I made it this weekend! Wow, there were some nasty temptations but I kept telling myself that I wasn't about to start over again. Yesterday I was fixing a lawn mower when I decided to clean out all the empty tins I had stashed in the garage. Wouldn't you know it, I found a fairly new tin that was half full. I took a deep sniff, put the tin down, and walked away. A minute later I went back to the tin and sprayed it with the carburetor cleaner I was using. Soon after that I dumped the spoiled chew in the backyard. Knowing me, I would probably have tried to dig the chew out of the lawn if I hadn't sprayed it with the cleaner. Strange thing too, I feel like I have more energy to go running and biking. I was once told that chew zaps you of your energy but I never bought that theory before. Perhaps my motivation has increased which fires up my body to work out harder. One thing is for sure, each morning I now wake up with a smile! Dave ps. I chewed some hot salsa sunflower seeds this weekend...having something in place of chew is really helping my oral fixation.

Thank you for your support Infinite_D! I am really glad that I pushed myself to quit and I believe that I made a great decision to join this group. It is so nice to check up on the threads here everyday. The hot salsa sunflower seeds are great! The funny thing is that I bought them over a year ago when I thought that I was going to quit then! Last night I whipped up a batch of black pepper venison jerky (can you guess that I like hot and spicy foods?). I savor the taste by keeping one nugget in my cheek for awhile. Fishing, upcoming weddings, and hunting will all be situations where my old friend Mr. Chew will no longer be invited. I will deal with those challenges when they present themselves. Gotta run, my lunch hour is almost over :)

Hello, Tomorrow, September 8th will be my official date. I have a little dip left over and tonight I will watch myself dump the rest into the garbage as this is where my habit will follow. Right now I'm entering the unknown...I don't know how I'll do the things I do without a dip. The way I see it, there was a time in the past where this was not an issue. I just need to get back to that time when tobacco didn't control me. Later, Dave

Well last night's hypnosis didn't have me barking like a big dog or jumping around like a monkey but I do feel much more relaxed today. So, my last chew was on 9/07/06 at 5:20PM. Can this be my quit date or is today my offical date? By the way, I'm already 15 hours chew free. Anyway, the guy talked to us for 1.5 hours on the dangers and side effects of nicotine. He mentioned that there are like 400 different chemicals in cigarettes. Twelve of those chemicals are pesticides. I don't even want to imagine what's in chew. My wife and I bought a 4 months supply of a slew of different mineral suppliments that are to help balance out your body with the withdrawls of nicotine. Some pills are to help clean out your lungs (smokers) while others are to help reduce your desire for nicotine. I can get into more detail later on those. I can't say that I don't still want a chew right now, but I do believe that I can already go about my day without a wad. More to come, I just wanted to check in :)

Hello everyone, I started a post months ago about how I was going to quit, etc. Well, I fell off the wagon and went back to my bad habit. I went back to the health clinic and talked to the nurse about how to quit. Expecting to go on a prescription or something, she didn't offer me anything but instead just told me to keep trying. Thanks, I could have told myself that! My wife is a smoker and it was never easy to quit because of her habit. Well, tomorrow she and I (plus a few friends) are going to see a hypnotist at a local hotel. This session is to help curb our ugly habit and I'm hoping that this will spur a new beginning for both of us. Tonight I am going to clean my desk and truck of all my empty tins...out of sight, out of mind!! Meanwhile, I'm going to increase my training then a few weeks from now I'm going to dig up the courage to see a dentist. If you recall from my original post, I have grown quit scared of the dentist's office! I AM READY FOR THIS UPHILL BATTLE AND I WILL NOT FAIL! Regards, Dave

Dc2295, Your quit date is whenever you quit so feel free to change your quit meter. Glad to hear your first day is going well but be sure to keep those coping mechanisms close just in case. (gum, candy, ice water...) Thanks for checking in and congratulations on your first tobacco free day! Danielle ___________________________ The SSC Support Team

DC, Woohoo! Congrats! Don't forget to keep up with rewards. Keep going, you're both doing very well! We are proud! Danielle _________________________ The SSC Support Team

