My Son Aspirated Dip
Hello, my name is Donna….my son Chance turned 20 only ten days before he passed away on Nov 30, 2011… Six months ago. He still lived at home with me and his stepfather of 18 years and his 15 year old half brother. He had a sister age 23 and a step brother and step sister age 22 and 20. The reason I am posting here, is Chance dipped Grizzly.
I had always fussed at him for this habit. The night of Nov 28, 2011, he fell asleep with Grizzly in his mouth after taking over the counter sleeping meds….along with a Xanax a Dr had given him a prescription for. He aspirated the grizzly into his lungs during the night….toxicology showed the meds was nowhere near fatal…but was enough to make him sleep deeply enough that he didn’t know the spit was running down into his lungs.
When I tried to wake him that morning, I saw the dip run out of his mouth…he was already in what I later learned was Agonal breath….a death breath. He was in a coma…..by the time the ambulance got him to the hospital he flatlined….they got him back….but he got a fever of 108…and all of his organs failed…
What Does Aspirated Mean?
Aspiration is when something you swallow “goes down the wrong way” and enters your airway (trachea or windpipe) or lungs. It can also happen when something goes back into your throat from your stomach. With aspiration, your airway isn’t completely blocked, unlike with choking.
I just wanted to warn people about falling asleep with dip in your mouth….and of course sleeping medicines….even over the counter kind like my son bought at walmart….and Dr prescribed….what killed him was the initial phnemonia from aspirating the dip…and just overnight that’s how quick it can happen. I tried to wake him at 6:30 am….it was too late….I just want people to know, please be careful…don’t fall asleep with dip in your mouth. If I can bring that awareness to just one person…well…Otherwise I don’t know how I can go on.
Thank you
Donna Hines
Below is obit
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=81284599
Wow Donna, what a tragic but well written story. I’m reading this article because I just threw in a lip around 1am, right after taking a few melatonin.. I’ve done this before, the only reason I know is the throw up stains on my clothes and sheets. My mom tells me all these same things over and over, it sounds like she wrote this. I can’t imagine my parents not being able to wake me up… it’s happened to a close family friend of ours, his dad found him dead in his bed, drug overdose… I admire your passion to try to help others, and I think it’s worked on me.
Hey Ms. Hines, thank you for sharing this, I’m very sorry about your son. You may have just saved me from having the same thing happen, I just recently switched from vaping to nicotine pouches and I assume the same thing could happen falling asleep with one of these. I appreciate you sharing this story and I wish you luck in life, also I don’t know what you believe, but I would recommend looking into magic mushrooms to help deal with the trauma of losing your son at such a young age. The therapeutic potential these things have is very significant, it’s a plant not a drug.
Issac ,
So glad to hear this from you. It really helps my heart to know my son, Chances story has helped someone . Thank you so much 🙏🏻❤️
damn i cant even stop falling asleep with a dip in ;-; and i do grizzly, which i am underage and i should not do it this kinda changed my mind about dipping and now im realizing this is from like 2013 also sorry for your loss ma’am
Thank you David. For letting me know you may have changed your mind. You made my heart a little less heavy ❤️
Donna… Chances Mother
Im so sorry for your loss, i cant imagine the pain of losing your son so obruptly, i will keep u in my prayers ma’am.. that is crazy to hear though, because whenni was real bad in my addiction to opioids and xanax and heroin, i always fell asleep with chew in my lip, and ironically i chew grizzley, i had my ex wife try to wake me up countless times to spit my chew out, so many times i woke up in the morning with spit drooled all down my mouth and all over me, and my spit bottles were always spilt over in my chair or couch or my bed.. i am 4 years clean this april 11th, and now i know how lucky i am to be alive in many ways.. but occassionaly i still fall asleep with chew in my mouth, but thats due to have a really physically labor demanding job, cuzni get home at night so tired i fall asleep with chew in my mouth.. i need to stop that and even try to stop chewing period.. anyways again im truley sorry for your loss, no parent should out live their child, and its sad to see that. Thank u n god bless
Thank you . Hugs to you ❤️ I’m Chances mother. It helps my heart to hope his story helps
So sad about Chance. God bless you and your family. My husband takes pills and often falls asleep with chew in his mouth. My kids and I are always having to wake him up for fear something terrible will happen to him. Thank you for sharing.
You don’t know who much it means to me that Chances story might help someone else. I miss my son so bad
Dannng…… it’s hard for me to sleep without a dip..
Slept with dip in for years. Started to wake up choking lately and now I’ve been hacking it up for over a week. I quit. Sorry for your loss.
So happy to hear this! I’m Chances mother. ❤️
I’m nervous and scared to go to the doctor because I’ve been coughing up flem every morning for a year because I inhaled chew in my sleep a few times, I’m afraid it’s not coming out because of the fiber glass In the chew is stuck down there like slivers.. My body is obviously trying to reject it and creating flem but for a year… I think I’m screwed and prey I don’t get cancer. I’ve tried and tried to quit chewing and even facing I may get cancer I have not quit..
