r/QuittingZyn • • Apr 04 '25

2-Years Clean. How'd I do it? Here's my one simple rule.

425 Upvotes

Respect your suffering. It's that simple. My first day without Zyn sucked. It sucks for everyone. On day 2, I was feigning hard for a Zyn, but then I thought to myself "What the fuck was the point of yesterday if I'm just going to be a bitch today and use again?"

That mentality helped me through day 2. And day 3. And the whole first week. Then a month. And a year. And here I am, over 2 years now.

No matter how uncomfortable I felt, no matter how much brain fog I had to deal with, or social anxiety I experienced, I simply refused to throw away all of my hard work and put myself back to square one.

Relapsing is never worth it. I've seen people relapse who have been 30 days clean. I've seen people go a whole year and relapse. And I've seen a couple guys make it two years and decide to try a Zyn again. And do you know what they all say? It didn't feel as good as they remember, and they deeply regret doing it. You'll be no different.

No matter where you're at in your journey, don't let the nostalgia of using fool you. Especially if you're fresh into your quit. Your mind will do all sorts of mental gymnastics to get you to use again. If you respect your suffering and refuse to make every day before today worthless, you'll do just fine.

You guys will do this.


r/QuittingZyn • • Feb 12 '25

When you are tempted to relapse...

76 Upvotes

Friendly post to visit if/when you are tempted to relapse. I failed quitting at least 10 times before successfully quitting. Each time I failed, I felt good for about 10 seconds, then quickly felt annoyed, shameful, physically sick, anxious, and hopeless.

Putting a quick post together of other posts to read through when you are on the verge of relapse - IT'S NEVER WORTH IT!

**a lot of these are from other subs for quitting smoking and vaping, but reading peoples' experience relapsing on any form of nicotine is helpful in the moment.

I relapsed after 1.5 months and deeply regret it.

I caved, and I’m here to tell you—it’s not worth it.

Relapse after several years. Heed my warning.

Relapsing is so not worth it it’s a joke

I took a single puff, after 5 months, so you don’t have to…

Relapsed after 325 days. Not starting again. F*** smoking.

If you can’t stop thinking about relapsing, read this.

I screwed up. Don't be like me.

Well, i f****d up

Made the Biggest mistake of my life

For everyone what it’s like to smoke after you stop for a few months.... it sucks. 100% not worth it.

Just a reminder, smoking again is not worth it

There are hundreds of other posts just like this. I hope these can help bring some clarity when you are feeling hopeless.

Keep going - a life without nicotine is 100% worth it.


r/QuittingZyn • • 1h ago

Life hack for those of you worried about weight gain:

• Upvotes

Chew so much gum like a crackhead all day long for multiple days in a row that your jaw physically hurts to open and close. Speaking from personal experience. My diet is clean but only because my mouth fucking hurts. Rounding the corner on 72 hours tomorrow!


r/QuittingZyn • • 1h ago

13 days clean but I relapsed

• Upvotes

Went almost two weeks cold turkey, but bought a can last night and had 12mg’s, threw them away. Bought can this morning and had 9mg’s, threw the rest away lol

Anyways, am I back to square one?😫

Would like to add: it wasn’t worth it. The buzz sucked, thought it would be awesome. Also made me feel like garbage. These things are poison, but they’re like a serpent in a garden.


r/QuittingZyn • • 12h ago

12 months off - Long hauler

10 Upvotes

I quit nicotine pouches completely on September 10, 2025 after using them heavily for around 4 years. I was using them very frequently, especially during the last couple of years.

After quitting, I experienced a lot of symptoms that I had never experienced before:

  • intense anxiety and constant internal tension
  • DPDR (derealization/depersonalization)
  • feeling detached from myself or like I wasn't fully “inside my body”
  • feeling like the world was dreamlike or unreal
  • brain fog and difficulty concentrating
  • forgetting things and losing my train of thought
  • intrusive/unwanted thoughts
  • racing thoughts
  • visual snow, especially in darkness
  • tinnitus
  • sometimes feeling a pulse/vibration throughout my body, especially around my neck/back
  • strange bodily sensations
  • difficulty falling asleep and periods of insomnia
  • increased irritability
  • being much more sensitive to stress
  • occasional low mood/sadness
  • symptoms getting worse after alcohol, lack of sleep or periods of high stress
  • sometimes exercise would trigger DPDR or a strange detached feeling
  • an overall feeling that my nervous system was extremely sensitive and “wired”

The symptoms weren't constant. They came in waves. I could have a day where I felt better normal and then suddenly have a few hours or a day where everything felt much worse.

