quit it or get it.

[Rawls]

When Steak speaks... I agree.
You are truly on a journey.
It will change ever aspect of your life.
Kinda cool... We start over where we started ________!
We were all side tracked with a lie.
But now run the race, like never before!
You can do this..one log... at a time.
I Quit with you today.
Rawls 684

[Steakbomb18]

Captain's Log - day 14:

Tonight, when my head hits my glorious down pillow, will be two weeks of freedom. Generally, moderate-to-calm seas for the last few days with periodic gail-force winds and high seas. I've been Irritable, but I've managed not to direct that irritability at my First Mate (and Quarter Master) or the two little swabs. In other words, the last few days have been really spotty, but with a general upward trend in well-being. Day 12 I had some serious fog from about 8 AM - 3 PM. I mean solid, i-feel-terrible-why-wont-this-go-away-i-cant-do-shit-what-is-happening-to-me kind of fog. Unfortunately, I was lecturing undergraduates for four hours of that. Who knows what it was like from their side! I had some fog today on day 14, but it was less intense and in the evening. Yesterday, no fog. WTF?

I try to think hard about the fog, usually when I'm feeling lucid and strong. At those times, you can think "I feel great; that fog sucked but good thing I'm over it and it won't happen to me anymore (because I feel grrrrrreat)." And then, 'WHAM' 'THWACK' 'BAM', the fog washes over you like a wave. I've heard others on KTC describe the fog variously: inability to concentrate, cannot focus, time passes and you don't know how you ended up where you are, general mental unclarity and vagueness. I'm sympathetic to all of those descriptions. For me, I'm keenly aware of being under the fog, so the inability to concentrate/focus really means: all I can think about is the fog. When I'm in the fog, it consumes my thoughts (consciousness). I focus on it. I therefore cannot focus on anything else. I guess it's similar to any other kind of surprising and sudden physiological 'distress', like a rapid heart rate when resting, trouble breathing, intense pain, etc. When those things happen, your thoughts stay fixed on them. You can't focus or concentrate on other things. For me, the fog is like that.

I am Jack's brain, and I hate the fog.

In sum, the last two weeks have been life-changing and surreal in a way. I look forward to the next few weeks, and I'll start just with tomorrow.

This might just be me, and it might be totally random since I have only about 14 days in my sample, but my fog has been noticeably worse during days that were preceded by poor sleep. There are a few days a week that, by the nature of my work schedule, I don't sleep much. The following days are generally foggy. Has anyone else been able to correlate fogginess with sleeplessness or less sleep?

Yeah, I definitely found that fog and sleeplessness were related. Unfortunately getting off of nicotine can really mess with your sleep patterns. I wasn't sleeping much and the sleep I got, wasn't very good. But it certainly makes sense that not being rested would contribute. Of course, even if you were sleeping great, you'd still be going through it, it's just part of the process.

It will come and go. It will eventually go away for a long time. However, it is common for it to come back at around day 40-60, so be prepared and take that as it comes.

Just keep doing what you're doing man!

I had the fog for a long time- hang in there, its the marathon aspect of this that gets you through. One step, one day, one minute, one breath if that's what it takes, at a time. When it lifts, use those moments of fresh air and clarity to motivate you -- great to soak it in, enjoy it. That's a taste of what is to come. The light at the end of the tunnel.

During this time, you are learning your tools for challenges, and building the support you need to be through with this beast of an addiction. Going great, quit hard tomorrow!

Thanks. I hope I don't have the fog for a long time. That would suck. It's really interesting how every quit is different. I haven't really craved after week 1, and during week one I was rarely foggy. The fog is now sticking around for longer periods - hours at a time, whereas early on it would be brief and intermittent.

I think it lasted 3 or 4 weeks for me but I'd need to check my intro thread. lol ;)

Hang in there LMM! The fog will lift and after that you should never forget these days!

I like what you said earlier about being introspective and embracing this so that you won't forget it. So, embrace this too - fog and everything. I promise this will lift, and when it does and you look back at the addict through the eyes of the quitter - you'll never want to go back. Talk about perspective.

These 14 days are about as badass a quit I have seen on these pages. Keep it up brother!

