Hi everyone, been dipping off and on for the past 8-9 years. When I say "off and on", it's not because I was ever able to quit, it's merely because I switched back and forth between dip and cigs, but have been strictly dip for the past couple of years.
Unfortunately, I've never actually wanted to quit until now. I've wanted-to-want to quit before (I'm sure many/all of y'all will know exactly what I mean by that), but couldn't get any further than that. The main reason I've finally been able to actually want to quit is because I recently started getting these superficial sores in my mouth where I would hold the dip. They quickly heal when I stop holding dip in that spot, but I know they'll only get worse and eventually turn into cancer if I continue. I like not being dead, and especially like 'boob' , so it's time to get serious and be a man about the challenge ahead of me.
I'll be honest: I've always looked at these online support forums as basically useless and/or a joke. "How could annonymous people on the internet ever hold me accountable?" I'd ask myself. I simply never took the time to ever actually look into one. Fortunately for me, today I was googling "Does Chantix help smokeless tobacco users quit?". One of the links I clicked on led me to the same question posted by someone on drugs.com, along w/a response to his question. On March 26, 2010, "HelpfulHand" (a mbr here?) posted the following in response to that question:
"Go to KillTheCan.org ASAP! KTC is a site specific to quitting chewing tobacco and the guys on that site can help you big time. Chantix has a lot of scary side effects. I've been quit for over 200 days now without using Chantix - just the support of the guys on KTC."
That, and that alone, is why I'm here today (well, aside from the whole dip addiction, but why split hairs?). I figured if someone has had success because of that support, and felt strongly enough about it to try and help out someone he doesn't know, it couldn't hurt for me to check it out.
Reading through this site, I'm not ashamed to admit I got a bit emotional, because it's clearly evident that y'all are serious and genuinely care to help each other out. I'm looking forward to reading more on this site, learning about the roll call, quit date, etc. (I'm currently at work, and have already spent too much time not working :o ). I'm excited about becoming a quitter! I gotta run now, but you have my word that this is not the last you'll be hearing from me.
Thanks to everyone here; for the first time I'm confident I can quit.
'til next time...