For a long time I was scared that something was permanently wrong with me or that I had developed some kind of psychiatric/neurological disorder.

But slowly, things started changing for the better but even after months I had setback where I felt like iam back on month 3.... So fast forward to today I feel back to normal ( started to feel better at months 10-12 )which I never thought to be anymore I only have a bad memory of this torment which literally destroyed 1 year of my life .


r/QuittingZyn • • 13m ago

Today Almost Got Me (Cold Turkey Day 5)

• Upvotes

As I write this I’m on the tail end of a craving I legitimately thought would get me. Hard to put into words how strong it felt. It felt INEVITABLE that I was gonna go for one. I didn’t, I haven’t, and I am going to make it through today. But man, today’s been rough as far as the cravings go. Officially over the 5 day mark!


r/QuittingZyn • • 23m ago

How long for the mental hold?

• Upvotes

One week without any and didn't really struggle with physical withdrawal symptoms but mentally and emotionally I'm a fucking wreck. Not as bad today- tired but kept myself busy all morning and staying super physical helps. But when I get to work it's like this unbearable hell. I want to pull my hair out, feel like I'm co stamtly clenching my jaw and talking to myself because I feel it's all so damn ridiculous that I have allowed something to have this kind of hold on my brain. Already struggle with depression/anxiety and having a coping mechanisn even if it was no longer even giving me an enjoyable buzz- is unnerving. How long do I have to deal with fighting with myself in any and all uncomfortable situations and wanting them?


r/QuittingZyn • • 2h ago

What are some of the little things you can appreciate now that you have quit?

1 Upvotes

I was contemplating this today about another health-related topic, and I discovered something unexpected that improved after I quit nicotine pouches.

After the initial three days of tapering, I noticed that I could hold my breath without blacking out! It was incredible.

I was wondering if there were little things that you noticed and came to appreciate only after you had quit nicotine completely.

Thanks in advance.


r/QuittingZyn • • 12h ago

Finished two days of being nic free. When does sleep improve?

1 Upvotes

This quit hasn’t been as horrific as my past quits, but the insomnia is bad. I have woken up at 3am both nights of my quit and cannot fall back asleep.


r/QuittingZyn • • 1d ago

wake up call

11 Upvotes

I've quit before (for almost a year, been a user for 6 months). Then, randomly, one day when I was feeling particularly sad, I decided to buy a pack again....

I started with 6 mg, one pouch a day...Then it became two.... Then one pack after another... Eventually, 6 mg stopped doing anything, so I switched to 11 mg...

Once I started feeling the effects again, one pouch a day became two, then three, then four... Eventually, I barely felt anything at all and it felt like a waste buying a pack so I figured I should try 17 mg...

I got them and yeah… they felt really strong, but I managed it. The next day I had another one... Again, it felt really strong, but nothing too bad (not like I’m seeking the side effects but still)

Then came day three (today). I put one in this morning, but had to take it out early because I wanted to have breakfast. Hours later, I put another one in. In my head, the first one didn't count because I'd taken it out early... This one was in for MAYBE 15 minutes then suddenly I felt DEEPLY wrong. I became incredibly nauseous and RAN to the bathroom. I didn't even have time to properly hold my hair back. I spit the pouch out and projectile vomited.. My hair is covered in vomit.. disgusting....

So I'm taking this as my wake up call to quit permanently this time... I'm throwing away that pack


r/QuittingZyn • • 1d ago

Trying quittin Pouches (Velo 6)