[Stranger999]

Captain's Log - day 14:

Tonight, when my head hits my glorious down pillow, will be two weeks of freedom. Generally, moderate-to-calm seas for the last few days with periodic gail-force winds and high seas. I've been Irritable, but I've managed not to direct that irritability at my First Mate (and Quarter Master) or the two little swabs. In other words, the last few days have been really spotty, but with a general upward trend in well-being. Day 12 I had some serious fog from about 8 AM - 3 PM. I mean solid, i-feel-terrible-why-wont-this-go-away-i-cant-do-shit-what-is-happening-to-me kind of fog. Unfortunately, I was lecturing undergraduates for four hours of that. Who knows what it was like from their side! I had some fog today on day 14, but it was less intense and in the evening. Yesterday, no fog. WTF?

I try to think hard about the fog, usually when I'm feeling lucid and strong. At those times, you can think "I feel great; that fog sucked but good thing I'm over it and it won't happen to me anymore (because I feel grrrrrreat)." And then, 'WHAM' 'THWACK' 'BAM', the fog washes over you like a wave. I've heard others on KTC describe the fog variously: inability to concentrate, cannot focus, time passes and you don't know how you ended up where you are, general mental unclarity and vagueness. I'm sympathetic to all of those descriptions. For me, I'm keenly aware of being under the fog, so the inability to concentrate/focus really means: all I can think about is the fog. When I'm in the fog, it consumes my thoughts (consciousness). I focus on it. I therefore cannot focus on anything else. I guess it's similar to any other kind of surprising and sudden physiological 'distress', like a rapid heart rate when resting, trouble breathing, intense pain, etc. When those things happen, your thoughts stay fixed on them. You can't focus or concentrate on other things. For me, the fog is like that.

I am Jack's brain, and I hate the fog.

In sum, the last two weeks have been life-changing and surreal in a way. I look forward to the next few weeks, and I'll start just with tomorrow.

This might just be me, and it might be totally random since I have only about 14 days in my sample, but my fog has been noticeably worse during days that were preceded by poor sleep. There are a few days a week that, by the nature of my work schedule, I don't sleep much. The following days are generally foggy. Has anyone else been able to correlate fogginess with sleeplessness or less sleep?

Yeah, I definitely found that fog and sleeplessness were related. Unfortunately getting off of nicotine can really mess with your sleep patterns. I wasn't sleeping much and the sleep I got, wasn't very good. But it certainly makes sense that not being rested would contribute. Of course, even if you were sleeping great, you'd still be going through it, it's just part of the process.

It will come and go. It will eventually go away for a long time. However, it is common for it to come back at around day 40-60, so be prepared and take that as it comes.

Just keep doing what you're doing man!

I had the fog for a long time- hang in there, its the marathon aspect of this that gets you through. One step, one day, one minute, one breath if that's what it takes, at a time. When it lifts, use those moments of fresh air and clarity to motivate you -- great to soak it in, enjoy it. That's a taste of what is to come. The light at the end of the tunnel.

During this time, you are learning your tools for challenges, and building the support you need to be through with this beast of an addiction. Going great, quit hard tomorrow!

Thanks. I hope I don't have the fog for a long time. That would suck. It's really interesting how every quit is different. I haven't really craved after week 1, and during week one I was rarely foggy. The fog is now sticking around for longer periods - hours at a time, whereas early on it would be brief and intermittent.

I think it lasted 3 or 4 weeks for me but I'd need to check my intro thread. lol ;)

Hang in there LMM! The fog will lift and after that you should never forget these days!

[LMM]

Captain's Log - day 14:

Tonight, when my head hits my glorious down pillow, will be two weeks of freedom. Generally, moderate-to-calm seas for the last few days with periodic gail-force winds and high seas. I've been Irritable, but I've managed not to direct that irritability at my First Mate (and Quarter Master) or the two little swabs. In other words, the last few days have been really spotty, but with a general upward trend in well-being. Day 12 I had some serious fog from about 8 AM - 3 PM. I mean solid, i-feel-terrible-why-wont-this-go-away-i-cant-do-shit-what-is-happening-to-me kind of fog. Unfortunately, I was lecturing undergraduates for four hours of that. Who knows what it was like from their side! I had some fog today on day 14, but it was less intense and in the evening. Yesterday, no fog. WTF?

