What To Expect When You Quit Dipping
So you want to quit dipping and you would like to know what to expect when you do. We’re not going to pull any punches around here, it’s tough. That’s why we’re all here. This timeline has been put together over the years with the input of THOUSANDS of quitters. It has been shown to be remarkably accurate from the time you STOP USING NICOTINE.
Days 1 through 3 – Pure hell. You will walk in the fog. Nothing will seem real. Your brain is wondering where the hell its fix is and it is going to punish you until you come up with it. 72 hours, that’s all you need to get the nicotine out of your system. This is where you start to deal with the physical withdrawal associated with quitting dip. Drink lots of water. Read, post, read and post. Don’t take your anger out on your loved ones. We always tell everyone………Make this quit about YOU. If you quit for your wife, girlfriend, boyfriend, kids, mommy or daddy, you will resent them during this period. Quit for yourself and come in here to rant. Yell at us. Bitch at us. We can take it. We’ve been there.
Days 4 through 20 – Here comes the mind games. The nicotine is out of your system now. You will still have some physical things to deal with.
- Cravings
- Irritability
- Insomnia
- Fatigue
- Inability to Concentrate
- Headache
- Sore throat
- Constipation, gas, stomach pain
- Dry mouth
- Sore tongue and/or gums
Yep, you have this to look forward to. Your brain is rewiring itself. It isn’t used to being in an oxygen rich environment. Your body is responding in kind. Everything is a mind game now. All the cravings you have are actually due to triggers. Triggers are events where you are in a situation you would normally dip in. Mowing the grass, playing poker online, playing golf, working on the car………you get the picture. Keep drinking water, use seeds, the fake stuff, whatever you need to keep the dip out of your mouth. Remember, oral fixation is part of our habit, something you will eventually need to break. For now though, use all the tools you have.
Days 20 – 50 – You’re winning. Life isn’t great, but you probably had a couple of nights where you actually got some sleep. You might notice you’re going to bed earlier than you normally do. Not staying up to get in that last dip. You may notice some sores in your mouth. You’re thinking, “great, I quit dipping and now I have cancer.” You almost certainly don’t. Your mouth is healing itself. Tiny ulcers you’ve had for a long time are healing. We recommend you visit your dentist around the 30 day mark. Don’t be a pansy, just do it. He or she will be very supportive and they can explain the sores much better than we can. Don’t let your guard down. Don’t go out drinking with the fellas or the girls. We also recommend that you don’t drink for at least the first 50 days. Drinking is a huge trigger event and it weakens your resolve.
Days 50 – 70 – Cruise control. Life is really good. You still think about it, but this is good stuff here. Some people may suffer anxiety attacks during or a little before this stage. Some doctors say we dipped to relieve anxiety anyway. Some people can push right through this, others need a little help. Talk to your doctor before you quit or immediately after you quit. They will know what to do. Some give Wellbutrin or Lexapro. Lots of people in the support community take or have taken these medicines and can help you with the affects. Don’t wait till you get to this stage of the game to talk to a doctor. You’ll cruise through this stage much easier if you know how to take care of the anxiety or at least know it’s coming.
Days 70 – 90 – Late term craves, the doldrums, the blahs, the blues. Some people end up feeling like they are right back at day 1. The fog, the haze, the craves. It can be a tough time. You need to let people in your group know this is happening. Time to circle the wagons to get through it. It usually only lasts a few days. Fight through this and make sure your order your HOF Knife or Coin. Here are a couple of articles about this time period which we refer to as “The Funk”
Days 90 – HOF – Houston, resume the countdown. Enjoy the hell out of these last 10 days. You will be celebrating with your group as you all enter the HOF. It is a great feeling and an accomplishment you should not take lightly. Do something special for yourself and your family. They put up with your sorry ass for the last 90 days and they deserve something too.
100+ Days – Stay vigilant. Use the tools you have, to continue beating back any cravings or urges. You will still experience dip dreams and longings, but you are fully qualified to beat them down. Continue to post roll with your group. Get into the newer groups and help somebody out. Pass it along. Live the dream.
Thanks JayP, Will do. Today I quit with all of you. Day 114.
DDD,
Glad to hear you are going strong. I guess the best advice I can give you is to continue to come here and contribute. It will help the others reach their 100 days and help you remain committed to what you started. I hear you, it does seem to get repetitive, but that’s what this quitting thing is….one big repeat!
You take care and I hope to see you out here often!
-JP
Threw away a can 3/4 of the way full, quit on the spot. 21 days now and I don’t miss it after 12 years. I just came on here to check the “what to expect” column and it sure is accurate. Headaches just started, have the fatigue, concentration issues, stomach issues, but no irritability or cravings! Other than that it’s great not chewing any longer!
