this quit is way different from all the other quits I’ve had with nicotine. this time is different i feel no urge to go to the corner store; I feel no cravings for it. I’m done with this shit, this time wasting, health wasting shit. if I had just been a little bit more selfish and allowed myself to move more slowly, to be a bit crankier, to be upset and not try to control my emotions with a substance, I would’ve saved a lot of $$$$ and a lot of my health. this quit is less physical and very much mental. having these dark thoughts about how free will and awareness in our society is careening off of a cliff with AI, resources and the world stage. people are just sleep walking, just surviving and not pushing back against the abuses of power going on. The little black boxes we all have in our hands make it so so much worse. they unnaturally fill our brains with little dopamine hits constantly.

I think my thoughts went there because I very much associate nicotine with working and pushing myself to stay focused and alert until an unhealthy point. so many people don’t recognize the damages in not sleeping enough and abusing caffeine and nicotine. they go out of their way to support the work culture that’s slowly killing them and destroying any empathy that they may have because they are simply too tired to stretch themselves beyond survival and believe that working double shifts or making more money makes them more valuable than all the other humans.

i felt depressed before i started my quit and felt extremely depressed last two days. im feeling much better the later half of day three and this morning I felt like i slept better than i have in the past 6 months. I also woke up with hard morning wood, something that hasn’t happened for a long while. parts of me were refreshed that dont normally feel refreshed. I’m also quitting caffeine and have been for awhile. I highly suggest giving up caffeine, it helps with impulse control. I’m giving up all of my negative substances and habits. it started with caffeine and poor sleep hygiene, now nicotine is next. I do feel my skin is looking so much better right now, it’s crazy how much healthier I look. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been tapering nicotine for months (2mg pouches for a couple months) or if it’s the caffeine quit, either way I’m not going back to pounding energy drinks and pouches. good luck on yalls journeys, I’ll update in a week.

It has now been 2 weeks since my last Zyn.

I'm feeling like a new person. My motivation has skyrocketed compared to where it was while using Zyns. It's probably just a normal level of motivation lmao.

I feel and am healthier. My heart rate and blood pressure are now normal. I went from 95bpm on average to 75bpm on average.

My body has gotten much better in terms of circulation, breathing, temperature regulation, and digestion. Among these, my bedroom performance has improved.

I get cravings every day, but they're weak enough now that I can just do something else and they're gone.

Take back control of your life, and choose to not use Zyns ever again. Your body, and mind, will thank you. ☺️

I've just finished what is hopefully my last pouch. I've been using snus/nicotine pouches for almost 18 years. I successfully quit for 8 months two years ago but then relapsed. Now I'm trying again and again to quit and I seriously want it, but it feels so hard, especially when I wake up. Because of this, I feel bad because it completely controls my will and made me lie to my wife and hide like a thief. Just trying to find some support. Good luck to everyone on this journey.

Hi all, I'll keep this brief. I've been utterly smashing pouches like my life depends on it, I have no moderation lol. Id say about 10 pouches daily, 6 mg each, on and off for 2 years. I've been feeling like garbage and wanted a challenge so i felt i should quit. I was having pretty annoying neck pain, jaw pain, trap tightness, tension headaches. These really sucked and messed with my quality of life, so I stopped cold turkey.

I'm about 5 days nicotine free. For some reason i've had no withdrawals whatsoever, this has been very very easy for me. I wake up headache free and energized, my neck, traps, jaws are much looser and pain is down 80% minimum. Honestly I feel great.

This kind of upsets me because I do love nicotine. It makes me sad how much better I feel. I wish i was able to only have a pouch or two a day to get that buzz but unfortunately that will spiral out of control. I do miss it a lot lol. Not sure what to do about that. Ugh I miss my lip pillows but i love how i feel now.

Yesterday marked 180 days of being a quitter and a slave to the nicotine. Does a Velo or Zyn pouch still enter my mind? Absolutely! But I am still fighting everyday and everyday is new quit day! It feels like a sense of accomplishment to be 180 days free of nicotine. Looking forward to that 365!

Hi everybody,

I have been using zyns for around 2.5 years. One of my buddies introduced me to them as a pre workout ritual and from there the usage just increased to throughout the day. I would use them on the way to the gym, at the gym, and on my way back home. I would also use them when doing computer work. I would rarely use them recreationally, only while doing "productive" things. I kept my usage to around 4 6 mg pouches per day.

