General Discussion - 2018

[Athan]

Youve said everything except IM AN ADDICT, ALWAYS WILL BE.

It's THE foundational statement. Everything else rests upon it.

[JB65]

Hey guys, so I've been dipping for almost three years probably more than that now. I have attempted to quit several times, even stopped for about four months and had a few shorter "quits" since that. This forum was a very helpful tool when I first attempted to quit dip. I am not going to sit here and give excuses. I caved. I've dipped far less the past year than the previous two years, and while that does feel somewhat good, knowing that I have done it a lot less than before, I am still caught in a viscious cycle. I HATE IT when I cave. I hate waking up with regret knowing I should have quit dip. I HATE feeling great when I'm "quit" and then feeling horrible when I cave. I'm done. I'm freaking done. I cant do it anymore. I have to quit.

This is my comeback post, and I will not miss roll this time. Mark my words.

I've also decided to stop smoking cannabis.

My main reasons for quitting is health of course. But more specifically the fact that I am a singer, and dip and smoke DO NOT help your vocal cords. they DAMAGE THEM. I can intellectually know this but still dip and smoke. It's a downright shame. I know there are going to be some big speed bumps along the way, but I know I can succeed with this. It's all or nothing this time around.

Once I get into the habit of not dipping and not smoking I can improve my singing abilities because of better health.

I hope to speak with many of you later on. I'm going to get into the roll call.

You are going to have to prove to your brethren here you are worthy of your words, by your actions starting NOW

be a leader
exchange digits, actually talk to people, send texts, check in
are you going to answer the questions three??

Youve said everything except IM AN ADDICT, ALWAYS WILL BE.

[JB65]

Hey guys, so I've been dipping for almost three years probably more than that now. I have attempted to quit several times, even stopped for about four months and had a few shorter "quits" since that. This forum was a very helpful tool when I first attempted to quit dip. I am not going to sit here and give excuses. I caved. I've dipped far less the past year than the previous two years, and while that does feel somewhat good, knowing that I have done it a lot less than before, I am still caught in a viscious cycle. I HATE IT when I cave. I hate waking up with regret knowing I should have quit dip. I HATE feeling great when I'm "quit" and then feeling horrible when I cave. I'm done. I'm freaking done. I cant do it anymore. I have to quit.

This is my comeback post, and I will not miss roll this time. Mark my words.

I've also decided to stop smoking cannabis.

My main reasons for quitting is health of course. But more specifically the fact that I am a singer, and dip and smoke DO NOT help your vocal cords. they DAMAGE THEM. I can intellectually know this but still dip and smoke. It's a downright shame. I know there are going to be some big speed bumps along the way, but I know I can succeed with this. It's all or nothing this time around.

Once I get into the habit of not dipping and not smoking I can improve my singing abilities because of better health.

I hope to speak with many of you later on. I'm going to get into the roll call.

You are going to have to prove to your brethren here you are worthy of your words, by your actions starting NOW

be a leader
exchange digits, actually talk to people, send texts, check in
are you going to answer the questions three??

[gottadoit3]

Hey guys, so I've been dipping for almost three years probably more than that now. I have attempted to quit several times, even stopped for about four months and had a few shorter "quits" since that. This forum was a very helpful tool when I first attempted to quit dip. I am not going to sit here and give excuses. I caved. I've dipped far less the past year than the previous two years, and while that does feel somewhat good, knowing that I have done it a lot less than before, I am still caught in a viscious cycle. I HATE IT when I cave. I hate waking up with regret knowing I should have quit dip. I HATE feeling great when I'm "quit" and then feeling horrible when I cave. I'm done. I'm freaking done. I cant do it anymore. I have to quit.

This is my comeback post, and I will not miss roll this time. Mark my words.

I've also decided to stop smoking cannabis.

My main reasons for quitting is health of course. But more specifically the fact that I am a singer, and dip and smoke DO NOT help your vocal cords. they DAMAGE THEM. I can intellectually know this but still dip and smoke. It's a downright shame. I know there are going to be some big speed bumps along the way, but I know I can succeed with this. It's all or nothing this time around.

Once I get into the habit of not dipping and not smoking I can improve my singing abilities because of better health.

I hope to speak with many of you later on. I'm going to get into the roll call.

