Hi all,
My name is Steve, and I just wanted to give you all an update on my quit ... if I could remember the date.
It has been so long since I've been on this forum that I lost my login information. I just couldn't pull the name, and I really wanted to figure out the exact date I quit. It was September 9, but I am not sure if it was 2014 or 2015. I do know it was the year when an article about Phillies and Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, who said smokeless tobacco caused his cancer. I will say it was 2014, because that was the year of this article.
I was 45, and I had a 5- and 8-year old. I had chewed for 27 years, and I was a master at hiding it from just about everyone. My wife would bust me here and there, and I would tell her that it was an old can. My kids would comment on my minty breath, and I would say I brushed my teeth or something. I would burn through a roughly a can of Skoal or Grizzly a day, and I promised myself I was going to quit. But then I it was kids, and a new job, or I was going camping or fishing or driving or whatever. There was never the right time. I didn't go to the dentist for five years because I didn't want my great secret discovered (I found out later that I wasn't as good about hiding it as a I thought).
And then, for some reason, the Schilling article just got to me, so I just decided to go for it. I am a teacher, and I was basically quitting at the beginning of the school year, a stressful time for sure. But I found this site, and I read the stories, and learned about what to expect. I got through three days, and it felt like I had the flu. Then it was seven, then 10 and then three weeks. Each day, it felt like that flu dissipated just a little bit.
When I got 21 days under me, I just felt that the worst was behind me, and I didn't want to go back. I did have the fog, and that continued for a while. I really strove for that hundred days. Throughout, I came to this site daily, and I learned about alternative chews (the dusty cans of Smokey Mountain at the convenience store, ordered specifically for me).
Because I had lied about quitting or not chewing for so long, I decided that i was just going to gut through this without fessing up. Thinking about it, this was just dumb, because I missed out on a lot of personal support from the closest people in my life. But this is what I did. This site was my support group.
And then a year went by, and my visits to KTC became less and less. Kids getting raised, getting older, taking care of aging parents, etc., and I lost connection to this site. So I guess it did its job.
As I said, I rejoined to selfishly find my quit date, but as I started writing this, i realize it doesn't matter to me anymore. Whether it's 11 or 10 years, I did it. I still grab an occasional can of Smokey for long drives or fishing, but I was able to leave it behind.
It's never too late to say thank you, however, and I just wanted to thank Chewie for all of this work over the years. You played a role in keeping me alive. And to anyone who shared their stories, I say thanks.
If you are trying to quit, you will feel doubts, but all of these people on here -- including me -- were right there with you. Get to those milestones. Read the "what to expect". Get some gum or fake chew, drink a lot of water or soda water. Sleep, run or exercise. Pretty soon, you don't want to lose those quit days you earned, and they start becoming weeks. And it gets easier.
OK, that's enough. I was you. We were all you. You are amazing and you can do this!
Peace, all, and stay healthy!