Hey Jayp and fellows, Still going strong, Day 111 now. Writers Block, wanted to get to day 100 really bad, now not sure what to say. But glad to hear from new dudes joining in, keep it up, no one said it was going to be easy, but it can be done. Think about it this way, It took years for the addiction to get a hold of you and be your master, it will take some time to pry those bony hands off your mind and body, with every day that goes by, you will feel the grip loosening and letting go of you with every crave you defeat.
For everyone else that comes here and lurks around, the new year is coming, make that your resolution and mean it, join us in the fight to defeat this nasty habit.
Popping my head in here for the first time. I had an epiphany that I wanted to be skiing hard and living well through my 80’s or longer. Quit on the spot. That was 7 days ago. This is much harder than I thought it was going to be. Good to see this forum.
WEPDOC, keep up the fight, you’re rolling!
Congrats to a few of you new guys on this board here…I don’t care if its day 1, 6 or 13…the most important day free of nicotine, is your next! You posters committing to the quit are hero’s out here. Keep up that good fight!
DDD…haven’t read from you in a bit…hope all is rock solid with you still.
Hope you all have a Happy Holiday and enjoy being Nicotine Free as we move to 2016…dam!
Be good and stay quit!
-JP
Day #528 of freedom
Day 31, I can concentrate sometimes other times its just a headache and a blur. Mouth sores & anxiety are getting stronger. I’m 27 now and dipped for about 10 years- at the time I quit I was up to 2 – 2 1/2 tins a day. Wondering if anyone knows when the headaches / dizziness / fog goes away.
13 days and still going strong, cravings are easily redirected now, longest stretch ever and it feels great to be dip free after 18 years of enslavement. A bonus food has regained it’s full flavor again!!!
Day 6 and im doing ok. Apologized to my wife this morning for my rage and horrible anger lately. She understood, and I understand I can be a little better about it to. Its hard but im gonna do it. not giving myself any other choice, you guys all give me strength. thank you
WEPDOC, great Job and start on your quit. That is the key, stay busy! The more you stay busy, the less you think about it…keep it up!
-JP
DDD, Congratulations on hitting 100 Days!
Just did the Iron man thing, been dip free for 10 days after 18 years of nearly one can every 4 days. I found that keeping active and not allowing myself to think about it has helped to combat the cravings. I work as a trama nurse so I have to suppress and control my emotions on a daily basis. So far so good, this is the longest stretch I’ve ever gone.
DDD… Way to go. Iam so happy to see you hit 100 days. It’s a great milestone probably the most important in your life :). I for one know it is not easy
Jeff, Great to hear from you, yes dude, I finally did it. I am on day 102 now, feels awesome, you gotta pop in here more often, There’s a lot of dudes in here in need of our help.
JayP and I been trying, shiva pops in every now and then too, but we need all the help we can get.
You know just to hear a little “adda boy” helped me out a lot and it seems like dudes in here need it too or a little bit of guidance from our journey.
Anyway Great to hear from you. Thanks.
DAVID Your story is identical to mine. Single income family, kept missing work, 2 trips to the ER for anxiety attacks, couldnt even drive in my truck for 5 minutes without an attack. It all just racked up. First, make an appointment with a doctor to get some medication because it takes a month to build up in your system before you feel the effect and my doctor put me on the lowest dose that didnt do anything so you want to get that process started asap! That is unless they prescribe xanax or valium. I learned how to decrease my amxiety during this period though. Breathe deep through your nose for 3 seconds . Pucker your lips and breath out for 7 seconds or take a deep breath, hold it and tense up every muscle in your body for a couple seconds ( worked very well for me ). I think most important though is you have to think positive, even when you feel like ass. Patience is also key. At work try not to look at the clock or think about what of you have an attack. I think about my daughter and it helps. When you have a break or if you feel an attack coming up and you cant fight it off anymore, step outside and breathe deep and slow. Also, time is very key. Every passing day it is going to get less intense and youre going to get better at dealing with it. Im on day 34 now it is so much better then it used to be. I still have anxiety but not as frequent and not as intense. I hope in 2 more months o wont have anxiety at all.
Congrats DDD. You did it!!!!
Jeff
496
Day 12 about to be 13, I am sorry I have not posted in the last few days
But never the less I did not cave
I wanted to wish everyone a merry Christmas and a Happy new year, as I won’t be back on here till after the Holidays I am sorry! have a good week guys
Thanks!
David,
Hang in there….I know its a tough go right now. Yes, I too had Anxiety, Blah, Blahs….it isn’t no fun. Promise you, it will lift. As DDD says, exercise when you go t a free moment. Drop and do 25 pushups, take off on a sprint…go blow some weights of a shelf…anything to get through the next craving.
BTW, exercise is the most natural way to combat anxiety. I had that shit before I even quit….a regular exercise routine, specifically, cardio, got me past the hump…even during my quit.
