Are You feeling Rough After Stopping Vaping?

That can actually be good news

By Chris Hoare

You've Stopped Vaping, So Why Do You Feel Worse?

Stopping vaping is a genuine achievement. So it can feel disheartening, even alarming, when the weeks that follow bring unexpected symptoms rather than the sense of freedom you were hoping for. Surging appetite, relentless sugar cravings, and a noticeable dip in sex drive are three of the most common experiences during the adjustment period after quitting nicotine, and three of the least talked about.

If you're experiencing any of these, this post is for you.

Why is my appetite out of control?

Nicotine is an appetite suppressant. It also raises your metabolic rate slightly, meaning your body burns energy faster while you're vaping than it does without it. Remove nicotine from the equation and your appetite rebounds, sometimes sharply. Your body is recalibrating to its natural baseline, and in the short term that can feel like hunger that's hard to satisfy.

This is entirely normal and it does settle. In the meantime, keeping protein-rich and fibre-rich snacks to hand rather than going hungry can help prevent the energy crashes that make the next symptom worse.

Why am I craving sugar constantly?

This follows directly from the appetite shift above. Nicotine influences dopamine, the brain's reward chemical. Vaping gave your brain a controlling dopamine hit many times a day. As your body finds its new balance, the brain looks for the next quickest route to that reward, and sugar is an obvious candidate. Sweet foods produce a short-term dopamine response, which is why ex-vapers so often find themselves reaching for biscuits, chocolate or fizzy drinks without quite knowing why.

Being aware of this mechanism helps. It isn't weakness or lack of willpower, it's neurochemistry. Staying well hydrated also matters here, thirst is frequently mistaken for a sugar craving, and keeping blood sugar stable through regular small meals reduces the intensity of the pull towards sweetness.

Why has my sex drive dropped?

This one surprises people most. Surely stopping a harmful habit should make you feel better all round, including in this area?

A temporary dip in libido during the settling-in period after quitting nicotine is very common, and it's connected to the same cluster of symptoms already described. The adjustment period brings tiredness, disrupted sleep, low mood and a general sense of distraction or irritability. None of these are conducive to sexual desire, and together they're enough to dampen drive temporarily.

Here's the longer-term reassurance: nicotine is actually harmful to sexual function. As a vasoconstrictor, it narrows blood vessels throughout the body, including those responsible for genital arousal and lubrication in women. Stopping vaping removes that suppressive effect. Blood vessel function begins improving within weeks of quitting, meaning the longer-term direction of travel is towards improved sexual function, not reduced. The temporary dip is part of the adjustment period, not a new normal.

How long does this last?

Most people find the more intense post-vaping symptoms ease considerably within two to four weeks as the body recalibrates. The appetite and mood effects can linger a little longer as the brain's reward system re-establishes its natural balance, but they do resolve.

If symptoms feel severe, or if low mood or appetite changes aren't easing after four weeks, it's worth a conversation with your GP to rule out anything else going on. But for most people, what's described above is recognisable, time-limited, and a sign that the body is healing rather than failing.

A final thought

These symptoms catch so many ex-vapers off guard precisely because no one warned them to expect them. Understanding what's happening and why makes them considerably easier to sit with.

If you stopped vaping with the support of hypnotherapy and are finding the post-vaping adjustment period harder than expected, you're not alone and further support is available. Feel free to get in touch.

Have a read also of my previous blog The Signs of Healing

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