I try to think hard about the fog, usually when I'm feeling lucid and strong. At those times, you can think "I feel great; that fog sucked but good thing I'm over it and it won't happen to me anymore (because I feel grrrrrreat)." And then, 'WHAM' 'THWACK' 'BAM', the fog washes over you like a wave. I've heard others on KTC describe the fog variously: inability to concentrate, cannot focus, time passes and you don't know how you ended up where you are, general mental unclarity and vagueness. I'm sympathetic to all of those descriptions. For me, I'm keenly aware of being under the fog, so the inability to concentrate/focus really means: all I can think about is the fog. When I'm in the fog, it consumes my thoughts (consciousness). I focus on it. I therefore cannot focus on anything else. I guess it's similar to any other kind of surprising and sudden physiological 'distress', like a rapid heart rate when resting, trouble breathing, intense pain, etc. When those things happen, your thoughts stay fixed on them. You can't focus or concentrate on other things. For me, the fog is like that.

I am Jack's brain, and I hate the fog.

In sum, the last two weeks have been life-changing and surreal in a way. I look forward to the next few weeks, and I'll start just with tomorrow.

This might just be me, and it might be totally random since I have only about 14 days in my sample, but my fog has been noticeably worse during days that were preceded by poor sleep. There are a few days a week that, by the nature of my work schedule, I don't sleep much. The following days are generally foggy. Has anyone else been able to correlate fogginess with sleeplessness or less sleep?

Yeah, I definitely found that fog and sleeplessness were related. Unfortunately getting off of nicotine can really mess with your sleep patterns. I wasn't sleeping much and the sleep I got, wasn't very good. But it certainly makes sense that not being rested would contribute. Of course, even if you were sleeping great, you'd still be going through it, it's just part of the process.

It will come and go. It will eventually go away for a long time. However, it is common for it to come back at around day 40-60, so be prepared and take that as it comes.

Just keep doing what you're doing man!

I had the fog for a long time- hang in there, its the marathon aspect of this that gets you through. One step, one day, one minute, one breath if that's what it takes, at a time. When it lifts, use those moments of fresh air and clarity to motivate you -- great to soak it in, enjoy it. That's a taste of what is to come. The light at the end of the tunnel.

During this time, you are learning your tools for challenges, and building the support you need to be through with this beast of an addiction. Going great, quit hard tomorrow!

Thanks. I hope I don't have the fog for a long time. That would suck. It's really interesting how every quit is different. I haven't really craved after week 1, and during week one I was rarely foggy. The fog is now sticking around for longer periods - hours at a time, whereas early on it would be brief and intermittent.

[LMM]

Captain's Log - day 14:

Tonight, when my head hits my glorious down pillow, will be two weeks of freedom. Generally, moderate-to-calm seas for the last few days with periodic gail-force winds and high seas. I've been Irritable, but I've managed not to direct that irritability at my First Mate (and Quarter Master) or the two little swabs. In other words, the last few days have been really spotty, but with a general upward trend in well-being. Day 12 I had some serious fog from about 8 AM - 3 PM. I mean solid, i-feel-terrible-why-wont-this-go-away-i-cant-do-shit-what-is-happening-to-me kind of fog. Unfortunately, I was lecturing undergraduates for four hours of that. Who knows what it was like from their side! I had some fog today on day 14, but it was less intense and in the evening. Yesterday, no fog. WTF?

I try to think hard about the fog, usually when I'm feeling lucid and strong. At those times, you can think "I feel great; that fog sucked but good thing I'm over it and it won't happen to me anymore (because I feel grrrrrreat)." And then, 'WHAM' 'THWACK' 'BAM', the fog washes over you like a wave. I've heard others on KTC describe the fog variously: inability to concentrate, cannot focus, time passes and you don't know how you ended up where you are, general mental unclarity and vagueness. I'm sympathetic to all of those descriptions. For me, I'm keenly aware of being under the fog, so the inability to concentrate/focus really means: all I can think about is the fog. When I'm in the fog, it consumes my thoughts (consciousness). I focus on it. I therefore cannot focus on anything else. I guess it's similar to any other kind of surprising and sudden physiological 'distress', like a rapid heart rate when resting, trouble breathing, intense pain, etc. When those things happen, your thoughts stay fixed on them. You can't focus or concentrate on other things. For me, the fog is like that.