Fiberglass in dip/chew is a myth.
How do you know? Can you provide some research?
It’s not true. It’s something we were all told, but it was never the case.
http://thenewportblast.com/heres-fun-fact-chewing-tobacco/
You don’t know how much your comment means to me. Thank you so much .
I just quit dip a week ago today I used to fall asleep with dip in my mouth every night. I’ am a former opioid addict and I am1 year clean now and can’t tell you how many times I woke up gagging on chew after nodding off with a dip in. So thankful to be alive after reading this and so sorry to hear about your son. God bless and thank you for sharing. So glad I found this site.
❤️❤️❤️I’m Chances mother. Ty
Good morning Donna – wanted to just drop in and say hi and let you know that I think of you and Chance often. I know that nothing can ever replace him but I can tell you that his story has helped people in their journey to quit dipping.
Thank you so much ❤️
Just reading comments again tonight…it’s been 10 years since my son Chance passed away. Just wanting to say hello and thank you again ❤️.
Thank you ❤️ You really made me feel better ❤️ Chances mom
It’s been 3 years since your comment… I’m reading over all of them tonight at 2 AM… reading this message again made my heart happy…the reassurance… thank you so much
again. I’m so glad this has been kept on the site so long. For every one person who reads it and takes heed …means my Chance helped someone in the end and not in vain 🙏🏻
Donna, So sorry to hear of your loss. I dipped for 43 years straight and rarely in the last 20 years did I go to sleep without dip in my lip. I would wake up many times gagging or choking on dip/spit. My wife would beg me to stop sleeping with it, as it was not only bad for me, but ruined our good bedding and she would get so upset. I never considered the aspiration angle, but I do feel it was probably the cause of many a sore throat over the years.
I am 44 days quit today and I promise, to you and your lost son, I will not use that poison in my body again!
Thank you so much! I hope you are doing good today! It’s been 10 years now since my son Chance passed away. Your post still makes my heart happy !
I’m so sorry about your loss and I want to thank you for sharing your story because it may have just saved my husbands life. My husband is 29, and he sleeps with dip in his mouth every night and he takes 6 Benadryl s night to help him fall asleep. I wasn’t worried about it until recently he has been experiencing all kinds of issues with his stomach cramping and throwing up blood, and he is constantly constipated. I tell him he needs to go to the doctor but for some reason he won’t. He just doesn’t seem to believe it is anything serious?
Katie,
Your response has got goosebumps going down my spine , I didn’t think there was anyone else that existed on the planet that was identical to my husband! Email me with your personal email my email is shaygray57&gmail.com. I have a very shocking story that will make your husband re think Benadryl and sleeping with dip in his mouth. Sadly it envolves my husband that I just lot in December
Hi Katie, I’m sorry I missed replying to you and it’s been 6 years since you left the comment . Just wanted to thank you and I hope your husband is doing well now…🙏🏻 Donna (Chance’s Mom)
So sorry to hear this. This is the final straw forever for me. I will NEVER out a dip in my mouth again. I got drunk took a xan and passed out with a dip in my mouth. Luckily it was face down. I was passed out so hard that I could have easily choked and not even been able to wake up. This is very very real and I’m quitting all my bad habits as of 2017.
Though this is heart breaking and terrible news as I passed out on xans with a dip last night. But I dont see how this would make anyone quit just take the Pinch out before bed its really not that serious. Just don’t dip on xans because you will pass out and Xanax in general is the most addictive prescribed drug in the world buy melatonin for fucks sake lol don’t fall for the prescription route and do some research
Well you seem to have it licked. All the answers. I suggest you move on and pump yourself full of nic and Xanax. As for here, us lowly quitters will continue. When u hit the wall, I hope it’s not too late.
I’m chances mother ❤️ Thank you
Thank you to DIPBEGONE
Thank you for your post donna …i am very sorry for your loss ….i have also fallen asleep with a dip in and didnt realize how serious it could be i just knew i felt aweful in the morning …im trying to quit now and will definately make sure i will not fall asleep with one in b4 tobacco is no longer a part of my life
So sorry I didn’t thank you when you posted five years ago . I hope you are doing well !!! Thank you so much ❤️
I do boy alot and im apways falling asleep with dip in my mouth thanks for warning me i got really sick the other day and couldnt figure out why and im 99 percent sure now it was from falling asleep and swallowing dip/dipspit. Thanks so much ill make sure i take mine out before i fall asleep. Hang in there hes watching over you.
Brandon, this is Chance’s Mom .I’m sorry for the very late reply to your comment! I hope you are doing well today and thank you so much . The last sentence you wrote made me smile bittersweet so TY
This is Chances Mom, I know this comment was 6 years ago… I hope you are well. But Chance was given his prescription for Xanax on a Friday Nov 25th…… I said goodnight to him Sunday night …as he went to his bedroom just next to mine. He did also take melatonin …and another over the counter sleeping aid he bought at Walmart . (I took it to the ER)…he had 4 Xanax short of 30. I figure he took one as prescribed Friday night, one sat night…and probably 2 Sunday night. It was no where near a fatal amount . But between that and the over the counter sleep aid made him sleepy enough to aspirate dip. I’m just re-reading comments because I share this a couple times a year to warn people that this can happen. My son just turned 20 years old 10 days before I couldn’t wake him up that Monday morning Nov 28. He had an issue with insomnia and anxiety so he went to his Dr who had been his Dr since he was born . The only Dr he had ever seen . He wasn’t after pills. The way you ended your comment still hurts me to this day as it did when you wrote it . But I hope you are doing well and wishing you the best of health .