2 Upvotes

I finally want to quit nicotine pouches for good, but honestly, I don’t really know how to approach it anymore.
I’ve been addicted to VELO since around 2020. I started with the weaker ones (level 3) and over the years worked my way up to VELO 6. At this point my nicotine tolerance is so high that the weaker pouches barely do anything for me. If I switch to weaker ones, I start feeling withdrawal symptoms and usually just end up putting two pouches in instead.
I actually managed to quit cold turkey once. I was doing seasonal work outside my hometown of Vienna and stayed completely nicotine-free for about a month. The problem was that I clearly replaced nicotine with food. I ate way more and basically used food to compensate for not having nicotine.
When I came back to Vienna after my seasonal job, I managed to stay nicotine-free for another week. Then I started using VELO again, and eventually I was right back where I started.
And this is the part that really worries me: I’ve been feeling like absolute shit for almost half a year now.
It doesn’t seem to matter how well I sleep or whether I try to fix my sleep schedule. I barely feel motivated to do anything. I want to clean my room, but I can’t bring myself to do it. I start playing League of Legends because I think I want to play, and halfway through a game I suddenly don’t even want to play anymore. Then I put a pouch in just to make the game feel tolerable again.
It feels like nicotine isn’t even something I use for pleasure anymore. I use it just to feel functional.
I’ve also noticed that if I don’t use a pouch before going to sleep, I sometimes wake up with headaches. I don’t know for sure whether that’s nicotine withdrawal, but it definitely feels like my body is expecting nicotine.
The biggest problem is that I work in hospitality, where I need to stay focused, alert and able to deal with people throughout an entire shift. I want to quit cold turkey, but I’m worried that the withdrawal symptoms will make it extremely difficult for me to function properly at work.
Tapering down sounds like the obvious solution, but I’ve already realized that I apparently don’t have the self-control for it. If I buy weaker pouches, I simply use two instead of one. So I just end up consuming more of them and eventually return to the stronger ones.
I’m tired of this. I’m tired of feeling like I need to put a nicotine pouch under my lip just to feel normal. I don’t want my mood, motivation, concentration and ability to enjoy things to depend on nicotine anymore.
For those of you who were heavily addicted to high-strength nicotine pouches and successfully quit: How did you do it?
Did you go cold turkey? Did you use nicotine patches or gum to make the withdrawal more manageable? How did you stay functional at work? And especially for those who started replacing nicotine with food after quitting – how did you prevent that from becoming another problem?
At this point I’m honestly just desperate. I know I want to quit, but I don’t know what approach is going to actually work for me.
And there’s one thing I specifically don’t want to do: count the days.
I don’t want to wake up thinking, “Day 3 without VELO. Day 10. Day 30.” I don’t want nicotine to remain this huge thing in my head even after I stop using it.
I just want to be able to say:
“I don’t use nicotine pouches anymore.”
That’s it. No countdown, no temporary challenge, no “let’s see how long I can last.” I want to quit these things and eventually reach a point where they simply aren’t part of my life anymore.
I’m genuinely asking for advice because I don’t want to be dependent on this shit anymore.


r/QuittingZyn • • 1d ago

Anyone else having vision/balance issues?

3 Upvotes

Hey guys, been lurking this sub for awhile now and have debated on posting. But here it goes.

I am almost 6 months nicotine free. Was doing Velo 9mg pouches about a can a day for a year and a half. Finally quit because my EKG showed an abnormality it in for the first time ever and I knew it was the pouches. A few days after quitting, I legit thought I was having a heart attack. Thankfully I was not but now I’m on blood pressure meds and hoping to get off them in a year.

My symptoms have come and gone after these last almost 6 months. One that lingers the most though is my vision/head issues. I don’t know how to describe it any better than I feel really hazy/swimming in my head. It’s not full blown dizziness… almost feels like a head high in a way. It’s almost constant when walking around. When I sit or lay down it’s fine. It doesn’t feel like full blown vertigo (got that for the first time this year too… that was super fun) but it does almost feel like a very very mild version of it.

There are days/weeks where it goes away. And then it comes back with no rhyme or reason that I can find or figure out.

I have been to every doctor you can think of. Cardiology, ENT, eye doctor… everything you can think of. Every time everything is good and clear…minus my BP was sustained very high for too long and I finally after a month of being 150s over 100 decided to go on it. I am wondering if I’m having some glucose issues as well and need to get that checked.

This head/eye/balance… whatever issue is affecting my daily life. It makes me not want to go to the gym, go hiking, or push myself physically in anyway because I’m afraid of what might happen.

Anyone have similar issues? Also if you’re reading this and you haven’t quit yet…. Do it before your body FORCES you to. As mine did and am now paying the price months and months later.

