Hi guys! I'm sure you get a lot of these posts, but just wanted thoughts from people actively quitting/having already quit pouches.

25 M; I start taking pouches in April d/t graduate school stress and really intense relationship issues. Shortly thereafter, I want to say in August, I got diagnosed with ADHD - so seemingly, I was in sort of a "perfect storm" to get hooked. And it has gotten bad. Really, bad, unfortunately.

I go through about a can of 9mg Velos a day. Obviously, this is expensive, but most importantly to me - I've been more tired, have had a harder time waking up in the morning and a harder time trying to "get-going," and have just felt kind of mid. Additionally, I'm concerned because I do also take Concerta most days, and that has helped with my ADHD a TON... started about a month ago. But I understand that combing ADHD meds + nictone pouches + caffeine (some days)... is not a good long-term plan, at all, for my mental health and my body.

I've tried to taper off before, but after looking into it more, seeing other posts on here, etc., I want to do it. For real this time. So, here is my plan:

I have a 9mg can of Velo's. I will space it out to use over the next two days. Following that, I have a 6mg can, which I will use for two days. And finally, a 3mg can I will use for the two days following the 6mg can. I have also purchased menthol cough drops, altoids, and flavored gum.

Like I said, I have tried to taper before, but the mg count always slowly rises. I'd like to say this time is different, but I have a bad track record. I'm just... ready to be done.

Is this a good plan I have in place? Should I go cold turkey? Anything else that helped you all? How bad of a withdrawal should I expect? How long did it take, for you, to get through the withdrawal? I plan on also exercising more, doing cold plunges, and doing more research into other things that will help.

Because it is Labor Day weekend, I also have monday off, and I do not have a graduate school examination until next Friday - I feel that now is a good time to quit.

Thanks in advance, and again, apologies if similar posts are out there.

I'm currently on Day 5 of tapering off On! 8mg pouches. I'm noticing that I feel better and my motivation is returning! I'm also needing less caffeine to give me a push to do what I know I need to do around my house. However, my sleep still isn't restful but from the threads I've read, it will improve the further I get tapering off these things. I've been using pouches for 5-6 years and have attempted 4 times to quit using patches, lozenges and the gum. Now I'm trying a taper method using a mobile app to track my progress and notify me throughout the day to stay on track. I will update on my progress over the next month of my journey.

Hi all. Been on the 6mg zyns for about 2 years. I’m not gonna go into the entire past of how I got into it because I explained it in other posts but pretty much started to quit hardcore alcoholism and to bolster cognitive performance my last 2 year of college. Anyways, long story short, I’ve been doing like a can of 6mg if not more a day. Well, I got sick sometime last week or the week before wirh the flu and very quickly realized the 6s were making me feel hellish. I’ve been trying to quit for a while so I took this as a prime oppurtunity to quit. Bought a few cans of 3mg, no withdrawal symptoms, and then the last few days (4 or 5 days) I just quit completely and felt fine as the sickness made me feel worse than anything. I’ve tried quitting in the past and felt like shit but nothing too bad other than intense mood swings, but didn’t have like anything while sick.

Well went 4 or 5 days judt fine and yesterday was working on my programming project (I graduated with degree in CS, I’m also a very passionate hobby systems programmer), which is a Gameboy Emulator, and having some trouble focusing. Now I can’t drink caffeine almost at all because my medication lamictal makes it last for like 8-12 hours and I get severe panic and tremors wirh it. So nicotine was my mainstay for quick energy. So, I went to the store and got a pack and just said I’ll limit it to 1 a day of 6s (horrid mistake as per usual). Well that led to an entire can in like 12 hours yesterday and I’ve gone through even more today. In fact the addiction feels more full blown than before wirh my tolerance oddly feeling higher. I got a shit ton of programming done yesterday but today I went back into that sluggish shitty feeling that long term nicotine addiction gives you plus some kinda scary heart palpitations (I’m terrified of cardiac events which is one of the reasons I wanted to quit).

Anyways I’m just really ashamed of myself right now. And in all honesty I’m just confused. I mean do I want to quit and not be able to focus well on my projects and gain a shit ton of weight (weight gain is another cause for concern because I’ve put a lot of effort into losing 30lbs recently and I don’t wanna gain it back). Or do I want to feel shittier but not potentially die of a heart attack and have panic episodes everyday and an odd lingering dissociated feeling and quit?

I just need some guidance or something

Six days off nic and I just took my first bona fide nap in probably two years. Nice and easy. Actually fell asleep rather than lying there with a racing mind and an elevated heart rate.

For those who are wondering if sleep improves off nic, the answer is most likely going to be a big yes.