[Athan]

You waffling? You on the fence about quitting?
Or maybe you think it can't be done. You think other guys are stronger or you just don't have the will power.
Below is from a guy just like you who was a slave to the can.
NOT ANYMORE! Read on.....

I joined on day 16 of my quit. Here are 16 reasons I should have joined sooner!
1-I am able to post what I am feeling.
2-I am able to connect and build relationships with rad dudes!
3-I have backup digits if I ever hit a huge crave and need someone to talk to.
4-I get questions answered if I post. Or at least someone shows they care.
5-I am not driving my wife crazy talking about it to her!
6-Other people on KTC know exactly how IÂ’m feeling.
7-I am able to help other people.
8-Doctors have no idea about nicotine withdrawal. This site is spot on.
9-knowing that I am not alone with my addiction. Other people are struggling with me.
10-knowing what to expect. Timeframes are about spot on.
11-posting roll is actually fun. I look forward and try to say different things daily.
12-this website is frustrating to navigate for a reason! They want to waste your time! So you donÂ’t cave!
13-people actually read your shit. It may be 1 person or 3,000.
14-you make a promise to your boys that you will stay quit!
15-Any time of day people are here for you.
16-These dudes on here are bad ass quitters that I will strive to be like!

Day 37 and I feel way better. Today, I did get gloomy. Everything passes with time. I am feeling better now then I did the first few weeks. Everyday gets better.

[JB65]

No idea how to post anything on here. Here is my question or thought. If I think about chew is that a craving? Or am I just having obsessive thoughts? Please chime in. I am on day 36 and I am having a good day. I am happy. Try to keep myself busy. But just constantly thinking about chew or quitting or not wanting to feel bad or depressed again. Am I craving? Or am I obsessing?

I just wrote something about this same thing the other day in my intro journal. I am on Day 97 today and I still think about chew a few times a day.

Here is what I wrote on Day 93:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day 93

Monday.....

Is it a blessing or a curse that I still find myself thinking about chew every day? I definitely can't say that I am having cravings, but somehow chew finds it's way into my thoughts several times a day. I find it to be extremely annoying, but I also think it helps strengthen my resolve a little bit. I feel like my inability to control my addiction is really what drove me to go cold turkey in the first place. So, as long as my brain keeps thinking about chew every day it is constantly reminding me that I can't have just one without totally losing control again. It really is an interesting dichotomy. I don't want to think about chew, but I am afraid that I will get complacent if I don't think about chew.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I would definitely not call the thoughts that I am having "cravings." To me, a craving is what I had that first week when my salivary glands were firing on all cylinders and my heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest every time I experienced a trigger. Those cravings were tough to battle through. The thoughts I have today are nothing compared to those cravings.

I am not that much ahead of you on the number of days. But, I can promise you that it will get noticeably better soon for you. I hit a funk around Day 60 that lasted for about a week. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great either. Since then, everything has been good for me. Most people hit the same funk around day 70. I highly recommend that you pay attention to the groups that are one and two months ahead of you. That way you can kind of get an idea of what to expect in your near future. Someone suggested that to me early on and I found it to be very helpful. Also, a lot of members post a sort of journal on their intro pages. You can also get some helpful insight there as well.

Good idea Kybo about looking ahead to groups.

Bubba (and Kybo) first, great job on your quits !! These are not easy times for you guys but they get better. Good days below 100 area really good days! Bad days are really bad days, whether it be craves, obsessing, or just plain treating those close to yo like shit.

My hardest MENTAL days were 150-200. Sort of post HOF letdown. No doubt days in beginning were more of a physical hand-to-mouth obsession for me that I needed to get over. For me and most of us here I assume, its all MENTAL man. Recognize your triggers, and conquer them.

There are many paths to a successful quit here, Bubba it sounds like you are taking the same path I'm on. I went from day 1 quit to obsessing about it, to craving it, eventually to getting embarrassed I ever let it control me, and finally to being PISSED at Nicotine.

I am currently pissed and nicotine, and always will be. For what it did to me, everyone here and everyone in the world.

The single most important event for me happened around the 200 day mark, I admitted I was an addict, always would be, got my ass over to INTROS, and choose a newbie. Help them, text them, encourage them, kick ass if needed. It has helped build my quit tenfold.

