WolfPDX - Intro

[Mike1966]

You've already been given some great advice by a couple of Bad Ass Quitters, so let me just say welcome to KTC Wolf! Throw yourself into the forum 100 percent and you won't regret it. I've tried to quit more times than I can count on my own and all of my previous attempts ended in failure. Thanks to this site I'm quit now longer than I've ever been able to on my own. I was skeptical that it could help when I first joined up. I had no idea how powerful "support" could be.

As I'm sure you know, the road ahead isn't easy, but you can do it, and it is so worth the struggle.

Let me know if there's anything I can do to help.
Proud to Quit with you today Wolf!

[KingNothing]

Congrats on a great decision Wolf! You have the right mentality to control your addiction and now you just have to put it to good use. Keep pushing through one day at a time. Some days will suck, but you sir are free. Nicotine will try to dig its claws back into you many many times, but every time you say no you are free. You now control your actions, not some worm dirt in a can. With that freedom comes responsibility. You are the only one that controls whether that stuff ends up in your mouth again. Don't let it.

Thanks. To quote the great Bill Walton "The fog is fading and I can see clearly." Well, that's not entirely true, but I am definitely in it for the long haul. I feel like that HOF post is going to feel really good. So I am going to make it there, then to a year, then 2 years, then 3, then... you get it. Appreciate the support.

Good to have goals, but make sure you don't start looking too far into the future. Take it one day at a time. If you bite off to much at a time, your mind will convince you that you can't make it. You can quit one day at a time. Also, soak up how badly you feel during this initial phase because if you don't forget how badly it sucks, you won't allow yourself to go back.

Keep it up!

[WolfPDX]

Congrats on a great decision Wolf! You have the right mentality to control your addiction and now you just have to put it to good use. Keep pushing through one day at a time. Some days will suck, but you sir are free. Nicotine will try to dig its claws back into you many many times, but every time you say no you are free. You now control your actions, not some worm dirt in a can. With that freedom comes responsibility. You are the only one that controls whether that stuff ends up in your mouth again. Don't let it.

Thanks. To quote the great Bill Walton "The fog is fading and I can see clearly." Well, that's not entirely true, but I am definitely in it for the long haul. I feel like that HOF post is going to feel really good. So I am going to make it there, then to a year, then 2 years, then 3, then... you get it. Appreciate the support.

[KingNothing]

Congrats on a great decision Wolf! You have the right mentality to control your addiction and now you just have to put it to good use. Keep pushing through one day at a time. Some days will suck, but you sir are free. Nicotine will try to dig its claws back into you many many times, but every time you say no you are free. You now control your actions, not some worm dirt in a can. With that freedom comes responsibility. You are the only one that controls whether that stuff ends up in your mouth again. Don't let it.

[gentgeen]

You are rocking it!!

Cold turkey is really the only way to go... why draw out the sucky part over weeks/months when you can just face it head on!! Remember to WUPP (WakeUp, Piss, Post ) Make the promise to yourself and to us that you will not use today.

[WolfPDX]

"KTC#17 - Having your lip be so raw from dipping all day but knowing you need one more before bedtime. That last pain dip of the day."

After navigating a chew around my severely torn-apart lip for 20 minutes, I popped it out and went to bed. I woke up the next morning, grabbed the tin off of my night stand, and tossed in another aggravating chew. This chew lasted all of 30 seconds. Why the hell am I doing this? Obviously your mouth isn't supposed to feel like this. That day was March 21, 2017. I headed to Fred Meyer, bought 100 pieces of 4mg gum, and started my plan. My plan was to get through that pack in a week, then switch over to the 2 mg gum. Chew the 2 mg gum for a week, then switch to 0 mg gum (i.e. Trident). I'll come back to this plan...

How did I become 3 can/2 day chewer? I suppose it is the natural evolution of all addicts. You build up a tolerance, and it become so much of a part of your life that you do it constantly without thought. I have played baseball my whole life (softball now), but when I was in high school, some of my teammates started to experiment with Red Man. They offered it to me several times, but I always declined. I declined until that fruity smelling tin of Skoal peach was offered to me. I took a pinch and loved the way it made me feel. I didn't decline a chew from that moment on.

That was in the Spring of 2006. I chewed everyday until I tried to quit 2010. I use "tried" because an Oregon football tailgate made me run like a fat kid to the last cupcake at a bake sale to 7-11 to grab a can. I went cold turkey for 12 days before that and thought - that wasn't very hard, I'll just quit again after this tin. Well, that was almost 7 years ago.

There were so many disgraceful things I would do because of chew. I would leave the Thanksgiving table early to go have a chew. My mom would ask me where I was and why I didn't say goodbye to grandpa. I would lie and say I felt sick. Obviously this is just one example of the many, but this drug had a firm grip on me.

So, getting back to my quitting plan. I was enjoying the 4mg gum. I didn't have any cravings to chew and thought I was making serious progress. Then, I woke up on March 25th with no gum left. I was chewing the gum on a pace of 25 pieces/day. That was a toxic amount of nicotine. The box said "DO NOT EXCEED MORE THAN 24 PIECES IN A DAY." I was pretty sure I had about 15 on day one so I crushed that max on a couple of the days. At that moment, I knew that I had to go cold turkey. I did purchase some Trident to keep my mouth occupied, but I was done with nicotine.

Days 1 and 2 were hard but tolerable. Once you get passed the morning urge, you can get passed the rest of them. It wasn't until day 3 when I thought I couldn't do it. I told myself that I NEED to find a bar to just take a drag off of a cig. But, instead of that, I googled "how to quit chew." That led me here. I spent the next several hours reading stories. It provided me with the strength to fight that craving and survive another day. On day 4, I came back to KTC and chatted in the group chat. Today, day 5, I became a member and posted roll.

Thank you for all of your stories and support. Tomorrow, I will be on Day 6 because of you.