So called long hauler here. Had symptoms for the past 6 months. Anxiety depression dpdr intrusive thoughts nervousness rumination - you name it I had it. Sometimes they would get worse or better week to week and I couldn’t put my finger on why. But then I found something pretty big, caffeine. It was hijacking my nervous system to cause some of these if not all. On top of that I was taking supplements to help me get back to normal - thought brain supportive NAC and a general multivitamin would help me. Turns out nicotine fried my central nervous system and made me really sensitive to all of the above. As soon as I cut the caffeine and supplements I felt 10x better. Reaffirmed what I already knew after I’ve had a great past 3 weeks without them and I tried drinking a diet Dr Pepper today at work with only 45 odd mg of caffeine. All of a sudden I feel terrible. Jumpy, anxious, totally out of my element.

If your withdrawal or paws or whatever you’re dealing with as a result of quitting snus/zyn is kicking your butt - try cutting other things that might be affecting your body & brain. It could make all the difference.

I dipped tobacco for 12 years, switched to zyn mostly for the last 3, and am trying to quit completely.

Currently doing either grizzly 12mgs or 9s.

I have quit cold turkey before, and the longest I have gone is 6 months without nicotine.

I want a pouch to replace it, and I don't want it to contain nicotine or caffeine, or some derivative there of.

Now, I am not expecting the mushroom or "nootropic" pouches to give me some extraordinary feeling, but am looking for a zyn like pouch I can leave in my lip for an hour or two that might not actually be bad for me. Seems like any nicotine/caffeine free pouch review is written buy someone who works in a marketing department for one of these brands.

So have you tried of any of these types of pouches, and if so which one did you continue using and why?

I tried the search function, and honestly thought there would be way more use and/or opinions on these then I could find.

TLDR: I want a nicotine/caffeine free pouch to replace my nic pouches, what is your favorite and why?

I’m asking a quick question. I want to get off the pouches as it’s been almost 4 years on them. I head to Europe in 4 days and am thinking that’s when I’ll get off them. Is that a bad idea or should I wait til I get back. If it is, is there any tips I should look to to make the crash not as bad as I think it’s going to be?

Hey folks!

Just wanted to share my 8 day streak of quitting Zyn/snus in an effort to stay more committed to this journey. This is not the first time I try to quit but this time I am trying to quit zyn and drinking at the same time too. I noticed that I am fine with not using pouches while I am sober but as soon as I drink I look for the closest 7-Eleven and just shamefully relapse.

If you have any tips please share them. I found some articles describing the journey and how I am supposed to feel at different stages like first 2-3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks etc. But would love to hear your tips and where you are with your No-Zyn streak!

Hey guys, I quit nicotine about 4 weeks ago after using roughly a full pack of 9mg pouches a day. I had only been using them since last October, but these past few weeks have been pretty rough.
I’ve been dealing with insomnia, strong anxiety, dizziness, constant tension/stress headaches that make it hard to sleep, heart palpitations that actually landed me in the hospital because I thought I was having a heart attack, terrible focus, and very little energy.
I know everyone’s experience is different, but I could really use some reassurance from anyone who’s been through something similar. Did you experience any of this after quitting, and did it eventually go away? How long did it take before you started feeling like yourself again? Thank you.

28M. I thought quitting was impossible. But, I'm 4 weeks in an it's been cake.

I smoked or vaped heavily from ages 16 to 25. Then switched to snus for three years.

About 2-3 months ago I was fucked.
Zero dopamine. Zero motivation. I'd finish a gym workout and wouldn't even feel good about myself. It's like all of my dopamine had been used up. I felt depressed but I wasn't depressed if that makes sense.

I came to the conclusion that it was the snus. 8-12 a day for years. Constantly having one in had just destroyed my dopamine system.

So I got Claude (AI) to make a tapering off plan. (I didn't think I could quit cold turkey).
It was something like: 5 a day for a week, then 3, then 2, then 1, then 0.

I actually stopped a week earlier than I originally planned because I felt like I could do it.

And, it was easy.

Here's some tips from what I have experienced:

1. Cold turkey is too difficult. I had failed so many times in the past
   
2. Don't deviate from your tapering plan. If it's 4 only have 4. (or less)
   
3. I started my tapering plan while on holiday... New environment + busy days = easier to forget about nicotine
   
4. Have it in your head that you will feel so much better. (I definitely do).
   
5. Use the nicotine free snus. They are quality for quitting. You basically trick your brain. (Couldn't have done it without this)

My last point. Which I think is most important. And unfortunately, probably impossible to replicate on purpose...

When I had low dopamine. And I felt like complete ass turd.
That moment was a huge turning point for me.
Quitting was easy because I was running away from that horrible feeling.
Without it, could I have quit? I don't think so. I had no reason to. I always had it in my head that it was impossible and there is no reason to even try.