Funny that up until 200 day mark or so I still thought I could take one and control it, maybe 'in a few months I'll have a dip, and just quit when i needed" Total oblivion. The tricky nic bitch is most deadly when your guard is down!

I am so addicted to this poison, always will be. If I had one now, I'd be right back on the dip train- even after 976 days, no doubt. Hell, my quit group HOF conductor just fucking caved after 1000+ days!! Are you kidding me?

He must have lost his way, lost touch of what it was that made him stay quit, strayed to far from KTC.

Caving can happen to anyone, anytime, day counts don't matter. My advice, GET PISSED!

[kybo]

No idea how to post anything on here. Here is my question or thought. If I think about chew is that a craving? Or am I just having obsessive thoughts? Please chime in. I am on day 36 and I am having a good day. I am happy. Try to keep myself busy. But just constantly thinking about chew or quitting or not wanting to feel bad or depressed again. Am I craving? Or am I obsessing?

I just wrote something about this same thing the other day in my intro journal. I am on Day 97 today and I still think about chew a few times a day.

Here is what I wrote on Day 93:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day 93

Monday.....

Is it a blessing or a curse that I still find myself thinking about chew every day? I definitely can't say that I am having cravings, but somehow chew finds it's way into my thoughts several times a day. I find it to be extremely annoying, but I also think it helps strengthen my resolve a little bit. I feel like my inability to control my addiction is really what drove me to go cold turkey in the first place. So, as long as my brain keeps thinking about chew every day it is constantly reminding me that I can't have just one without totally losing control again. It really is an interesting dichotomy. I don't want to think about chew, but I am afraid that I will get complacent if I don't think about chew.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I would definitely not call the thoughts that I am having "cravings." To me, a craving is what I had that first week when my salivary glands were firing on all cylinders and my heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest every time I experienced a trigger. Those cravings were tough to battle through. The thoughts I have today are nothing compared to those cravings.

I am not that much ahead of you on the number of days. But, I can promise you that it will get noticeably better soon for you. I hit a funk around Day 60 that lasted for about a week. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great either. Since then, everything has been good for me. Most people hit the same funk around day 70. I highly recommend that you pay attention to the groups that are one and two months ahead of you. That way you can kind of get an idea of what to expect in your near future. Someone suggested that to me early on and I found it to be very helpful. Also, a lot of members post a sort of journal on their intro pages. You can also get some helpful insight there as well.

[BrianG]

No idea how to post anything on here. Here is my question or thought. If I think about chew is that a craving? Or am I just having obsessive thoughts? Please chime in. I am on day 36 and I am having a good day. I am happy. Try to keep myself busy. But just constantly thinking about chew or quitting or not wanting to feel bad or depressed again. Am I craving? Or am I obsessing?

To me a crave is a physical feeling that you go through. You think about it and for me I get a little anxiety feeling. Early on they could be intense. later they kind of hit you and it is easier to think of something else. To me the trick to controlling a cave was t get your mind on something else right away. The more you dwell on the crave, the more intense they can become. Congrats on 36 days!! As good as your day is now, it will get better. I was told that early on and wasnt always sure. At this point, I understand that they were so right. Better days ahead...

[BubbaM]

No idea how to post anything on here. Here is my question or thought. If I think about chew is that a craving? Or am I just having obsessive thoughts? Please chime in. I am on day 36 and I am having a good day. I am happy. Try to keep myself busy. But just constantly thinking about chew or quitting or not wanting to feel bad or depressed again. Am I craving? Or am I obsessing?

[chris2alaska]

First post introducing myself and hoping to get some tips/advice to help me quit nicotine for good. I am 34 yrs old and have dipped on and off since I was about 15. Also smoked cigarettes for several years during this time period but recently quit that for good several months back and plan on always being smoke free the rest of my life. I know that I am an addict and know that it is a problem I have to face head on and quit forever. I own my own business so can basically dip whenever I choose and my wife is somewhat accepting of it at home so there is no real pressures to quit besides me having to do this for myself. It has affected my work, my health, my confidence, and is just a terrible drug that I continue to keep using day in and day out with no quitting goal in sight which is scary to me. I have primarily used dip to help me focus and concentrate when working but any benefits I might get from that are very little compared to all of the negative ways it impacts other areas of my life so I got to man up and stop forever. My wife and I are pregnant with our first child and I am not going to be a nicotine addict when I become a father.