I am Jack's brain, and I hate the fog.

In sum, the last two weeks have been life-changing and surreal in a way. I look forward to the next few weeks, and I'll start just with tomorrow.

This might just be me, and it might be totally random since I have only about 14 days in my sample, but my fog has been noticeably worse during days that were preceded by poor sleep. There are a few days a week that, by the nature of my work schedule, I don't sleep much. The following days are generally foggy. Has anyone else been able to correlate fogginess with sleeplessness or less sleep?

[LMM]

Hey LMM - appreciate you journaling this quit with as much fervor as you've shared. Keep in mind, your quit is unique - almost like a fingerprint. There will be patterns and experiences that are similar to others who have graced these pages ...and there will be differences. Some of those differences are subtle and others are quite distinct. My point is, rather than be critical of things you read on this site that are different than your journey, accept them as different. One thing we often say around here is, "take what you need and leave the rest."

Keep it up and keep doing what you're doing. The 110% effort and no holds barred approach you're taking is awesome to watch

Hey LMM I love that you are doing this too-- this is a great record for you to look back at- i still look at mine- to see how far you've come and what you never want to have to relive again! Plus, it really does help others to see what you've gone through. I don't know how many times I felt relieved to read that someone else had gone through something that i was facing in my quit. Steakbomb is right, it's your own unique quit ---but there are commonalities with others in each individual piece. Having it all up front here in the intros makes a great record- keep it up, i'm very proud to quit with you man!! you're making it your own-- a.k.a. "Owning" your quit!

'oh yeah'

Thanks, y'all. I know that everyone's quit is different and that we all have different symptoms at different points into our quit. I'm only being critical in the sense that I think the physical vs. mental symptoms is a misnomer, but in a detrimental sort of way. I don't want people going into their quit after three days thinking they won't get any physical symptoms that we all know they will get. That would just be scary. Here in my intro, I'm intentionally trying to be very introspective about what is going on in my body/mind. I guess it's my way of embracing the suck to ensure I won't forget it. I want these experiences to be burned deep.

[brettlees]

Hey LMM - appreciate you journaling this quit with as much fervor as you've shared. Keep in mind, your quit is unique - almost like a fingerprint. There will be patterns and experiences that are similar to others who have graced these pages ...and there will be differences. Some of those differences are subtle and others are quite distinct. My point is, rather than be critical of things you read on this site that are different than your journey, accept them as different. One thing we often say around here is, "take what you need and leave the rest."

Keep it up and keep doing what you're doing. The 110% effort and no holds barred approach you're taking is awesome to watch

Hey LMM I love that you are doing this too-- this is a great record for you to look back at- i still look at mine- to see how far you've come and what you never want to have to relive again! Plus, it really does help others to see what you've gone through. I don't know how many times I felt relieved to read that someone else had gone through something that i was facing in my quit. Steakbomb is right, it's your own unique quit ---but there are commonalities with others in each individual piece. Having it all up front here in the intros makes a great record- keep it up, i'm very proud to quit with you man!! you're making it your own-- a.k.a. "Owning" your quit!

'oh yeah'

[Steakbomb18]

Hey LMM - appreciate you journaling this quit with as much fervor as you've shared. Keep in mind, your quit is unique - almost like a fingerprint. There will be patterns and experiences that are similar to others who have graced these pages ...and there will be differences. Some of those differences are subtle and others are quite distinct. My point is, rather than be critical of things you read on this site that are different than your journey, accept them as different. One thing we often say around here is, "take what you need and leave the rest."

Keep it up and keep doing what you're doing. The 110% effort and no holds barred approach you're taking is awesome to watch

[LMM]

Captain's log - day 9:

The last two days have been more "manageable" than those from week one. The fog is still around, but it is brief and infrequent. I've had a few brief bouts of anxiousness and general uneasiness; sometimes these come on with the fog.

Most surprising to me is that I haven't really craved dip in the last three days. I hate nicotine now. I've stood in the tobacco isle at Walmart a few times to get some Smokey Mtn. Standing in that line is not a trigger for me; it's not a temptation. Actually, I find myself feeling sorry for all those in front of me who are dumping money to the cashier to pay their slave-masters. It's just sad, and yet that was me a mere 1.5 weeks ago.

