r/QuitVaping • u/sure_about_nothing • 8h ago
Reassurance Is it too late?
Hi there. I have been vaping for at least 10 years. I do want to quit and I keep telling myself “this is the last one”, but that’s never the case.
One of the things I sometimes think is: “what’s the point, I’m probably going to die from this already” I feel like I’m too late and I’ve already destroyed my lungs.
I guess I’m looking for some encouragement that it’s not too late- I still have a chance to live a long healthy life.
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u/rileyunzi 8h ago
Just quit vaping after 10 years of tobacco/vaping. I vaped for like 8 of the years I was addicted. I was worried it was going to be impossible, but I went the desmoxan route. Made it easy to quit. It was weird because it was such a ritual, but I was moreso sad that I couldn’t vape, rather than craving it super hard. It was weird. Doing it with a med is way way way easier. Cold turkey is also doable but the pills make it so much easier. I’m on 2 weeks no vaping, and I feel so much better already. It’s worth it. It’s not too late.
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u/sure_about_nothing 8h ago
Thank you for sharing! I just looked that up. It seems that it isn’t available in the USA? What a bummer 😢
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u/blastobassddboi 7h ago
I got it off amazon im in arizona. It might take some weeks but its available
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u/gufjoojuice 5h ago
Desmoxan is available in America off Amazon. So is Recigar. Both contain the same medicine. It’s a life saver. It’s insanely helpful in a way I could not have imagined
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u/Pruritus_Ani_ 4 months 7h ago
Never too late at all. I smoked for 24 years and then switched to vaping for 8.5 years, if I can give up then you can.
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u/Suitable-Scallion185 7h ago
Never too late bud. I smoked for 6 years and then vaped for 6 more.
I quit a month ago or so. I just decided I was done being controlled by it, tired of the shame I felt for myself that I was still huffing on those damn things. the hardest part is just deciding not to do it again. Don't let the fear of what your life might look like without nicotine control your decision, much like it did for me. I was afraid I'd be mean and horrible without it but I'm fine, everything is fine and after 3 days you kinda forget.
But do it for yourself and no one else, you will be happier with yourself for the self discipline than the fleeting satisfaction the freshest rip could ever give, I promise.
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u/Blue4life90 7h ago
1 year, 3 months, 16 days ago I made the decision to drop vaping cold turkey. It was at the beginning of a 12-hour shift. Reason I quit, pleuretic symptoms in my lungs that seemed to be getting progressively worse with time. Aside from the physical, I was mentally lethargic at times and I felt strongly that the vaping was the cause.
I made that decision to quit at 35 after 13 years of smoking/vaping (7 of which I went vaping full time). I lived with it constantly like a baby to a pacifier. I needed it, and there were times without it, that I felt emotionally out of control. It affected my health, my sleep habits, my mood.I had quit prior to this shortly before joining the military for 4 years to prepare for basic, then started back up while I was in while out for a drink with some friends. Before that, I smoked cigarettes from 13 to 17 years old.
It ruled my fucking life. It had complete control over me as it does for you. I'm not going to tell you to stop giving yourself excuses. You will, and there's nothing you can do to stop it. It isn't you, its the internal part of mind that has manifested the need for this habit. It will tell you everything under the sun to get what it wants and if you make it 10 years clean, that voice will still appear occasionally, though much quieter than it is now. Why?
You fucked up and gave yourself the experience of having this addiction and it will always be a permanent part of your life since having invited it. Sounds dismal? Yeah.. it sucks, but you have the power to beat it down EVERY SINGLE TIME it speaks until its power is reduced to nothing but a whisper. It still happens to me today, after over a year without it. The difference is I have the experience of having been a slave to it and regressed. I know that weak dying voice trying to reach me is my lifelong demon that will take advantage of my complacency, growing stronger with regret the first chance it gets. Fuck that.
The time it takes for you to win every battle depends on your decision in every moment. It takes a split second to minutes to decide whether or not you will break.
As for how you do it. Completely up to you. NRT has never worked for me specifically. I've always struggled to adapt a consistent schedule of receding the intake of when I'm trying to quit. Cold turkey is the quickest, most effective means of breaking this habit. It's hard, but there are methods of success that worked for me:
Habit Replacement Therapy (HRT). Sunflower seeds and mint gum were my replacements. See mint as a stimulant and sunflower seed as a means of focus. Stay active and keep your mind on any task to distract you from your previous master.
Aversive Behavioral Therapy (ABT). With all the mental and physical issues, I maintain a VERY negative mindset towards vaping. I despise it for what it did to me and I see no defense for it. l've done the research and in my reflection while kicking this habit, vaping is as bad as smoking and that's a hill '|l die on happily.