Donna (Chance’s Mom)
Wow, I am so sorry to hear that. I fall asleep with a dip in multiple times a week. I will definitely spit it out next time I feel drowsy.
My husband fell asleep with dip in his mouth and Ambien in his blood many times. He died of lung cancer in June despite having not smoked in almost 40 years. Dip and sleeping are a fatal combination.
Sorry to hear. Yet it doesn’t surprise me! Dip contains the same carcinogens that promote inflammation and disease. Im just floored how its allowed on the market at all. I was dipping in HS and recently, and thanks to the net i have an understanding. Just take dried Tea Leaves and soak them in Pine Sol/Gasoline/Arsenic and plastics. (Nicotine is the least of my concerns) Now…suck on those leaves for about a 1/2 hour! 5x a day!
Wait what. Really?
Thank you Donna. So very sorry for the loss of your son. So thankful, too, that you’ve honored his memory by spreading awareness. My husband sleeps with snuff in his mouth, drinks, and takes high doses of melatonin. He is former drug addict as well. Aside from wrecking our sheets, it’s clear he’s having difficulty breathing. When I tried to wake him a few nights ago as he was laboring and gurgling, a fountain of spit and snuff poured out of his mouth. He started gagging on it as he woke.
I don’t know what to do anymore. He knows he needs to stop but he’s not there yet… 🙁
It’s hard to qwit I tried for a week and my body graved it I don’t know how to stop I fall asleep with it in my lip one or twice and iam always tired for no reason
I have dipped for 25 years, starting at the age of 15. I have just rapped up day six dip free. I have fell asleep in with a dip before only to wake up drinking my own spitter juice. Not fun but understand that under the right circumstances it could have been a lot worse for me! Sorry for the loss
Amen….. as I sit here now with grizzly in my lip your story has given me the encouragement to try harder and kick the can. I have slowly been weaning myself off of it. I am down to two dips a day one in the morning and one at night before I go to bed. I was dipping 2 and a half cans a day. Thanks for your story and I am deeply sorry for your loss.
Alex
I’m so sorry for your loss! I googled this because tonight as many others I’m on my husband for this very thing. I am hopeful your story will convince him. Thank you for sharing….
i am so sorry for your family’s loss. i am also SO grateful you took the time to save others by sharing this story. i’m sitting in a room with my brother who is on heavy sedatives while going through detox and he fell asleep with skoal in his mouth. i asked him to spit it out, but i knew nothing about it and he tried to convince me it was okay. as a last resort i googled the topic and saw your story as one of the first results and was able to convince him after sharing. you might have saved his life tonight. God bless you.
One thing I never did was sleep with dip in my mouth. I am sorry for your loss. Especially in that way. Dip should be outlawed. God bless ktc!
I’m very very sorry for your loss
Wow I never even thought about that happening I slept with a dip in my mouth every night for probably around 15 years I chewed for 17 total I have been dip free for almost 3 weeks thanks to hoochsnuff.com but even last night I slept with one of those in
I’m 17 years old and have been dipping for 5 years. I’ve been trying to quit for the past few weeks because my dentist is getting on me about it. Also, i have never fallen asleep with a dip in but I am going to use this story for motivation to quit. You can’t fight mouth cancer .. There’s no winning this.
That is heartbreaking to hear Donna, wish I had something more to say than ‘sorry’. I have fallen asleep with dip in my mouth before but had no idea this could be the end result. Day 1 dip free starts tomorrow, though I don’t know you, your story will play in my head every time I want to grab a tin. I will post back shortly. Your son did not pass in vain. I hope you have found some peace.
Brian, thank you for your kind words to my sister. I pray that you were able to quit after reading my nephew’s story.
Sincerly,
Chance’s Aunt Katina
wow, i am so very sorry for your loss. like justiin said i’ve fallen asleep with a dip in but never considered aspiration as a possibility. thank-you for sharing this story of your son–it might save someone’s life
My name is Justin, I am 25 years old and have dipped for 7 or 8 years now. I have always had a can of Grizzly Wintergreen on me and I have tried, and failed, numerous times to quit. I just wanted to say that your story has given me more fuel to my fire to kick the habit for good and I never realized the severity of the situation your son was in. I have fallen asleep many times with chew or dip in my mouth, and aside from waking up and realizing i swallowed some and the hassle of cleaning up after myself, it never occurred to me that there was real potential danger there. It really is a wake up call and I thank you for that. I can promise you that it will never happen to me again, and I will kill the can for my health and for the people around me who care about me. Thank you very much.