Vape addict who lost control was seriously shocked by what happened when he finally gave up – Community

A vaping addict was seriously shocked by what happened when she finally gave up and lost control.

Chloe Rowland found herself absolutely ‘addicted’ to her color bars to the point of hating them, angered by how addicted she had become.

The 25-year-old started out with just a little “social smoking” but found that she “quickly fell into a full-blown addiction” that she had never experienced with regular cigarettes.

“Vaping would be the first thing I would do in the morning and the last thing I would do before bed at night,” she said. Chloe ended up getting a 4,000 puff vape (a normal vape holds 600 puffs) in about three days.

Now, with the date set for the ban on vapes, after a series of reports about the consequences of being addicted to vapes and children even falling into a coma, the journalist did her best to “avoid the stories completely”.

But eventually, she ‘reached her breaking point’ and decided to give up.

Having tried to give up before, Chloe went all the way and broke it down for us:

First day

A few hours after using the vaporizer, I was starting to get out of breath. I had a serious case of brain fog and it was all I could think about. The desires were intense and I questioned on several occasions whether it was really worth it.

As planned, I went to a friend’s house in the evening for a game night, which made me look like the Algebra Woman meme the whole time because my brain had literally blocked out everything that wasn’t nicotine. I couldn’t retain information, I was chronically shut down, and I was both horrified and shocked at how difficult I was actually finding it.

I didn’t win at cards, surprisingly.

Day two

My first night of sleep without nicotine was rubbish, to say the least. To begin with, as I was trying to fall asleep, I felt very anxious and nervous. But when I finally managed to sleep, I was constantly waking up, tossing and turning.

I really couldn’t believe my body was reacting like this, having somehow convinced myself that I couldn’t be too addicted because it’s ‘not the same thing’ as smoking. Who was I trying to fool?

During the day, I started to feel a bit of a headache – nothing serious, though – and I had to continue to fight the cravings. This was one of the first things that surprised me.

I thought I would feel a long, uninterrupted craving, but it was actually more like intense episodes throughout the day that would subside with distraction.

I didn’t really have a proper game plan, so I kept ignoring the cravings, distracted myself, and – if that didn’t work – reminded myself why I was quitting (it’s not good for me, it’s a bit of a loser, it’s not cool to be addicted something, blah, blah, blah).

By now my circulation should have returned to normal, which I’m sure my body was happy with.

Third day

72 hours without nicotine and that’s when I would say my physical withdrawal symptoms peaked. This makes sense given the fact that your body has already eliminated all the nicotine from your system and is officially empty.

I had a general feeling of ‘not having it’ all day, as well as mild headaches, sweating more than usual, and still having regular bouts of cravings throughout the day as well.

That said, even though I woke up during the night, the sleep felt much deeper than it had in recent months, so I was already starting to feel more rested, which was a huge win.

Days four and five

While I was starting to overcome my physical withdrawal symptoms, nothing could prepare me for the psychological effects that quitting vapes would have.

By the fourth day, I felt extremely anxious and my mind felt like it was going 100 mph. Not to mention the fact that my temper was very, um, moody, and I experienced irritability on a whole other level. I would say it felt like I was losing control of it a little bit.

One positive was that my nicotine cravings started to lessen a bit and I was down to about five episodes a day. Plus, by this point, I was already familiar with the feeling, so I was getting better at dealing with it.

Days six and seven

People say the third day is the hardest day. Days six and seven were mine.

I had no concentration, which made many everyday things a huge task. I couldn’t even concentrate on a TikTok (another of my unfortunate addictions), it was so bad.

One of the other dominant emotions was irritability that had arisen a few days earlier, as well as anger. I could have won the lottery and still found a reason to be upset.

But then, the disaster really happened…

I, of course, had to get COVID, didn’t I?

Although I didn’t have that many cravings, the psychological impact, coupled with the fact that I was remembering the times when I could breathe properly through my nose, made me feel like the walking dead.

I probably looked like it too, to be fair.

Weeks two and three

The main thing to face as the days went by were mental desires. At this point, according to science, nicotine was eliminated from my system and my body no longer felt physically dependent on it.

I was no longer experiencing physical withdrawals, however, although my cravings were certainly less intense, they were still present.

I found social triggers to be the hardest to deal with, like being in a bar where other people were smoking.

At this point, I really started to notice an increase in my appetite, which was expected since nicotine can be an appetite suppressant.

But the fact that my skin and oral health have improved enormously, my immune system is stronger and I no longer have that strange, persistent cough, made me overcome fleeting cravings.

It’s safe to say I got to the point where the worst was over and the positives far outweighed any negative side effects, plus the cravings were much easier to just ignore.

Two months later

Two months without vaping and I continue to feel the positive aspects of giving up nicotine.

Things like my skin, oral health, and my mood (which finally balanced out after a few weeks) continue to improve, not to mention my bank balance isn’t feeling as much.

And, according to medical professionals, my lung capacity will also have improved.

It really is nice to not have to constantly factor in vaping breaks and handing over money for something you are embarrassed to do.

I still crave the vape, especially in social situations and after finishing meals – which I admit has shocked me a bit since it’s been a few months.

But instead of it being a super strong physical desire and attraction, it’s more of a sneaky ‘one hit won’t hurt you, you’re not addicted anymore so it can’t hurt’ kind of thing, which I think is easy to turn around. eyes and just hit.

Overall, I’m so glad I took the plunge and did this instead of constantly telling myself ‘I need to stop’ and feeling guilty about not doing it.

I’ve also saved quite a bit of money now that I’m no longer spending it on vapes and can finally read and work on vaping news without being filled with anxiety, so that’s good.

Believe me, I was surprised at how easily I became addicted – now all I wish is that I never fell for it.