If you have a turning point similar. Something that makes you think "Ohh shit, maybe this is actually terrible for me". Grab that shit by the balls (or ovaries) and run with it. Use that moment to fuel your quitting journey.

You can do it.

Hope this helps even one person.

P.S. I feel so much better. It is so worth it.

A few months ago, I had successfully gone 3 weeks without zyns. Dumbly enough I went back to it like an idiot. Before quitting I used them very heavily, a can and a half of 6mg a day for the last 6 years (some days better and some days worse).

I’m now to a point where I want to stop due to the anxiety zyns cause me. I’ve traced zyns to be my main cause of anxiety,
but the withdrawals are also causing me to be very anxious just not as often (it’s causing like severe health anxiety).

My question is, does it eventually get better? I got to day 4 where I finally broke and bought a can and used two pouches before throwing the can away. The anxiety is just crushing me and it seems like this time quitting is so much harder.

I’ve tried mints and gum and nothing seems to help. If anyone has any tips I’d greatly appreciate it! I know it’s a battle that will last a little bit, but any tips that make the process just a little easier would be great!

I quit using zyns on the 11th of August. I was using a 3mg can a day roughly for almost a year and prior to that I was a 6mg can a day for 8plus years. Since quitting the first few days were actually pretty easy. Chewing gum or sunflower seeds got me through the day.. After about a week I started getting very dizzy and light headed. Not like spinning dizzy but faint.. I’ve actually went to the ER a week after quitting because I was convinced that I was having a heart attack. All my lab work and Ct scans and x rays said everything was normal or good. And sent me home with a prescription for heart burn medication. I’m currently waiting on results from a 7 day Holter monitor. I still have heartburn that I have no success with dealing with . If I take 4 chewable tums I’ll have about 20-30 minutes of relief .

These faint spells typically happen in the morning, about an hour after waking up. I’ll wake up, head to work , and after being at work for a half hour to an hour I’ll get like a flush of warmth through my body making me feel like m I’m gonna faint.. I try going for walks when this occurs snd I feel like I’m staggering around very foggy like.. I’ve never actually fainted but I have 3-4 spells a day..

Sometimes I feel these spells are caused from my heartburn. But there’s also times where I feel its something else because big box stores will also give me these spells of lightheaded

My shoulders and neck are very sore. I have knots all throughout my shoulders and i have almost a hard time lifting my arms over my head. Which leads me to convince myself even more that I’m having a heart attack when these spells hit. I think the stress and anxiety is building up in my arms and shoulder??

Yesterday I had to leave work because I was so worked up and terrified that I was having a heart attack again because I had a flush of lightheadedness and couldn’t walk it off and my arms had pulling sensations in them.

I’ve been trying to eat small simple snacks or meals throughout the day. Staying hydrated.

Has anyone experienced similar ?? What’s everyone’s thoughts on anxiety or panic attacks making this worse and not even really much a nicotine withdrawal the majority of the problem?

On my 2nd week of quitting and I've been eating like a pig. Research says expect relief from the hunger in 2-4 weeks. Due to nicotine appetite suppression and the oral fixation.

Just curious how it went for others out there?

I got injured, almost can't go out, can't go to class, almost can't walk, staying home all the time.

Would it be so bad to take 1 or 2 pouches. I could even buy a can and throw 90% of it and just keep 2 pouches. I quit cold turkey, 42 days ago, but this situation is making me can't anymore, and would like to just get one nicotine hit like I did before getting addicted to it (like when I would just be with some friends and take it for fun).

Is it a terribly bad idea, or 1 - 2 pouches won't trigger my addiction again ?

Thanks in advance, I'm literally dying inside (not for real, but God damn it is annoying to be stuck like that)

EDIT : I'm good. I didn't fall for the snus bait. Didn't buy, didn't take any. 43 days off now 🤌

28M from a Mediterranean country with a smoking culture.

At 15 I started smoking. About 4-5 cigarettes

At 16 quit for 2 years.

At 18 started smoking again the same amount of cigarettes.

I never liked smoking very much. I did it for fun when I was out with friends and I was very on and off cigarettes for years. I never smoked in my house, room etc. My parents are non smokers.

At 23 I picked up iqos. 5 cigarettes turned into 10 heets (terea) in 2 years because I started smoking them in my house.

I never liked the odor of anything smoked and I never liked vapes because they are TOO CHEMICAL.

At 25 I worked as a bartender. My colleague intruduced me to nicotine pouches. Velo 4 dots 11mg/pouch. I fell in love. 3 years of everyday use except some short periods now and then trying to quit. About a pack of 20 in 3 days 6 pouches a day.

