Hello, I took out my last dip at 5:20 pm on October 31, 2008. Amazingly the days have not been to bad until today. The nights have been terrible. Not able to sleep, extreme headache, strange dreams, sick to my stomach. Today its pretty much all I can think about. I think why not have a dip. Then I think, what the hell are you talking about, you cannot dip anymore. Can anyone lend some advice on how to deal with these side effects/cravings? I am chewing gum and sunflower seeds like crazy.

Gum and seeds are what worked for me. Also, when I had really bad cravings, I would stop what I was doing and go somewhere else. I remember I was at the bar drinking with a buddy and a bad crave hit, so I got up walked outside for a minute, remembered why I was quitting and went back in and was fine. You just need to do something else to snap your mind off of being fixuated on a dip at that moment.

Those things will go, I promise.

and your doing the right thing, stay close to the site, as questions, vent, or do what ever you need to not cave, that is not an option.

Thank you for your reply. Both the seed and gum are close by at all times. How long will these cravings last? I understand that the habit of dipping may be around awhile.

Your screen name (bowhunted) raises another question for me. I enjoy hunting from ducks, deer, and turkey. This was a time that I pretty much had a dip in the entire time I was hunting. When I was deciding to quit, I was thinking maybe I will quit after hunting season. But I stopped myself and thought, there is always going to be an excuse to postpone quitting. Right now I am wavering on just not going hunting this season.

Not hunting is not an option!! I know a couple people that are using the fake stuff, Smokey Mountain. It give you the feel of having a chew in but none of the bad stuff. You might try that also.

Your right there is always reasons to postpone quitting, that is why we are here. You choose to quit a couple days ago and you choose not to chew today. We will help you any way we can. There is almost always someone in the chat room that can help and lean on your brothers in the Feb group. They are going thru the same bad shit your going thru right now.

This webpage from killthecan is a pretty solid road map of what you will go through in these 1st 100 days. You can read and re-rad that page everyday, but unfortunately it doesn't change.

http://www.killthecan.org/yourquit/what.asp

You seem to have your mind around what this is going to take, so take that in the woods with hunting with you. Bring a cell phone full of numbers that you will promise to call before you give into the addiction. Hunting was a tough time for me too and I was into the 200's went it came around last year. It's something that will have to be dealt with, so strengthen your resolve by takling it head on right now. We all know how offensive the smell of dip was, why would we think that a deer can't pick up on that? And if hunting is for you what it is for so many sportsman, it may be very threputic to get your ass out there right now use the time spent craving remembering the reasons you've drawn this line in the sand.

Thank you. That webpage does outline in very well. Its good to know that everything that I am going through is my body wanting the nicotine that I am depriving it of. Although it is kind of depressing when looking at the long road that is ahead of me.

it's depressing if you let it be.

it's exhilarating if you allow it to be. you NEVER have to feel this way again. you NEVER have to go through withdrawal again. you NEVER have to QUIT again... as long as you don't go back to the can.

oh yeah... quitting isn't NEARLY as depressing as say... chemo.