But even though I haven't craved, I frequently find myself reaching for my can in familiar places, checking my pocket, making sure I have enough water for a drive (I always needed water on hand when dipping). I catch myself in those moments and I laugh it off. Addiction becomes so entrenched in our lives that it is almost involuntary at times.

FYI: some withdrawal symptoms I've not experienced at all (that others have reported): insomnia, hot flashes, headaches, constipation, rage, fatigue, sore throat/mouth/gums, dry mouth.

Today, I'm glad I'm quit and that I'm also not addicted to college football!

[LMM]

Congrats on your One week! It's important to track these early milestones. They are genuine accomplishments and should be a source of pride. I've enjoyed catching up on your intro too, these log entries/ brain dumps can be very cathartic and will really help you organize your thoughts. It also helps other quitters get to know you, so keep it up!

I think the point about the juice/ sugar is that right now, weight gain and diet are not the priority. If indulging in sweets makes quitting easier, then go for it because that is something that can always be worked off later.

I'll also echo the advice about not going overboard with alcohol. Early on, drinking can be a killer. "I was drunk" is a common excuse, but that doesn't mean it's excusable.

Thanks, pky. i enjoyed reading your intro thread during my first day or two. I think these threads help other people more than we think, so they're worth keeping up with.

[Stranger999]

This is a great introduction thread!

I didn't up my OJ or juice intake but I did find that drinking more water helped me out. I think exercise helps a bit too. It might not have anything to do with withdrawal but it may help one keep their mind off of dipping.

I remember staring at the walls for a few hours on day 12. It probably took at least a month for me to feel "normal" again and even after that there are many funk periods.

I quit with you today! Stranger999 - day 384.

[pky1520]

Congrats on your One week! It's important to track these early milestones. They are genuine accomplishments and should be a source of pride. I've enjoyed catching up on your intro too, these log entries/ brain dumps can be very cathartic and will really help you organize your thoughts. It also helps other quitters get to know you, so keep it up!

I think the point about the juice/ sugar is that right now, weight gain and diet are not the priority. If indulging in sweets makes quitting easier, then go for it because that is something that can always be worked off later.

I'll also echo the advice about not going overboard with alcohol. Early on, drinking can be a killer. "I was drunk" is a common excuse, but that doesn't mean it's excusable.

[LMM]

Captain's log - day 7:

It feels good to get to the end of week one, especially knowing that I'll never have a week one again! It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but it still sucked. I hope that trend continues, but I'm ready if it doesn't.

Today was off-and-on mild fog, coupled with a lot of jitters and I-dont-know-how-to-explain-it weird feeling. I thought about dip a bunch, but never really had a crave today. I've got a four day weekend starting, and I'm gonna use it to focus on my quit and recovery.

Finally, another complaint (rant) about misinformation on this site. I've seen lots of advice to new quitters to drink lots of OJ or fruit juice because the brain produces sugars when you dip, and drinking sugary juice will compensate for that. That is straightforward bullshit. The brain does not *produce* any sugars. The brain does consume about as much sugar as the rest of our body combined, but you don't need to feed it extra to compensate in your quit. If you do consume extra sugars, your body is just going to store them as fat. Enjoy those extra pounds!

[pab1964]

No one persons quit is gonna be the same. I agree with physical part, heart palpitations, anxiety hell I still get them rarely now. But it was everyday when I was dipping. The fog rears its head still some days but for brief seconds. Don't worry about a whole lot of stuff physically because I can promise you some weird shit can and probably will happen but definitely not life threatening. The tingling in limbs is the better blood flow. I dipped 38 years and am just now starting to figure out what a normal life without dip is like. I absolutely love it! Log down when you notice small things that would normally not have happened when dipping, it's amazing! Quit on!

[Armydan13]

Most of those symptoms (at least for me) faded out after the first week or two. I was eating so much food and gained a few extra pounds; I used to sit on the couch and dip all day so I need to replace that "dip time" with more food to occupy me!!! I finally decided that all that spare time I was dipping could be used on exercise; stuffing your face will fade and you will find yourself more invested in your health.

Tread carefully with alcohol on the first few weeks; our group had a ton of booze related caves because it's a huge trigger event. I stayed away from it for the first couple weeks and I am glad I did. Keep it up!!!