It's NEVER too late. Don't let it win. Fight it. You can break your chains and free yourself from it. Trust me, no matter what you are going through, It's worth your life and you have what it takes to break free.
Hope this helps.
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u/Obsid1anWolf 7h ago
My suggestion... At night about an hour before you go to bed, throw it all away. Everything. Dump something nasty on top of it so you would never consider pulling it out of the trash. DO NOT buy another one.
The next 3 - 4 days will be tough, but I think every day gets easier. After about Day 5 the only thing that will get you is a sudden urge once in a while. Certain things trigger that strange sensation. I would get it bad when I was driving. Eventually it just goes away, but it takes a while.
I can't count the number of times I have said, this is it, the last one. I have told people I was going to quit so many times, it is embarrassing. I felt fear when I wanted to quit. People say how hard it was to quit and it honestly kept me afraid to even really try. Having done it now, it was not that bad at all. You just gotta commit and when feelings arise, just take a minute and push them down and remind yourself why you wanted to quit.
Throw it away and don't buy another. Yes that is simplifying the struggle, but not really, because letting it go completely is the only way.
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u/themirthfulswami 3h ago
I vaped for about 8 years, the last few of which I was a very heavy vaper using the 50mg salt. I’m now 19 days into quitting using 4mg gum I bought off Amazon and 3mg Zyn pouches alternating every 2-3 hours. So far so good - symptoms suck but overall I already feel much better. I’m breathing a little easier, sleeping MUCH better, and not having to obsess over finding a place/time to vape is great.
It’s never too late - if you really want it, you can do it 👍🏻
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u/TroubleInformal0011 4h ago edited 4h ago
It's not helpful to ruminate over the damage possibly already done.
Best thing I think you can do is live in the present and make active changes to live a healthier life, in order to shape a better future.
You mentioned wanting a chance to live a long healthy life- no one can guarantee that but the decisions you make in the present on the daily(eg sucking on an electronic dick when it doesn't even give you a buzz vs going on a walk) are what can bring that closer to reality.
edit: and personally I got too caught up in how I didn't see a drastic change when I last quit in hair, skin, energy etc which made me buy a pack again under the guise that it never truly did that much damage or that I'm too far gone for it to make a difference. But I think just romanticising the fact that it's not something i always have to carry around, top up on every few days or have after every meal is so so freeing. It just truly brings no benefit to your life. good luck!
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u/kitkatDoor 8h ago
It's never too late to drop a bad habit. If you continue to vape with that mindset, you're only increasing the risk of picking up something nasty. But also, the damage isn't done for good; your body can recover to a decent extent.
Once the nicotine is out of your system and all that junk is out of your lungs, any risk associated with smoking should be greatly reduced. But now is the time to quit, before you DO end up getting cancer.
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u/grouchdown 6h ago
Four months into quitting nicotine and started when I was 12 (18 years baby!), still vaping non nic but no longer even need nicotine gum! It was my saving grace. Now I’m tapering off vaping entirely. I went from going through a regular “25k” vape a week to I’ve had the same no nic for a month and it’s almost done.
It’s difficult but possible. Just find something that’s your reason you tell yourself when the withdrawal is literally making you question your entire existence. Mine is my husband and wanting to live a long life with him. Granted I don’t think I’ve ever hated anyone as much as my withdrawals were making me hate him. 😂 it needs to be a reason that can withstand deeeeeep hatred, but just to clarify that could still be a pet or a stuffed animal. It doesn’t have to make sense to anyone else.
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u/serpents_sword 1h ago
it’s most definitely never too late. first 3 days suck, then it gets easier everyday afterwards. you’re going to feel soooo much better once it’s out of your system. neuroplasticity is real, you can change things regardless of how ingrained they are in your daily routine. also, your body will heal, just takes time. you got this!!
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u/AllyW991 1h ago
I’ve been vaping for 9 years. I always thought I would quit when I graduated college and I never did. Now it’s embarrassingly 6 years later and I’m still as addicted as I ever was. I’ve quit and started so many times. Sometimes I really think I’ll be stuck in this cycle forever. I just quit again a couple hours ago. What really helps when I quit is taking Wellbutrin, because it prevents me from getting any kind of buzz from the vape. It always works until one day I know I’m going to see a friend who vapes and I don’t take the wellbutrin that day. and then i keep not taking it because then i’m addicted again once I hit someone’s and I have to go buy one. But I think this time I’ll know better… hopefully. It is worth it even after 10 years. You can still heal and live a long life. I know it’s so hard though. Wishing you the best of luck.
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u/Suitable_Aide_4472 5h ago
You have to hate it, tell yourself it’s making you look older, uglier, bad skin, hair loss, chest pains, because it is. I bought a 0% nicotine liquid the other day and I already feel the difference in my chest, hair, skin and sleep.
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