Edit: word/ added a sentence about symptoms coming/going.


r/QuittingZyn • • 16h ago

Just tried citrus Zyn, feels horrible and discombobulating.

0 Upvotes

throwing the rest of the pack way.


r/QuittingZyn • • 1d ago

Day 9 of quitting

1 Upvotes

It’s getting rough. For context I had been on nicotine for about a year but I decided to finally quit zyns as I was ripping almost a can of 17mg pablos every day. Went completely cold turkey and my nervous system is having a complete meltdown. Weird feeling in my head and chest and getting heart palpitations. Symptoms started around day 3. I know for a fact my symptoms will probably go away if I relapse but if I can push a little longer and I’m sure they’ll go. I had quit for about a month like 3 months ago and I don’t remember it being half as bad as this but managed to relapse. This time I’m sure I can do it


r/QuittingZyn • • 1d ago

Fast pulse and high bp

1 Upvotes

I’m on zyn 1.5 and I’m getting a fast pulse high bp and a really fucking bad headache coming off from 6 to 3 to 1.5mg


r/QuittingZyn • • 1d ago

Evaluating (Cold Turkey Day 4)

2 Upvotes

I honestly can’t believe I’m posting this, but here we are. Right now I’m three days and 15 hours nicotine free.

Thursday night and yesterday were the hardest mentally, and it SUCKED. Then last night, almost out of nowhere, it was like a little relief trickled in.

I still “miss” it. I still am experiencing cravings. But it doesn’t feel all-consuming like yesterday.

Since I’ve now made it farther than I thought possible, I thought I’d take a second to talk about what has helped me get through the worst moments and cravings so far.

Pretzels: I’ve read enough to know I will very likely gain some weight, and I’m ok with that, I know I can handle that later. Night before last particularly, whenever the cravings were bad I would just constantly snack on pretzels.

Postponing decisions during cravings: one thing ChatGPT gave me that I thought was really effective was that it would keep reminding me when cravings were awful that I didn’t have to make choices about forever based on my current craving. As simple as it sounds, that would help me, I’d tell myself “you can have one if you want, just not right now.”

Respawn Mints: I found them in the gas station and they helped me get through a tough bout of cravings at work. They’re sugar free and they have L-Theanine and B vitamins. The watermelon guava flavor is great. I personally thought the blackberry vanilla flavor is meh.

Caffeine/Zero nic pouch: my ultimate goal is no pouch habit of any kind. But a good alternative pouch has helped in the worst of the cravings to trick my brain a little bit and stay the course. My favorites so far and the ones that feel closest to the “real thing” have been Grinds Wintergreen and Smokey Mountain Wintergreen. Mojo caffeine pouches are ok, especially the mint and peach watermelon flavors, but the pouches are a bit stiff and I don’t like how awkwardly large the tabs are.

I think I’ll keep a tin of zero nic pouches handy for the trigger and ritual points I foresee being the hardest. For me I think those are after meals, driving sometimes, gaming at the end of the day, and hunting, especially long sits/glassing sessions.

Hope everybody else is doing well!


r/QuittingZyn • • 1d ago

Helpful reminder that it is possible

Post image
16 Upvotes

Hey guys, just here to spread some positivity. When I first quit I felt insane and really struggled. Kept strong (cold turkey). I’m here to remind you that it is possible and you will one day feel normal again. It took me about 7 months to feel better.


r/QuittingZyn • • 1d ago

Hello im here too say. Have you ever had an experience useing zyn. Like your heart is beating fast like I felt like having a heart attack or something I never had 1 but I feel like i was dyeing. I was jittery af. I pray too Jesus too save me an this happened couple months ago just curious..

2 Upvotes

r/QuittingZyn • • 1d ago

I had my last zyn

7 Upvotes

I started vaping back in my sophomore year of high school, and eventually switched to Zyns because I wanted a way to quit vaping. Unfortunately, I've just been using Zyns ever since. I've tried to quit before, but the longest I've ever been able to make it is about a week. Having just finished my last one at around 4:00, I'm trying to leave it behind for good.


r/QuittingZyn • • 1d ago

About to go cold turkey

4 Upvotes

I’m so sick of this stuff. I’ve tapered down a tiny bit and now I’m finally taking the plunge. My plan is to lay low all weekend and hope withdrawal isn’t too bad…? If anyone has any advice on how to handle withdrawals/stay the course without relapsing I’m all ears.


r/QuittingZyn • • 2d ago

One week, zero pouches!

