First Week

[DWEIRICK]

Day 88 9/12/2025

Went to Derm/plastics for a large lump on the back of my head/neck area. I have had this lump for a few years, and it had recently grown in size. I was supposed to have it removed just prior to Covid, but once that hit, they put the removal on the back burner, and I left it go. On Friday I finally had it removed and it was relatively painless. Most important it was confirmed non-cancerous and was just a mass of fat thankfully!  Another win from quitting! I was truly terrified it was something much worse thanks to 24 plus years of nicotine abuse. I am sure I am not out of the woods, but I am so glad to be done! NAFAR....

[MN_Engineer]

Day 84

I watched someone walk into Dec25 today to post up another day 1 after failing to use the tools provided here. They had my number and many other quitters' numbers but only reached out after they decided to cave. I look back on the past and my status of being a retread myself and I have to be honest here and say there are so many quitters on this site who have been through so much worse than I have, and most others have and they have remained quit. See that is the difference here in quitting and stopping. Those who make it through the trials, shitty days, almost losing everything and not knowing if they will come out on the other side, but still never faltering on their quits are the ones who survive here simply because they bought in. They know that nicotine will not solve any of the problems at that moment, so they stick to what they know and that is their promise to themselves and their group.

Losing a battle to a dead plant in a can is a lot more embarrassing today for me and maybe that’s because I have grown and matured. Maybe it’s because I finally realized that I am in control of my actions and also my lack of them! I have learned that caving will never be an option for me again. I can’t betray my brothers and sisters again and most importantly I can’t let myself down. Someone in my group (Ribbons) has a great saying they like to drop “Love yourself enough to quit” and I think that speaks volumes. If you won’t quit or won’t stay quit then you clearly do not love yourself enough to save your own life. We only get one shot at this life, by the time you wished you would’ve quit or stayed on your quit it could be too late. You only have to quit for today, tomorrow can wait. It's today that matters most!

Not to get too philosophical here but in conversations with a licensed therapist I was talking about struggles to forgive myself for past mistakes while also struggling with loving people in my life that are hard to love. And he pointed to the command in the Bible to "love your neighbor as yourself". And what he pointed out is that if we don't love ourselves, respect ourselves, forgive ourselves, etc., we won't be able to truly then follow the command to love those in our midst. And it think this plays heavily into what we do here at KTC. It isn't until we are able to love ourselves and our new identities as quitters that we are able to then turn and help those who are struggling to forgive themselves and embrace their new life of being nicotine free.

Don't know if this makes any sense but thanks for letting me ramble on your intro!

[DWEIRICK]

Day 84

I watched someone walk into Dec25 today to post up another day 1 after failing to use the tools provided here. They had my number and many other quitters' numbers but only reached out after they decided to cave. I look back on the past and my status of being a retread myself and I have to be honest here and say there are so many quitters on this site who have been through so much worse than I have, and most others have and they have remained quit. See that is the difference here in quitting and stopping. Those who make it through the trials, shitty days, almost losing everything and not knowing if they will come out on the other side, but still never faltering on their quits are the ones who survive here simply because they bought in. They know that nicotine will not solve any of the problems at that moment, so they stick to what they know and that is their promise to themselves and their group.

Losing a battle to a dead plant in a can is a lot more embarrassing today for me and maybe that’s because I have grown and matured. Maybe it’s because I finally realized that I am in control of my actions and also my lack of them! I have learned that caving will never be an option for me again. I can’t betray my brothers and sisters again and most importantly I can’t let myself down. Someone in my group (Ribbons) has a great saying they like to drop “Love yourself enough to quit” and I think that speaks volumes. If you won’t quit or won’t stay quit then you clearly do not love yourself enough to save your own life. We only get one shot at this life, by the time you wished you would’ve quit or stayed on your quit it could be too late. You only have to quit for today, tomorrow can wait. It's today that matters most!

[Keith0617]

Day 75 - Reflections


Today I was on my drive to work and since it’s about a 35-minute ride I have some time to decompress before I take on the day of handling other people's emergencies and I thought to myself man I have handled a lot of shit in these first 75 days. Some things I have shared and other things I have not, regardless those things were all handled without stuffing cancer in my face. Now things are clearer than they ever have been when it comes to beating this addiction. I have come to the realization I mean the full realization that there are other people out there quitting who have been through the absolute worst of things and remained quit throughout those trials. There is absolutely no reason no matter the circumstances that require nicotine to navigate or get you through. You could take everything from me and tomorrow I will show up and post that day count. No situation will be made better, resolved or relieved by sticking cancer back in my face. I know this without a doubt because I have tried to relieve these things in the past with nicotine and it never worked. It just took me a long time to accept that and truly admit my relationship with chew was beyond toxic and destructive. 

No one has ever been able to provide me an example of a situation in which nicotine improves the outcome.

Quitting isnt about removing something from your life and replacing it with KTC. It is about using KTC to rebuild your life so there is no hole.

For me it comes down to the sister/brotherhood I have been gifted. Nothing cures cravings like a text, or even  better, a phone call from a fellow quitter. It recharges me and gives a huge boost.