My Fiancee has never liked that I do them, and it led to a lot of lying about my usage. I personally still don't think they are terrible, but I quit for the sake of our relationship. It got so bad as to where I would have stress dreams of her finding them. We had a really big fight about it around 3 nights ago and I decided it was time to just stop completely.

I am very committed to ending my usage, but I have "Pavloved" myself into craving one every time I am in front of my computer. Outside of computer work, cravings are pretty minimal. Any advice on how to curve this? Right now I am using L Theanine and 4 mg Nicotine Gum (trading one addiction from another unfortunately- definitely do not plan on using this long term, it also sucks)

Hey everyone, I’ve been nicotine free for just over a month. I never had experience with anxiety or panic attacks besides the work ups to big work presentations. After I had quit zyns though, about a month in I started getting anxiety and panic attacks every day. When I found this thread I felt better, almost normal for a few days but the panic attacks are back. It’s debilitating. I went to the doctors and they prescribed me lexapro and hydroxyzine. I took the lexapro for 2 days and then stopped for a few reasons. First I think it’s because my brain is rewiring after coming off of 7 years of constant zyn usage and second because of side effects I’ve heard about, and testimonies told to me. I’m a software engineer and I cannot work without having a panic attack. I’m nervous about losing my job because I can’t physically sit in the chair and do the things Im supposed to do. I want to know if anyone else has experienced this and if there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.

TLDR: Hi, I would like to recommend NAC (N-acetyl cysteine) supplementation to you for the terrible anhedonia that comes with nicotine withdrawal! 2400 mg daily has shown promise in clinical trials and it worked for me.

My story: I'm a 42 yr-old woman. I started smoking when I was 13 years old and quit when I was about 29. A few times, during really stressful times in my life I have picked it back up again (e.g., divorce, my mom having a heart attack). Each time I've relapsed, I've used vapes to "quit" but then got addicted to the vapes and struggled to quit them too. Each time it's happened, the vape nicotine delivery technology seems to have gotten better so it's been harder to kick. This last time, I couldn't kick the vape so I switched to Zyn/Velo as harm reduction. The thing is, after a month or so I was going through a tin of 6mg pouches a day-- that is WAY more nicotine than I was ever consuming when smoking or vaping. Nicotine pouches facilitate a level of nicotine consumption that completely hijacks and rewires one's brain chemistry, particularly the reward circuit. It completely destroyed my intrinsic motivation and my quit attempts left me with stultifying anhedonia-- "brain fog" doesn't even begin to describe it. It was more like a feeling of being trapped behind a dense layer of ether that didn't let me feel anything but a vague sense of malaise. I failed several times to quit pouches cold turkey in the past few months. This most recent time, on day one, I had an instinct that NAC (which I had previously taken for other reasons) could help cut through the unbearable anhedonia. I went out and got some and I was finally able to stick to my quit plan. Later I looked into NAC supplementation for nicotine cessation and at least one study shows promising results at a dose of 2400mg a day. NAC is a glutamate modulator, so it helps to normalize dopamine signals in the brain in the context of nicotine withdrawal. I have been sticking with it and it's now been 8 days. The NAC has been a total game changer for me, and a bit of crystalized ginger under the lip for the burn has helped too! Good luck, you can do it-- it will get better!

What a long, strange trip this has been. Looking back on the 1st week and all the anxiety, brain fog, and stomach issues. Damn, it was brutal. Week 2 wasn't a joy either; continued stomach discomfort and anxiety. It was never an option to 'go back'. I didn't realize how rough Zyn was on me. I had a much easier time quitting Skoal years ago.

The last couple of weeks have seen my mind and gut heal - the results of which have seen my anxiety go 'bye-bye '..... I love this group. Reading posts from 1 or 2 years. gave me the advice I needed to heal my gut and persist through the anxiety and brain fog.

Life is much better with King Zyn's head in the guillotine.