Hi Phil and dc! Good job and congratulations to both of you! When I first started I found some information that talked about the conversion of chew to cigarettes, but I don't quite remember the formula anymore. It depends on the size of the wad of chew, but I would imagine there is a reasonable average. I tell ya, reading others posts on this forum has always been like looking in a mirror! I had fear of the dentist for a good long time, too. I was probably quit for at least 6 months before I worked up the courage to go. All I can say is I understand perfectly, because I was once there, too, dealing with the exact same fears. Just remember, you now have good news to tell your dentist when you have your visit - I quit chewing tobacco! They will no doubt be happy to hear. Better yet, it will be a weight off your mind and shoulders to get it out of the way. So be like a Nike commercial and Just Do It! :p Again, you guys are doing an amazing job - keep it up and don't look back!!! Infinite_D [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 5/21/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 489 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 10,285 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $537.9 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 63 [B]Hrs:[/B] 7 [B]Mins:[/B] 49 [B]Seconds:[/B] 7

Hello Dave. I'm darn proud of you right now! :) Way to go standing toe to toe with your initial temptations and giving 'em a good dousing of carburetor cleaner!!! Here's a cyber-slap on the back and a big "Adda-boy". Keep up the determination and great work! You CAN do this. As a matter of fact, you ARE doing this. Yes, tobacco does sap your energy. Just think of all of the chemicals we inundate our bodies with when we smoke or chew. Our bodies are probably working overtime to try to rid itself of the junk we're piping into it like an IV drip. I never tried hot salsa sunflower seeds. Sounds good actually! How are they? ;) Taking care of the "oral fixation" is important in quitting dip, especially for the first 3 to 6 months, in my estimation. Whatever works for you. Anyway, awesome job. Don't give up, and just stick with it! Shevie - Aw, shucks! LOL "Great" dip quitter? I don't know about that, but thank you anyway. :blush: Anyone who can face their addiction and beat it is "great". ;) Besides, don't be so humble! Everyone knows that Shevie is the local SSC Stud. :) [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 5/21/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 479 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 10,059 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $526.9 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 61 [B]Hrs:[/B] 22 [B]Mins:[/B] 28 [B]Seconds:[/B] 30

Interesting, Luna. What island do you live on? Just curious. :) I could definitely see how digging through the trash would be a temptation for a new quitter, that was very wise of you to destroy them in the wood stove. ;) Good thing - it must have been winter or fall when you quit, eh? Could've been early spring, too, I suppose. For me when I quit chewing tobacco, what worked for me probably would not work for everyone, and I am certainly not recommending it for everyone, just saying what I did. For me, I had to keep a can of chewing tobacco in the glove compartment of my car for the first couple of months. Why? Isn't that "quit suicide"? Well, for me, no - it wasn't. You see, after I quit, of course the addiction is still there and quite strong. I would say I was going to quit, make it a day or so, end up going to the store to buy a can of dip, take a dip out of it, get frustrated with myself and throw it away. After doing this several times, not only do you realize how expensive it is, but also how easy it is to run to the store and bail yourself out if you want to. So, while it is most certainly a good idea to remove temptation to the extent possible, the bottom line is that there just comes a time when you have to say "no". "I quit and I'm not going back." But for me, it was some kind of strange security blanket knowing that if push came to shove, and things just got really bad and I couldn't handle it anymore, then my "salvation" at the time was no further away than my glove compartment. After a certain amount of time passed and I began to feel more comfortable with the idea of not using tobacco ever again, then I was able to throw away my "backup" can. But, I'll say it again - I'm sure that this approach would not work for everyone, nor am I recommending this to anyone else. Just, do what works for YOU! ;) At any rate, Luna is right, DC. Where are you? I hope you are still checking the boards. Please let us know how your battle is going - we're all pulling for you!!! Infinite_D [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 5/21/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 513 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 10,789 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $564.3 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 66 [B]Hrs:[/B] 10 [B]Mins:[/B] 24 [B]Seconds:[/B] 16