Keep punching away!
-JP
DDD, spoken like a true quitter….all true stuff.
You will never need to go through that first 30-40 (hell the first 100) days of hell, unless you circle back to the can…stay quit!!
-JP
The quit is tough on all of us. If you already went to the doctor and got pills for the anxiety, the only thing I can recommend is to workout.
Walk, run or lift weights and drink lots and lots of water. That is how I dealt with my cravings. Because my body wanted to get the nicotine, it did all kinds of things to get me to go back to it.
I felt dizzy all the time, nauseated, stomach problems, anxiety, panic attacks, bad moods, anger, rage, you name it. My productivity at work suffered also, not to mention the loss of a member of my family, my fiancee kicked me to the curb and a friend of mine died as well, all of these things wailing at me on top of my quit.
So instead of waiting around for these things to get me, I joined the gym and worked out like a mad man, drank lots of water, ate lots of fruit, anything that was healthy to keep my mind off tobacco. And yes there were days, I almost caved in, i just needed an excuse to go back to it, someone to say “screw it man you were happier when you were doing the shit” and I would have done it.
If you think that going back to tobacco will fix your problems, just think about these things you are going through right now; they will be there the next time you get scared and try to quit again.
That’s my peace. 101 days
Day 18 doesn’t seem to be getting any better. Still having massive panic attacks and cravings just bc I know it will make the panic attacks go away. I’m at a loss. I’m missing work due to panic attacks and I’m a single income family. I need some help fellas.
DDD, Congrats on your 100 days of freedom. You should be very proud of this accomplishment. A lot of folks come here and never get to where you are today, I congratulate you on this feat!
It doesn’t end here obviously, this is a life time battle. I will say, you are now well qualified to beat this addiction and have proven it the last 100 days. Stay vigilant…come here often and help others get to where you are…that’s how it works!
And if you ever feel the urge to go back (the feelings will come back), you look back on this 100 day war….no sense in returning to that. Great Job my friend!
-JP
Day #520 Free of that shit
Hell yeah DDD!!!! Thank you for your daily posts. I had a rough one a week ago. Some hard talking no bullshit was what I needed. without this site, I would still be a slave to the nic bitch. I quit with you today and every damn day.
Prek
Day 127
……………………………………..!!!!–100–!!!…………………………………….
One Hundred days ago I escaped the clutches of nicotine.
One Hundred days ago I walked away from the vice.
One Hundred days ago marks the beginning of a new life.
You all stay cool.
DAY 99 for me !!!!
Tomorrow is the big one……just a few more hours. Hang in there guys, soon you’ll be here too.
That reply was for Matt
Yes, it’s part of the healing. Hang in there. Go to your dentist if you want to have peace of mind.
DDD,
You hit the nail when you said “Sometimes you will have episodes like mine today”. Yes, it will be there as long as you try to will it away. My Mantra is “If I have a flu I’ll feel terrible but can I will it away? No, I am helpless at that moment but I just have to allow it’s own course and it will wither away in due time”. There is no option, we CANNOT have nicotine in any form. If it shows it’s ugly head let it show. I am smart enough to know this doesn’t last and it will go away.
There’s a life and death difference between “Almost caved in” and “Caved in”. End of day you didn’t cave in and that’s what matters.
We may be from different nationality, different cultures. But our enemy is one in multiple avatars. We all are there for each other Brother as you folks were there for me. Keep the fight going.
Shiva
(~600 days…ish)
I meant sores, not sites, stupid auto correct.
Haven’t dipped in 7 days. Do you notice sites on your gums earlier than the 20-50 day mark? Just curious!
Thanks Buds. I went to the gas station and it was really hard to not buy one, I can’t believe this shit, but I almost caved in right there and then, I am at day 98 just like last year and fucking shit, still getting those fucking craves, every fucking cell in my body was craving the sick feeling of that shit going through me. I am really pissed off with myself because it is no one else’s fault but my own, yet i feel I am cheating myself by denying the disgusting sickening pleasure of dipping a big fucking turd in my cheek. It has been over 3 months and I still get the urge to put one in. Unbelievable, but I am still an addict. I really believe this shit should be outlawed, I am sure there would be riots and shit, but Hot dam, it is hard as shit to get off of it. Some motherfucker in the tobacco industry has to know how addictive their shit is and still that son of a bitch pushes it out to human beings. That fuck face should be charged with crimes against humanity for knowingly doing this. Sorry fellers, I wish I would have been more cheerful since I am getting clean and all, but today’s episode just got me all upset, because I am still not over it. even at day 98. I would be lying if I said everything is rosy pink, so this goes for you that are starting quitting, it aint easy all the time. Sometimes you will have episodes like mine today. Be careful and let the moment pass. One day at a time some people say. sometimes its more like one minute at at time.