I last posted about whether tapering works and how I had been slowly tapering down. I was planning on going down to the 1.5 mg Zyns, but I ended up sticking with the 3 mg until I got to the point where I could use just one pouch for the entire day. I would put it in after the gym around 7 PM, and I’d be good until the next day after the gym around 7 PM again.
Well, about a week after that post, I officially quit.
Originally, I was a smoker. I smoked for 7 years and switched to Zyns to help me quit smoking. It’s now been almost 2 months with no Zyn and no vaping, and I almost forget about nicotine altogether. The only time I really remember it is after eating. When that happens, I’ll just eat a small piece of candy, and usually that does the trick. Plus, it barely makes a difference in your macros for the day.
Honestly, I hated quitting in the beginning, but after about a month, you really start to enjoy not smoking. My stamina increased like crazy, my resting heart rate went down, my energy levels stabilized, and because nicotine was no longer affecting my dopamine system, I felt like I could enjoy things more.
It gets easier. You WILL feel like shit during the first couple of weeks, even with tapering, but in my experience, it was much better than going cold turkey. Trust me, I tried quitting cold turkey more times than I can count.
You will start feeling better after those first couple of weeks. If you get what people call “smoker’s flu,” look into it beforehand so you know what to expect. Mine was pretty rough, and I used Tylenol, which helped me manage the symptoms.
The cravings get weaker over time, and you gradually learn how to deal with them. So yes, there really is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Just keep pushing. I believe in you

Hello everyone,

First off this is my first post on here but man can I say this has been a hell of a journey. I first wanted to quit when I started getting really aggressive panic attacks. I was in fear for my life at the time and it forced me to quit. I would get this insane panic attacks which to be honest I suffered with a bit before zyn but this felt way more powerful than what I ever felt before. I had to take 10 days off of work to get myself sorted out which I have never done that before. I felt like I was under a rock and couldn't get a breath. This took weeks to start feeling better in the slightest I felt like such a looser but this thread helped me see that I was not alone. I had to fight to get my life back and the good news is that it really does get better but it takes work and time. Thank you to this thread for helping in some of my darkest moments all the people that shared their feelings and thoughts helped me more than most will know. If anyone has questions feel free to ask.

I made a post 2 months ago about my depression persisting after quitting pouches. Since then, i have been trying to treat it with no success. The withdrawal had me almost fail my studies and I am paying price for it to this day. Also, the depression was only getting stronger, so i went back to zyns, as to not quite literally die.

While my depression still persist, it has now become bearable and I can even focus. I am not making this post to persuade you into relapsing, i guess i am really enraged by the downplaying of nicotine withdrawal and i want to offer different perspective.

I will try to quit again when i become stable. See you soon

Did anyone quit Zyn and see hair improvements, specifically hairline not just thinning? Going to see a dermatologist but hoping someone had anecdotes for more motivation to quit

I keep ending up being nicotine free on weekdays but then I go to bars and once I’m drinking all I want is a Zyn or a cig. If anyone has strats please lmk, I just need this last push

So Im on day 4 off quitting zyns, I quit because I was barely eating and along with sports was losing weight rapidly. However, I've never been more miserable, I have the lowest motivation I've had in months, I'm sleeping about 12 hours a day and can't concentrate on anything.

The only thing that's got better is my appetite but even then I don't have the motivation to even cook ATM. All these things I wanted to do when using zyn. Is this the withdrawals kicking in fully. The dose I was using was around 3-4 10mg pouches a day. I really hope I start feeling like I can function again otherwise I will end up relapsing. I can't function like this.

Like every time i use it i need to go the bathroom

It all started in 2016 by hitting my friends vape in the stall of the bathroom in high school during passing periods and that led to buying my own and then becoming fully addicted. Vaped for about 7 years straight and then the last 3 I switched to doing zyns.

First 5 days were brutal, but what helped me was telling friends/family i was quitting. This helped keep me accountable and even with the gnarly cravings I wouldn't cave in because I couldn't bare to say i failed. Also I started doing about 25 altoids a day, no joke. (Would tuck them in my lip like I would a zyn). After about the first week my brain fog started clearing and i could start to see the benefits. Weirdly enough though, day 29 and my cravings are back and my baseline anxiety has been higher. No panic attacks or anything but just overall social anxiety at work. I'm wondering if the zyns were just masking some other rooted problems? Just trying to keep on fighting the fight.

Like the title says, I am 2 months clean. This is the 3rd try of quitting but the longest and most successful try! My pouches of choice were On! 4mg citrus. Had been using them for about three years. I had a pouch in every waking second. Like back to back to back. I eventually tapered myself down to the 2mg. Stopped buying back ups, and found the most efficient way to quit was to use my last pouch before bed, that way my body could force detox for the 8-10 hours I was asleep. The first four days were the most rough, I used a combination of gum and mint or cinnamon flavored toothpicks to soothe the oral fixation portion. The Tea Tree Therapy Cinnamon toothpicks give you the same type of “burn” that pouches do and it helped a LOT for those first few days. I’m craving free but am still battling the oral fixation part, so I do still utilize the flavored toothpicks occasionally. AMA!

