Hi guys, the name's Blake. I have quit dipping three weeks ago, January 20th, 2015. It's been a long time coming, and I already feel so much better about myself...
Here's a quick history on myself and my habit... I am 31 years old, married with a 1 1/2 year old son. I was a cigarette smoker for about 5-6 years in high scool, ages 15-21ish. I was able to quit smoking by use of nicotine gum and suddenly became a bit of a health freak for about a year. Suddenly, a year later, I found myself with some buddies, hanging out having a few drinks and they were all throwing in a dip. Sure, I figured, what's the harm. I'd dipped a few times in the past, never enjoyed it a ton but didn't hate it either... That was the beginning of a major addiction. I'd say that within a week or two, I was a can a day, Skoal Straight. This habit continued for about 5 years, through many many attempts to quit (unsuccessfully). I was finally able to kick the habit, again using nicotine gum, after just over 5 years. Again I became a very healthy person, working out all the time, eating healthy, I even ran a half marathon! But disaster struck again just over a year later... I was in a long drive on the highway, and my mind started playing games with me... What's the harm in one dip, it'll keep you awake and alert in this drive. What it did was make me dizzy and nauseous, as it had been over a year without nicotine... But again, I'd say it was within a week that I was back on that train, a can a day (or more if I was busy/stressed). This time Copenhagen Longcut. And on top of it, I was hiding my habit from my wife, my co-workers, some of my friends.... So I started chewing nicotine gum to hide my habit, and it turned into a double addiction... Every time I dipped, I followed it with two pieces of nicotine gum right afterwards. And I chewed the shit out of the gum, not packing it in my lip like you're supposed to... So I was taking in a major amount of nicotine now. I tried and tried to stop when my wife caught me, many times shed catch me and I'd continue to lie to her and break get I quit. It was like I was embarrassed, but I was ruining her trust in our relationship over a can of dip... And I was embarrased to dip in front of my son, but I would just get angry and frustrated when I wasn't dipping...
So I quit. It wasn't just easy, like I said I quit. I just stopped dipping though. I chewed tons and tons of gum. Tons! And then after 10 days of chewing gum, I had to have my wisdom teeth removed, emergency surgery as they had become infected and impacted, causing major pain. (A side note, I've avoided the dentist because I was always scared to hear any bad news about my mouth that dipping would have cause... So I put off wisdom teeth removal for years because of my dipping habit). So, I couldn't chew gum, I couldn't dip, I couldn't even eat because of the surgery. I used this as my chance to get off the nicotine. It's been 12 days with no dip and no nicotine gum. A long 12 days...
But I'm feeling good. Actually feeling energized now. Still having a bit of a hard time sleeping at night, but the headaches are gone. I don't feel too irritable any more... The strangest thing is, I still feel like something is missing. Especially in the car, or after my cup of coffee, or after meals. I feel like I need to be doing something, but I don't have anything? I feel somewhat empty during these times...
That's all for now. I'm trying to be strong, and I wish you all the best. I'm proud of how far I've gotten, and I will be back to this site soon...
