My eCig Adventure

   I've smoked for a number of years. I've seen and heard about electronic cigarettes, but it always seemed like too much trouble to try them out. Then, about two months ago I saw some hanging in a convenience store, so I bought one.
   My first impression was all joy. It was a V2 disposable - menthol. It didn't taste like menthol, more like vanilla, but the draw was good, the vapor satisfying. The nicotine was 1.8 - way over the .6 I was used to, but it didn't seem like it mattered. I went online to look them up. Turns out you don't get as much nicotine on a draw as you do with a standard cig. Does a draw give you 1.8 or is that the total for the cartridge? Couldn't find that information anywhere.
   The one ecig lasted about a day and a half. At the retail price, that was still less than a pack of my usual brand. No smoke smell on my clothes, no wondering if I have tobacco breath, no butts or ashtrays? I bought a starter kit with no hesitation.

  I smoked solely the ecigs for a month. The first week, I felt like I was going through the desert. Looked it up. Dehydration is common, but they said it doesn't last that long. I downed tons of water, but my face started getting super dry, and I was breaking out. I've never had a problem with that, but they say it happens when you stop smoking standard cigs. I waited for it to pass, but it never did.

  I don't get sick very often, maybe a head cold once a season, but the ecigs dried out my nose. I blame them for my getting the flu at about week three. It was the sickest I've ever been. I think if they hadn't dried me out so much, the filthy germs never would have found a latch-on place.

   After the flu, I thought the worse was over. Drink more water and keep with the ecigs. Then I noticed my tongue was red. That was a sign on anemia. I found a post about it, but it was in a Charlie Brown grown-up voice in my head. If you want to give it a read, here it is: Anemia and eCigs

  The last week I smoked ecigs, I started getting allergy attacks. I don't have any allergies - not one - but there was a tickle in my nose that wouldn't go away, sneezing, and my nose was running like a faucet. Yuck!

   So... I quit. I quit ecigs. I like smoking. I like the taste of tobacco. I set the little metal stick aside and picked up the paper one again. The first week back on the real cigs, I lost about 3lbs. in water. The ecigs both dried up my face and made me pack on some water weight. Two weeks off them I have no allergy symptoms at all, and my skin is back to normal.
   I'm sure someone will say 'It's the PG. You should try VG' [propylene glycol or vegetable glycerin], but VG isn't convenient. It just isn't, and VG is sweet. Here's more info about the two options: PG or VG?

   There are a lot of forums with people asking about this symptom or that, so I thought I'd put my whole experience for perusal. Hope it helps.