Nicotine hatred

[AdastraJunction]

So, I have been a non-smoker for over a year now. I say non-smoker because I haven't had a cigarette in that time however I have switched to an E-Cig aka vapor cigarette in that time to help ween down on the nicotine. I have recently discovered, I have become allergic to it! It is the only constant since I am not allergic to anything except for large amounts of dust. I become red all over (not a rash though it can itch) and my face will break out in cystic acne/hives for several days and only thing that helps is a round of prednisone and calming facial washes. With the help of a daily anti-histamine the allergy has calmed but of course my nicotine habit is still there, my lungs are sentimental so I have a hard time getting past that 3 days nic-fit to quit. I keep using the vapor cig because I refuse to go back to cigarettes, it's a catch 22 either have bad lungs and feel like hell from cigarettes or have an allergic reaction when I use the vapor cig too much.

Any advice on staving off nicotine addiction? I'm quit fit and healthy since stopping real cigs, I work out daily though I could afford to loose a few (hard to manage weight with being on thyroid medication, not fat by any means just a touch more curve than I'm use too). I digress, I need to stop all together so any suggestions from ex-smokers would be wonderful!

[SnowCat]

One craving at a time. I quit more than four years ago. I still get a craving sometimes. Next battle is the sugar addiction. I joined a fitness center right before I tore up my shoulder. Once I have medical clearance, it's time to get busy. The low thyroid messes me up too. The replacement just isn't quite the real thing. One more thing. Allergies tend to get worse with repeated exposure. Do you want to risk anaphylaxis?

Snow

[Echo_of_shadows]

So, I have been a non-smoker for over a year now.

Me too! I quit in April of last year.

One of the reasons I quite was because it was making me sick. It took me a couple months to quite because I gradually eased myself off of them. Once I got to the point of smoking about a third of a cigarette once a day after dinner, I told myself that the pack I had was going to be my last pack.
Quitting wasn't so bad except for when I got upset. I was the type that would sit and chain smoke for like an hour or so after something upset me. Other than that, I think the only other time I'd be tempted was watching someone on TV smoking.
I admit, I had a slip about a month ago and I smoked one. Horrible decision! I got sick. I'm glad I had made it home by the time I tossed my cookies. I'm sure my friend's mom wouldn't have appreciated the mess in her car.
What about switching to a different brand of E-Cig, or perhaps a different kind of vapor? Maybe there's something in the material of the cartridge that is irritating you.
My advice is to reward yourself for being smoke free. It doesn't matter how often you do it. You can do it for one day smoke free, one week, one month, six months, whatever. Reward yourself with something you really like or with something you don't get to have often. My one year smoke free reward was books.
If you're interested in adding a little magick to your mundane efforts, there are a couple of spells to help stop smoking in the Self Improvement section of the EUTM site.
Best of luck!

[SnowCat]

So, after reading and replying to this thread last night, I had dreams about smoking. And then my daughter's phone sent me a very delayed text message that woke me up at 2:30. It was a wacky night!

Snow

[Shub Niggurath]

Ahh, I know the feeling. I'm on an e-cig for around 10 months now and I can't imagine being forced to drop it completely all of a sudden.
Any ideas what is it exactly that you're allergic to? If it's one of the main ingredients (glycerine or propylene glycol) then you don't have much choice. I'm guessing it's not nicotine, otherwise you'd notice it back when you were a smoker. But it might as well be the flavoring. Maybe try buying a different flavor liquid and see if anything changes.
Another thing might be the brand of the liquid itself. I'm not sure how it works in US but I know that in Europe there still are some brands of liquids that are not certified or got shitty certificates. Make sure you buy good, tested brands with legit certificates.

If none of the above helps then you'll probably have to stop puffing the e-cig. No point poisoning yourself.
If that turns out to be the case you might try snuff (powder tobacco) as an alternative - only use it when you really need that nicotine "shot" though.

It is a bit weird though that you got this allergic reaction all of a sudden after over a year of puffing. I'm not an expert but it really sounds to me like it's the liquid brand, flavor or just a bad batch that's causing the problem.

[AdastraJunction]

Tried many different brands, tried 100% VG, tried just PG. No change, same reaction.

[Shub Niggurath]

Aww damn, then it must be one of the main ingredients.
As I mentioned above, I highly recommend at least having a small box of snuff around you, just to make sure you're not going to smoke a cigarette when you feel like you need nicotine. I know a few people who completely quit smoking just using snuff.
As for other things, there are a few natural remedies: Kudzu Root, smoking Damiana (+ it's an aphrodisiac), chewing Calamus. That's all I can think of.

Whatever you decide to do about this nasty situation I wish you good luck, and stay strong!

[Nightwatcher]

Sounds to me like it's a sign you're going to have to quit cold turkey :/