[Candoit]

Day 75 - Reflections


Today I was on my drive to work and since it’s about a 35-minute ride I have some time to decompress before I take on the day of handling other people's emergencies and I thought to myself man I have handled a lot of shit in these first 75 days. Some things I have shared and other things I have not, regardless those things were all handled without stuffing cancer in my face. Now things are clearer than they ever have been when it comes to beating this addiction. I have come to the realization I mean the full realization that there are other people out there quitting who have been through the absolute worst of things and remained quit throughout those trials. There is absolutely no reason no matter the circumstances that require nicotine to navigate or get you through. You could take everything from me and tomorrow I will show up and post that day count. No situation will be made better, resolved or relieved by sticking cancer back in my face. I know this without a doubt because I have tried to relieve these things in the past with nicotine and it never worked. It just took me a long time to accept that and truly admit my relationship with chew was beyond toxic and destructive. 

No one has ever been able to provide me an example of a situation in which nicotine improves the outcome.

Quitting isnt about removing something from your life and replacing it with KTC. It is about using KTC to rebuild your life so there is no hole.

[DWEIRICK]

Day 75 - Reflections


Today I was on my drive to work and since it’s about a 35-minute ride I have some time to decompress before I take on the day of handling other people's emergencies and I thought to myself man I have handled a lot of shit in these first 75 days. Some things I have shared and other things I have not, regardless those things were all handled without stuffing cancer in my face. Now things are clearer than they ever have been when it comes to beating this addiction. I have come to the realization I mean the full realization that there are other people out there quitting who have been through the absolute worst of things and remained quit throughout those trials. There is absolutely no reason no matter the circumstances that require nicotine to navigate or get you through. You could take everything from me and tomorrow I will show up and post that day count. No situation will be made better, resolved or relieved by sticking cancer back in my face. I know this without a doubt because I have tried to relieve these things in the past with nicotine and it never worked. It just took me a long time to accept that and truly admit my relationship with chew was beyond toxic and destructive. 

[DWEIRICK]

Day 61

Today is a shit load better then yesterday! Although I did receive word that one of our Sept25 members caved 60 days in and now we are back down to 10...

Complacent has killed many good quits, mine included in the past...... This fight does not end and that bitch is waiting around the corner with boxing gloves on and she's been training for the moment you slip up..... I will push forward with my Stronghold team as we step over the remains of another one who could not find the courage to win this fight, even though they had all the support and resources in front of them...

[DWEIRICK]

Day 60

Today I hit day 60 and it is also my daughter's 16th birthday. Things are still out of whack with her. My wife and I are butting heads over this, and it is all just pissing me off and it is pushing me back to the old Dustin. Old Dustin would shut down and just go numb and that is where I fear I am heading. I am still upset with my daughter and her actions, but I feel as my wife, and I are on different grounds when it comes to discipline and what not. I do think she needs to be punished and remain punished, but I also feel as though she needs our support, but she has burnt us more than once. It is a huge fucking struggle for me since I burnt people and bridges here, but I was given a second and third chance. I get it she did some bad shit, and she made some mistakes, but she is a kid... We all fucking did, shit I still am making mistakes all the damn time...  I'm at a loss to be honest. I won't cave today; I made a promise to my brothers and sisters. Nicotine won't fix any of these issues. No matter what happens in this cluster fuck I have going on currently I swear to all of you that nicotine will not be a crutch or fix to my problems. I am stronger than a dead fucking plant in a plastic can and this bitch won't trick me today...

[DWEIRICK]

Day 47

Yesterday I had the honor and privilege to talk to EV (May23) on the phone... This fucker is as wild and crazy on the phone as he is in here, but damn can he drop some quit knowledge!! If you are new or have been here and are reading this and you haven't talked to another quitter over the phone, go and do it!! I know the next time I have a bad crave or some wild shit happens, and I find myself in the parking lot of the C-store I will have no issue calling up EV since I already talked to him and built that level of comfort with him. I will always feel awkward talking to him, but that is because he is absolutely nuts... (Pun intended) Thank you EV for your time, much appreciated brother!

Day 43

Lost someone today in September to a cave. Not the person I expected which made it sting even more. I had a good text chat with Candoit about learning to conserve my energy and that I need to help people and be there but not let my quit sit on the back burner or become too dependent on someone else. We can quit with you, but we can’t quit for you. Still learning how to be the best quitter for myself and keeping boundaries so I don’t get burnt out.
I also got to feel and see for the first time in ages how bad your cave fucks everyone else up and not just yourself. Tons and tons of quitters are dropping in with advice and support and when you don’t reach out at all and just cave it’s like a giant slap in the face to them.  NAFAR.

[DWEIRICK]

Day 42

The mental game this time around is far more intense than ever before. I’m not sure what clicked this time around and why things seem so difficult to navigate, but I almost feel like I am on cloud nine and truthfully I don’t care what happens around me. Mentally I feel like I don’t really care about anything other than this quit. Somedays I feel like problems that should be major issues aren't really that major and I could give two shits about them. Probably not a good thing if I am being honest, or maybe I just stopped letting stupid shit that is not that impactful bother me anymore. Some shit you can change and some you can’t. Regardless none of these things are fixed or made better by Nic so being quit must remain the constant..

