have been more serious. I don't think I would have been able to quit cold turkey and would probably have carried on damaging myself, and it was difficult because the cigalikes really weren't an adequate substitute for me. But my God, if this had happened before vaping existed, I'd have carried on smoking and probably be a goner by now.
Shortly afterwards I moved house. I had quit my job in London about a month before the heart attack and had already started the process of buying a house in Lincolnshire. When I got here I discovered a proper vape shop nearby. I didn't know such shops existed, I had been buying cigalikes from the corner shop. The man in the shop got me started on an iTaste CLK pen which was infinitely better than the cigalikes and I've gone on to build up a collection of all sorts of devices. Vaping from a tank instead of cartridges enabled me to gradually reduce the nicotine while still vaping as often as I wanted. When I got it down to 3mg I started mixing it with zero nic juice to take it down even more, then I got into DIY so now I can tailor the nicotine to the wattage. (Nicotine is a potential threat to me because it can temporarily narrow the blood vessels if you have too much, so being able to take it in very small concentrations is a godsend for people with cardiovascular issues.)
Two things were threatening my life: Smoking and being overweight. Vaping has solved both of those problems because I'm never out of breath now no matter how much I vape, so I can exercise as much as I want. I lost 35kg in a year and am fitter now than I was when I was half my present age. And even though my heart is permanently damaged, what's left of it is in great shape, much stronger now than it was before the attack.
I'm still an addict, no use denying that, but on the upside, I'm also still alive, which I firmly believe I would not be if it weren't for vaping because I tried many times to quit smoking - cold turkey, gum, patches, "inhalators"... all with absolutely no success whatsoever. But now, I can't even remember the last time I wanted a cigarette. I can even enjoy the smell of someone else's cigarette without wanting it.
Every breath I take now, every beat my heart makes, is extra - ones I wouldn't have had.
Vaping has absolutely, definitely, literally saved my life.
Merry Christmas everyone.
I started vaping four years ago. At the time, I didn't know I had a cardiovascular problem. I was very overweight and struggling to lose it because any amount of physical exercise would immediately leave me gasping for breath. Ten seconds running for the bus, ten minutes to recover! So I got an old-style cigalike. The only flavours available were tobacco, cherry and menthol, which didn't taste remotely like tobacco, cherry or menthol. They were a pain because the cartridges, which claimed to be the equivalent of twenty cigarettes, were actually the equivalent of about two, and the batteries were good for about two cartridges, so I was carrying a pocketful of cartridges and batteries around with me all the time. And I cheated - still smoked about 25% of the cigarettes I had been on, but I figured OK, a 75% reduction is better than no reduction so I stuck with it. And it did improve my breathing, enabling me to do more exercise, which was the whole point so I was reasonably pleased.
Then I had a heart attack, which fortunately did only minor damage and was treated very quickly. I have not smoked a cigarette since that day. If I hadn't already cut out most of the cigarettes a year beforehand, I've no doubt it would have been more serious. I don't think I would have been able to quit cold turkey and would probably have carried on damaging myself, and it was difficult because the cigalikes really weren't an adequate substitute for me. But my God, if this had happened before vaping existed, I'd have carried on smoking and probably be a goner by now.
Shortly afterwards I moved house. I had quit my job in London about a month before the heart attack and had already started the process of buying a house in Lincolnshire. When I got here I discovered a proper vape shop nearby. I didn't know such shops existed, I had been buying cigalikes from the corner shop. The man in the shop got me started on an iTaste CLK pen which was infinitely better than the cigalikes and I've gone on to build up a collection of all sorts of devices. Vaping from a tank instead of cartridges enabled me to gradually reduce the nicotine while still vaping as often as I wanted. When I got it down to 3mg I started mixing it with zero nic juice to take it down even more, then I got into DIY so now I can tailor the nicotine to the wattage. (Nicotine is a potential threat to me because it can temporarily narrow the blood vessels if you have too much, so being able to take it in very small concentrations is a godsend for people with cardiovascular issues.)
Two things were threatening my life: Smoking and being overweight. Vaping has solved both of those problems because I'm never out of breath now no matter how much I vape, so I can exercise as much as I want. I lost 35kg in a year and am fitter now than I was when I was half my present age. And even though my heart is permanently damaged, what's left of it is in great shape, much stronger now than it was before the attack.
I'm still an addict, no use denying that, but on the upside, I'm also still alive, which I firmly believe I would not be if it weren't for vaping because I tried many times to quit smoking - cold turkey, gum, patches, "inhalators"... all with absolutely no success whatsoever. But now, I can't even remember the last time I wanted a cigarette. I can even enjoy the smell of someone else's cigarette without wanting it.
Every breath I take now, every beat my heart makes, is extra - ones I wouldn't have had.
Vaping has absolutely, definitely, literally saved my life.
Merry Christmas everyone.