I have gum, sugar free candies, access to nictotine free mint leaf pouches, etc if any of that might help me. I know it is just mind over matter though and my will to quit for good is the only thing that will make a difference in the end. Not ready to post on any roll calls lists yet or join any quit groups on here right away as I would just like to get a few responses from members on here with any advice/tips that might assist me along the quitting process before I set a quit date. What worked for me with the cigarettes quitting was making a promise to my wife I would never smoke again and it was easy as that. But I have actually promised her I would quit dipping and could not even follow through with that is one big reason I know I have a problem here and need to address it asap. Thanks in advance for any help.

The special sauce at KTC is accountability. It is making a promise to a band of brothers and sisters and keeping it...one day at a time. Then renewing the process the next day. And the next. When someone says they aren't ready to put their name on roll - they are telling me that they are still looking for an escape hatch. Get serious, slayer. This is not a game - this is your life.

Put your name and day count and promise on roll NOW - and let's get this quit going. You will never regret taking back your freedom. Never.

Slayer I am 9 days quit. Post roll with the July Group. I had all the concerns you had plus some. Post roll and we can talk some more!

Slayer I couldn't have said it any better than FLLIP did for you. Every single person posting roll here thought "I can do it on my own" in the past. The real difference is the accountability here. In my first couple months here, I would have caved except for the people in my group and some veterans that talked me off the ledge. Yesterday I posted day 1000.

It sounds hokey and I don't blame you for being skeptical, but this place works. I tried to quit 100 times on my own and even made it a couple months before. In the end, I wasn't strong enough to stay quit by myself. Not for my wife, not for my kids and not for me. I needed some like-minded addicts to hold me accountable before it really stuck.

You won't regret it. Post roll. Get some accountability and get some quit. It's worth it, I promise.

King

Hey Slayer,

All of the advice and info these guys have given you is spot on. The one thing I will add is this, you kept saying you want to quit “forever”. Well my friend, forever is a very long time and it in the eyes of an addict, it is next to impossible. That is why here, we only quit for one day at a time. We log on in the morning first thing and post our promise to not use nicotine for today. Then tomorrow, we come back and repeat the process all over again.

You see, anyone can quit for a day, right? So now I ask you, are you ready to quit? If you answered yes and you still have that cancer causing cat turd in your lip, then you need to dig deeper and flush that shit down the toilet, the rest of the can too and any other cans you have stashed. Find them all and dump them in the toilet. Once you do that, get back in here and post your day one. When that happens, me and every other member here will be proud to quit with you for that day.

Send me a PM after you post and we can exchange digits so we can keep each other accountable and build on our brotherhood.

Make the right choice.

[Athan]

"Hoot": When I go home people'll ask me, "Hey Hoot, why do you do it man? What, you some kinda war junkie?" You know what I'll say? I won't say a xxx word. Why? They won't understand. They won't understand why we do it. They won't understand that it's about the men next to you, and that's it. That's all it is.

Until you invest in your brothers quit, until you ask him to invest in yours, you haven't scratched the surface of what happens here. If you can't do that, you're short changing yourself.

Nothing strengthens my quit like helping my brother out.

Nothing.

[Athan]

I am on day 12 and I have no intention of turning back now. It has been a long road and made my first mistake at just 16 years old. Now I am a 25 year old man who has had enough manipulation by nicotine. I grew up in a farming community where it is already a natural trend and lifestyle to begin with. Right after graduation I joined the Army and was in the Infantry for 4 years. Dipping honestly really did help in combat, we did not have many smokers because Taliban snipers were trained to aim for the cherry of the cigarette, so dip was the choice of us all for the most part. Sometimes when we were out of dip we would even rip cigarettes in half and put the dry tobacco buds in our mouth, we simply did this to stay awake. I am sure there are many other vets on here so we all know that story. I have been out since 2015 and have been in college ever since, now I am a junior and have even played D2 football for the past 3 years. Things were going great with trying to give up dipping until I walked on the football team, I guess the younger guys just made me feel "cool" again. It is coming up on almost a decade of me being manipulated by the tobacco industry and I have always had self motivation for myself. I think this time mentally I could honestly use a push. Instead of running 96 hours of recon missions at night I now find myself pushing out 10-15 page papers and a dip always helped me or was it? To top this all off cancer runs in my family and my mom is a medical professional in the oncology field. I look forward to hearing from you all.