[DWEIRICK]

Day 24 - Since my return I have been reading a lot of stuff on the original KTC forum from my first quit group in 2015 to my second group in 2018. Man, the shit I am reading about myself and the constant cries for help but failing to do anything really hit a chord with me. I guess you never know until you actually sit back and look deep into what’s going on. (I knew I just decided to remain blind)

It seems like I was always deflecting back to issues with alcohol and my mental health. Jeez maybe I should have taken a minute to actually read what I was fucking typing…

Like many others here I have been down and out, and the only difference is instead of being strong and using my knowledge and tools, I took the easy way out each damn time and went back to the can…

I spent some time reflecting and I realized I cannot leave here. I need accountability and I must put everything I have into this quit. Although I did not let this place work before, I know I can let it work this time. I know nothing in life goes as planned and issues will arise in the future for me, but tackling those issues with nicotine will now be off the table for me. I’m up to 30 contacts and I made myself a promise that if I ever get to the point that I want to fade or I think dipping is the answer, I have to ask permission from those 30 quitters and I know what that answer will be….

Now with my mental health in check and where it needs to be and I no longer struggle with alcohol it is time to grab them bootstraps and absolutely rock this quit. Nothing is more important to me than my freedom from this addiction. I will fight with everything I have and every tool available to be nicotine free. Thank you all for the ass kicking's and the support!

9862 days is approximately how many days I used for. That is roughly 27 years of chewing with a stoppage here and there. I will commit to posting each day to match the amount of time I chewed for, once that is complete, I will continue to post. I never want, nor will I post another day 1 again. NAFAR….

[DWEIRICK]

3684 days…. (10 Years)

Those above numbers represent where I would be today had I pulled my head out of my ass and quit like I was supposed to. Instead, I chose to go back to the Nic bitch and abandoned everyone and all the tools that helped me reach 1038 days. I think from research that is the last day count I posted here before burning all my bridges and walking away. Arguably one of the stupidest things I have done to this date. Just when I thought I couldn’t do anything dumber I drop the bar real low and come back in here in 2018 after I trashed all those days, burnt my support bridges and let a whole shit load of people down. One would think after all that, I would learn a lesson and remain quit for good this time around. Well here DWEIRICK is yet again posting up a Day 23 count…

I know where things went wrong, and it was a simple fix. I didn’t see it as a simple fix at the time, and I felt like it was more hassle than what it was worth. Taking care of my mental health should have been as important to me as my quit. I neglected that aspect for many years and I think I did it on purpose so in the event I would cave I would have an excuse, invalid as that excuse is, it was there for me to use. I have since corrected that issue and got myself out of some really bad situations that were not good for me or my mental health.

I also decided to unplug my head from my ass so that I could take this quit to heart and make it a true final quit. I know that I can’t quit without KTC. I know that if I walk away from here at any point in my quit, I will jeopardize my success. I know that burning bridges and cutting ties with other quitters who are just trying to hold me accountable is detrimental to my quit. I know not posting my promise each day and remaining connected is detrimental to my quit.

Yesterday EdT3329 (Nov 21) posted Jenny and Tom Kerns story in October 2025. I have made it my personal mission to read this story each day, and I will read it each time a craving hit's. Thank you for posting this, EdT3329. I have six beautiful children, an amazing, beautiful and absolutely supportive wife. I won’t rob them of any more time with their father or my wife's husband for a worthless plant in a damn can….

I apologize to everyone at KTC that I let down, and I apologize to myself for not loving or caring about myself enough to take this more seriously the other two times I came here.

I have reached out to many of the old bridges I had burnt to the ground, and I shit you not these bad ass quitters helped me rebuild those same bridges that I torched. If that does not show you the dedication and commitment of the members of KTC to fellow brothers and sisters, I don’t know what will! I also have gained new bridges with my return, and I fully intend to keep them intact, whatever the cost may be.

I have put things in place to protect my quit and I have made my quit a priority over anything else this time. Nothing could be more important than breaking from this addiction so that I don’t have to look at my family one day and say: “I chose nicotine over my life with all of you, and I chose to let you watch me die an agonizing death over giving up this addiction once and for all”

DWEIRICK - Day 23

[ChickDip]

Congrats on your HOF today, sir. It takes big brass balls to come back and take your lumps and take your quit by the horns. I'm glad you did. Now keep on keeping on!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOcvp77e41U

Thank you I'm feeling pretty good finally!

Very awesome! Congrats Dusty!

[DWEIRICK]

Congrats on your HOF today, sir. It takes big brass balls to come back and take your lumps and take your quit by the horns. I'm glad you did. Now keep on keeping on!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOcvp77e41U

Thank you I'm feeling pretty good finally!

[Broccoli-saurus]

Congrats on your HOF today, sir. It takes big brass balls to come back and take your lumps and take your quit by the horns. I'm glad you did. Now keep on keeping on!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOcvp77e41U