I had my first dip when I was in 10th grade. I didn't make it a habit at that time but was trying other nicotine products in between. Even though I played soccer in colleague, I still smoked cig and dipped. I can honestly say nicotine ended my soccer career when I was a Junior in college. I preferred to drink and smoke/crew than exercise and play the sport I love. Now 15 years later, I regret my nicotine use, but I'm here to start new and try to get clean.
I've been itching to quit for the past two years. Mostly because my teeth are starting to move, turn color, and even feel like they may fall out. I even started to get little "balls" underneath my skin near the jaw line. The tip of my tongue also hurts and feels like its dying. I'm a huge foodie and all I taste lately is cardboard. My breath smells bad no matter how many times I floss/brush and I also think people can smell the nicotine on me. My wife says she can smell it sometimes in bed. I am also experiencing joint pain and a lot of numbness in my limbs. My heart also feels weird like its struggle to pump at times.
I know nicotine has done some damage to my body but I also know that our body recovers quickly if we make the right decisions. This is not going to be easy for me. The longest I went without nicotine was 5 days. It wasn't horrible and I could tell the difference already but the cravings is what dragged me back in. Making it to 100 days will be the biggest challenge of my life. I think the best techniques for me will be running/exercise, yoga, gum, sunflower seeds, and anything else that will keep my mind busy during the cravings. Any suggestions are appreciated.
I'm very excited to start this process and I look forward to visiting this site daily to help me. Nice to meet everyone and GOOD LUCK!