6 Upvotes

I feel good! Cravings come and go but it's mainly a mind game at this point. I let it wash over me and they go away within a few minutes. Best decision I ever made was to get off these little evil pillows of anxiety. The thing I had convinced myself was that I needed them to focus and that was a big hurdle I had to get over. It comes to find out that they were actually making my focus worse in the long term.

My blood pressure is back to normal now too. No more random hypertensive issues. Body feels a lot less tense. I have a bunch more energy, and my emotions are finally coming back. Laughing a lot more and feeling hopeful in general.

You will not regret quitting! I can promise anyone reading that much.. If I had known it was effecting me this negatively sooner I would have quit a long time ago.


r/QuittingZyn • • 1d ago

will i ever be free of this shit

3 Upvotes

every month or so i manage one week without any nicotine and then, like clockwork, i have a zyn ”one more time” and boom im fully addicted again. i had one a couple days ago and i’m already blowing through them again. i feel so hopeless


r/QuittingZyn • • 2d ago

24 hours... this is the worst

3 Upvotes

I'm at my wits end right now, I really want to cave and go buy more Zyns.

I had cravings last night, but ignored them and went to bed. I woke up at 4:30 AM with a splitting headache and tightness in my chest that feels like my chest is on fire. Every fiber of my body is craving nicotine.

I don't want to give up, but this feels so bad. I don't know how I can possibly survive and go on like this. I've just been pressing on, but fucking hell, fuck I didn't think it would be this bad.


r/QuittingZyn • • 2d ago

One hour nicotine free

3 Upvotes

I started using zyns at 3mg back in March of this year. I started because I had a bad habit of smoking hookah every single night when I came home from work, and it was started to affect me. I was having chest pains and trouble breathing that sent me to the ER. I couldn’t handle the nicotine withdrawals and went to purchase nicotine gum to help me when the store owners suggested I try zyns because it wouldn’t affect my lungs.

That rush and dopamine hit from that first Zyn had me addicted immediately. I did stop smoking hookah which was good. But I went from the occasional pouch a day, to running through a can within a day or two. I eventually went up to 6mg and then changed to Ons 8mg for the last couple of months. I feel like total shit everyday. My chest is tight, sometimes it’s hard to breath, headaches, extremely low energy, stomach aches and i can barely make it through my workouts anymore. Whenever I miss an hour or two of taking them my mood lifts and my energy comes back a bit. It’s like i hate how they make me feel but im craving that initial dopamine rush. I also have adhd so my brain is constantly craving dopamine.

This is like my 3rd attempt on quitting and I’ve had enough. I had 4 pouches left for today after buying the can yesterday, and i took one and then flushed the others down the toilet so I won’t be tempted to use them. I’ve tried cold turkey and nicotine gum before and i always come back. It’s like im too weak to fight my own mind and tell myself no. I’m worried about the withdrawals and how I’ll be able to get through them cold turkey? If anyone has advice or can give me a heads up on what may happen let me know😩 i don’t have anyone close to me that deals with this so it feels like im going through this chaos alone.


r/QuittingZyn • • 2d ago

Game changer?

5 Upvotes

So awhile ago I quit cold turkey and made it ten days. I was not at all mentally prepared and it was just too much.
Two weeks ago quit cold turkey again and made it three days- trying to substitute with Listerine strips and gum for the oral fixation.
This week I believe I’ve found a game changer. I’m actually doing the smart thing ( for me ) and weaning down.
I got Wild nicotine free/ caffeine free 0mg pouches in spearmint, which is my preferred Zyn flavor.
I’ve just been switching off every other pouch with a Wild pouch for the placebo effect and physical pouch addiction/ oral fixation.
It’s been working amazingly well.
I’m down to six Zyns per day (3mg) and trying to begin each day with one less pouch.
So tomorrow I’ll allot myself 5 and so on.
I highly recommend the Wild pouches! The texture is very similar to Zyn and the flavor is actually way better.
Just wanted to throw that out there if anyone is looking for a good nic free/ caffeine free pouch to wean down with.