I’m glad I found this sight! I’m on day number 2, I’m in the fog big time right now, kinda a headache! Smokey Mountain and Jack Link’s jerky as aid’s, anyone else go the Herbal snuff route to quit?
DDD, see you in 3 days, congrats on your new journey…proud of you bro!
-JP
oh!! there’s one more thing. You’ll feel a lot hungrier because of the way your metabolism starting to get adjusted without the chemicals you dip. Make sure your body gets its fuel even if it means you’re putting on weight (trust me me you’ll but you can always work out and get fitter few weeks down the line). Even a small dip in blood glucose level will make you worse. Nicotine craving + hunger craving is difficult to deal and many times during this stage we confuse hunger with nicotine craving.
Good start Nick. As long as you don’t take nicotine in any form, this will get only better. By around 4th week, you’ll start feeling your old energy and the fatigue will go down. Right now your metabolism will be a bit honky wonky.. Work out, walk, drink lots of water. Take it a bit easy on yourself. Things will get better.
I am really excited for you DDD. Lots of admiration for you the way you are coming back.
Hey Shiva and JayP Great to hear from y’all. I am at the end of day 97. Stay tuned for My HOF.
Take care.
David,
Sorry for being blunt. Not to demean your effort but as long as you were taking nicotine in another form (gums, patches etc) you were still addicted. It doesn’t matter if you were dip free. Taking that into consideration, you are 13 days into quit and right into the peak of most major physical withdrawal symptoms. Most of these would go away around 21 days mark and it will get only better. Trust me each and every day would be better. Sure there might be one off periods here and there where you’d again feel it but by then you would have gotten the strength to overcome.
Take one day at a time, bro. Good luck. Keep posting and we will all help you as much as we could.
Thanks
Shiva (~ 600 days)
David, that is what the board is here for, to vent.
Give yourself an Honest 40 days free from that nicotine…I promise you, as other can also confirm, these symptoms WILL pass. You’re well on your way to freedom, not just from nicotine, but from this “funk” you’re in. The only way you’ll ever have to go through it again, is if you turn back. Stay the course, you’re well on your way!
-JP
Well I haven’t taken a dip in 42 days and haven’t had any nicotine for 13 days. It never feels like it gets easier. I have had panic attacks for the last week and have been put on pills to help with this problem that they hope is only going to last a month or so. In quiting the chew I quit caffeine which I found out quiting both at the same time is dumb I did it anyway. I can hardly sleep, I don’t want to leave the house, and I just feel kinda down and out and not myself. I’m really dizzy headed all day long and can’t seem to preform normal daily activites. I’m stay strong and I don’t want to go back but I have absolutely no doubt in my mind and have the up most respect for people who deal with this addiction. The doctor and everyone says it gets better with time and that Im so close to seeing the finish line that the hard part is over. I’ll tell you right now, I don’t see no finish line and I don’t feel like it close to being over. I appreciate everyone in this site that has talked to me. I just kinda needed to rant about my problems for a minute. Thanks
Day 1 fellas. Shit ?
Hang in there Josh! You NEVER have to go through another day 1… just stay clean.
Day 96
Getting closer…………You all take care.
Day 8. Rough. Missing having something to do as a reward in my five to ten minutes of free time throughout the day. This forum has been awesome to check at those times. Thank you all for keeping me going.
Day 95 Fellers
Aint no stopping now
Day 94
Only Six days for the three digit count
Laters………
4 days off the grizz, had some dental surgery and decided Its now or never. I used to be a smoker and quit that for 7+ years untill I got divorced. So back onto the wagon for this fella!
You just gotta put it down & walk away.
Day 4 with Little to no cravings how ever mouth and lips are both really dry now.
Well I think it’s time to quit dipping. I just read through these comments and thought, “what the hell, let’s do it”. I always wanted to quit when I graduated college, and I will be graduating next week. I could live my life with a dip in 24/7, much more frequent user than any of my friends. My ADHD medicine makes it very hard to quit, I’ve never craved chew more than after I take my daily medicine. It’s crazy. Do patches work? The last thing I want to do is be a dick to those who I love.
Patches can help but you still have to do a lot of the work. For me the patches ease some of the headaches I would get if I was quiting cold turkey.
The patches “work” in so much as they continue to deliver nicotine to your body. They “work” at continuing your addiction. If freedom is what you’re after, true freedom, then ditch the patches.
Will you be a dick to those you love? Probably. But if you explain to them what’s going on and WHY you’re being a dick, my guess is they’ll totally understand and actually be more than willing to accept it for the time being while you regain that freedom.
Day 93
went to see the Dentist one more time, This time they worked on me for an hour. Drilled, filled and buffed my molars. Never will I neglect my choppers and certainly no more Dip.
7 Days to go fellers. HOF here I come……………………….