Blessings, cheers to a addiction free life - Hendo

This guy never came back. He came right up to the gate, assessed the situation, but in the end the can was stronger.

Are you in the same situation? Is the addiction nagging at you? Are you torn between your desire for the nicotine and the desire to be free?

You can't have both.

....Freedom is better. A lot better.

[KingNothing]

First post introducing myself and hoping to get some tips/advice to help me quit nicotine for good. I am 34 yrs old and have dipped on and off since I was about 15. Also smoked cigarettes for several years during this time period but recently quit that for good several months back and plan on always being smoke free the rest of my life. I know that I am an addict and know that it is a problem I have to face head on and quit forever. I own my own business so can basically dip whenever I choose and my wife is somewhat accepting of it at home so there is no real pressures to quit besides me having to do this for myself. It has affected my work, my health, my confidence, and is just a terrible drug that I continue to keep using day in and day out with no quitting goal in sight which is scary to me. I have primarily used dip to help me focus and concentrate when working but any benefits I might get from that are very little compared to all of the negative ways it impacts other areas of my life so I got to man up and stop forever. My wife and I are pregnant with our first child and I am not going to be a nicotine addict when I become a father.

I have gum, sugar free candies, access to nictotine free mint leaf pouches, etc if any of that might help me. I know it is just mind over matter though and my will to quit for good is the only thing that will make a difference in the end. Not ready to post on any roll calls lists yet or join any quit groups on here right away as I would just like to get a few responses from members on here with any advice/tips that might assist me along the quitting process before I set a quit date. What worked for me with the cigarettes quitting was making a promise to my wife I would never smoke again and it was easy as that. But I have actually promised her I would quit dipping and could not even follow through with that is one big reason I know I have a problem here and need to address it asap. Thanks in advance for any help.

The special sauce at KTC is accountability. It is making a promise to a band of brothers and sisters and keeping it...one day at a time. Then renewing the process the next day. And the next. When someone says they aren't ready to put their name on roll - they are telling me that they are still looking for an escape hatch. Get serious, slayer. This is not a game - this is your life.

Put your name and day count and promise on roll NOW - and let's get this quit going. You will never regret taking back your freedom. Never.

Slayer I am 9 days quit. Post roll with the July Group. I had all the concerns you had plus some. Post roll and we can talk some more!

Slayer I couldn't have said it any better than FLLIP did for you. Every single person posting roll here thought "I can do it on my own" in the past. The real difference is the accountability here. In my first couple months here, I would have caved except for the people in my group and some veterans that talked me off the ledge. Yesterday I posted day 1000.

It sounds hokey and I don't blame you for being skeptical, but this place works. I tried to quit 100 times on my own and even made it a couple months before. In the end, I wasn't strong enough to stay quit by myself. Not for my wife, not for my kids and not for me. I needed some like-minded addicts to hold me accountable before it really stuck.

You won't regret it. Post roll. Get some accountability and get some quit. It's worth it, I promise.

King

[Athan]

I actually dreamed about the shit last night. Dreamed I put a pinch in and savored it. Even there in my sleep I felt the shame. I can't believe it invades my sleep!

Had the same dream last night. I enjoyed it so much and then all of a sudden I realized that I broke my roll promise. I was pissed until I realized that it was only a nightmare. Not going to happen.

Wait until Kate Upton sidles up to you. She's pulling that lotion bottle out of the side of her bikini like a colt from a holster. And drips it onto her toned body. She swings her head and her locks of hair fall over her right shoulder and she flashes you those eyes.
She leans in to give you a big fat kiss and then you see it, she's sportin a fatty of Copenhagen long cut.....

[DonkeyMN]

I actually dreamed about the shit last night. Dreamed I put a pinch in and savored it. Even there in my sleep I felt the shame. I can't believe it invades my sleep!

Had the same dream last night. I enjoyed it so much and then all of a sudden I realized that I broke my roll promise. I was pissed until I realized that it was only a nightmare. Not going to happen.

Yeah, I don't know why they call them "dreams"... they really are more like nightmares!