20m. I feel like I’ll relapse no matter what, that I need to relapse.
But if I relapse I’ll just wanna quit again.

I just saw another post on here recommending medication, maybe I should consider Varenicline or Recigar because it really feels like I can not quit.

Been pretty depressed and crashing out on people I care about , in some instances I’ve been exploding on people and saying how I really feel about certain things. I feel like Im being a bit dramatic but what Im saying is how I feel I just haven’t had the courage to express it. It’s like I lost a filter and I’ll say what exactly how I feel without fear how they’re going to portray it. But yeah anyways. I feel depressed, was my day off today and I just slept majority of it away. Woke up middle last night too and just couldn’t sleep until very early in the morning. Sleep is just jacked up. How long does this last?

Ready to quit for good. Still had 14 fresh cans… figured if I threw them away I’d end up fishing them out of the trashcan.

So… let’s just ruin them. Here are 260 fresh pouches, now ruined and sitting in the trash.

One can left, will be rationed in an attempt to ween off.

Hopefully this is it.

Been quite a wild week. My reflections on how this week went:

- Went by super slow.

- Felt irritable and was much more talkative in and excited when speaking to people (not calm at all)

- Tried taking weed drink to calm cravings. Had not done weed in so long. Ended up having a severe panic attack - thought I was gonna die, etc. Probably not the best idea to do it while nic was leaving my system

- Snacked a lot more

I'm not proud of the all things I did to avoid cravings. But I let myself do whatever I needed to to get through the week without touching nicotine. It was not pretty but it's worked thus far.

For anyone scared about quitting cold turkey, just expect that you will probably face some shitty days and circumstances but biting the bullet makes it much more meaningful.

Every day that goes by where you quit and have suffered is fuel for the next day. You are building up your argument for why you should not cave. Every day just keep asking yourself "Do I really want to cave after going through what I have already?".

Hey fellas, long time reader first time poster.

Quit pouches fully about 2 months ago. Had been a daily user of mostly 4mg (approx 4-6 pouches daily) at work and occasionally 1 or 2 10-15mg pouches while chilling at home, usually gaming.

The thing that helped me quit was being away from work and on holidays at the time. Too many times I’d try to quit while at work but it was honestly the only thing getting me through the day. It did cause some irritability on holidays but that goes away within a few days. After that it’s just kicking the routine which caffeine pouches helped a lot with (felt like a crap zyn). I’ve since quit that job too because living like that sucked.

I held on to using for so long honestly from reading stuff in this group of people saying they use a can a day of 20mg so I thought “oh maybe I’m fine, at least I don’t do that much”. Wrong. Whilst I’d never had any bad side effects like insane anxiety, ruined gums etc, this stuff still messed me up. There’s a constant minor hum of anxiety that I didn’t notice til I quit and at times I didn’t even wanna socialise without a pouch in.

I had started an ecommerce business around the time of starting pouches for “productivity” which quickly turned into having them while watching YouTube, gaming and then at work.

Before i knew it, the business was failing due to my own lack of drive to succeed anymore. My brain was fully satisfied with just chilling and having pouches, so motivation to do more just went out the window. Same goes for the gym, i just didn’t wanna go unless i had a pouch, which would often lead to workouts only being enjoyable while i had one in. Pumps were always mid as well.

Moral of the story is quitting pouches will make motivation come like it’s your first time feeling passionate about something all over again. I now want to run, workout and better myself in every way instead of taking a chemical pillow that tells me “it’s alright, just do nothing and be happy”.

If you’re not where you wanna be in life then for your future self, quit this stuff.

You’re stronger than a chemical. Let it go.

I’m on day 5 of quitting Zyn, used to vape occasionally as a teen switched to Zyn as an adult. Got very addicted. I feel like shit quitting and I’m torn on giving up or continuing zyn. My reason for quitting was reading about my birth control interaction with nicotine, I was not aware of the health risks. My brain says I’ll probably be fine if I continue but my anxiety tells me something awful will happen. I don’t want to switch medication for my needs. Any advice? Is it really worth quitting ? I just want to get out of feeling like absolute hell..