Howdy quitters. I guess I've been missing out not participating in this forum. My official quit date was 9/2/15. I've dipped for the better part of 30 years. Long ago I started out on Skoal and other wintergreen type snuff. Moved to Copenhagen for years. In 2003 I quit dipping using NRT (gum and lozenges) which took about 4 months. In 2006 I found myself in the middle of a bad relationship and used dip to help me cope. Brilliant! I've dipped pretty regularly since that time. Tried to quit a few times using NRT. Never had the balls to go cold turkey until now.
I had decided I was going to quit on 9/2 a few weeks earlier. Having been on this roller coaster I knew/know the value of getting your mind right before you quit. I didn't do a lot of planning or thinking, I just set that as the deadline. It was a good date for several reasons. First, I needed to get clean for my health insurance biometrics screening. Second, wife and kids were going on a trip to see family the next week which means I'd have some alone time during what I thought would be the worst of times. Third, I had a cycling rally on Saturday so I would blow it out that day and hopefully be more relaxed on Sunday after a big workout.
Most of that worked out pretty well. The thing I didn't realize having never gone cold turkey was how serious the withdrawals would be or how long they would last. I'm still working through that part.
I woke up on Sunday morning and there was my half empty can on the bedside table. I left it there for about a week. Everyone has a different take on this, but for me, that can sitting on the bedside table was the black and white line for me. I didn't have to ponder going to the store to get a can. If I wanted to cheat it was sitting right there. For me, it was actually easier having the clear cut line with only my own will to hold me back. I think if I had thrown it out I would have spent a lot of time arguing with myself about going to the store and getting a can. It's not for everybody, but for me it was the right thing to do.
As I mentioned above and if you look at the home page you can see a bunch of comments from me, it's been pretty tough. It's taken at least 5 weeks for me to start to feel a little bit more normal. I'd have a day that seemed okay for a bit then it I'd be back in the shit.
What am I saying? Quitting is hard. It's depressing. It's a bunch of shit that you can read about from folks on this site.
I'm grateful to Chewie and KTC for being here. I would not have made it this far on my own. Roll Call has been my savior many days. It's a commitment to everyone here for just one day. Anybody can do just one day...right?
Having 48 days down, I've got a lot to share, but I'll stop now before everyone tells me to STFU.