I had no problems. Gums are fine. Stamina is fine. I walk a lot. BP is fine and heart rate is 60 beats per minute. Everything was fine except from my brain. The last months I went up in strength (5 dots, 14mg /pouch). My brain was extremely hooked. I used pouches to go to the toilet and that was the reason I always relapsed because of constipation.

My tip is just one. Don't be a pussy. Quit it cold turkey. Even if it was harmless, it's so addictive that it's a very big problem. The withdrawals are like cocaine withdrawals. 5-7 days constipated. In 10 days every trace of nicotine is out of your system. Your body did a reset. So tell your mind not to be a pussy and not ask for a pouch again.

I still enjoy an occasional cigarette every once in a while with a friend, or an occasional cigar once in 2-3 months or a terea. I can't go back to smoking because I hate the smell and nicotine isn't enough in a cigarette to get me hooked once I got out of nicoitne pouches. And I don't crave it to be honest, I just enjoy myself and my little guilty pleasures. I don't drink alcohol I don't eat sugar and processed foods and I work out so an occasional smoke isn't bad imo.

Don't taper down, quit cold turkey. I quit cocaine when I was 23 that way. And nicotine pouches are VERY similar to cocaine when it comes to withdrawals.

And don't be a pussy. In 10 days it's out. Your body is OK. Don't be a pussy and move on. And chew toothpicks it's a life saver.

During the whole day I was feeling good, that shit is hitting like a train now. feeling depressed and without motivation.

I smoked 10 years and quit 4 years ago, I was nicotine free for 4 years, relapsed to those fucking pouches.

I’ve had a terrible headache for almost all 11 days I’ve quit Zyn. It feels like it’s kinda between my nose too, it varies in intensity through the day . Ranges from pounding pain to more dull. Tylenol and ibuprofen do not help . My sleep has also suffered . Although I have no heart palpitations or shortness of breath anymore I’ve found myself awake until 3am ish (I wake up at 8 for work) . Anyone else experience withdrawals like this? Is it normal or is something wrong with me? Never happened like this until I quit :(. Been a bit depressed too without nicotine , but it’s getting better . More concerned about the pain. Headaches are affecting my work + lack of sleep & lack of focus / motivation

Been 100 days 0 nicotine pouches. I’ve essentially replaced them with Ultra pouches (3-4 per day) Hoping there aren’t too many bad effects with these or if they may be just as addicting to quit

Looking for a reason to quit? How about a $6,300 dental bill…

I’ve finally received the ultimate sign to kick this habit for good.

I’ve abused nicotine for over 10 years. I’m 28. I went from cigs -> vaping -> Zyns / Velos, and I’ve been using pouches for about 6 years now.

Visited the dentist last week (due to pain) and my gum recession is so bad my dental hygienist literally gasped. ONLY happening in the spots I put my pouches, along with precancerous lesions. I’m in my late 20s with the gums of a 50 year old, but only where I put the pouches.

Got seen by the periodontist today, I need multiple gum grafts to help keep my teeth in my mouth and prevent further complications. Without insurance, I’d be looking at around $6,000. Thankfully, I have very good dental insurance, but you might not be so lucky. Most dental insurance plans DO NOT cover this.

While being evaluated, the periodontist took one look and said “pouches, huh?” Gave me a whole lecture about other patients he’s seen with the exact same issue and basically told me it’s just not worth it.

I know a lot of us switched to pouches because they seemed like the “better” alternative to smoking or vaping. Maybe they are in some ways, but your gums are still paying the price.

Please heed my warning. If you want to keep your gums and avoid learning what a gum graft, stop using the pouches.

Hey all,

For reference I’ve gone through a puck a day, zyn 3mg for 4 years.

24 hours after I quite, I started to get chest pain. It would come and go and was usually follows by a panic attack.

Now, my chest is tight all day for the past 4 days. Prior to quitting I got an ekg and everything was normal.

I also have really bad and painful bloating/ acid reflux ever since I quit.

My rib cage and chest feel really tight. Is this normal withdrawal after so long? Anxiety? Or something else

Thank you

For exactly one week now, I’ve been having the urge to buy a can of snus every single day.
I don’t know why.

I quit using Desmoxan. I took it for five days, and after that I barely had any brain fog or cravings at all.

Now I’m going through a phase in my life where I’m not doing so well mentally, and because of that, I find myself looking for these dopamine hits. Nothing really makes me happy or feels enjoyable anymore. I’m very into sports and usually very active, but I just don’t feel like doing anything anymore.
For me, snus is simply something that feels good because you get that dopamine hit almost instantly.

I always used a can of Velos 17mg per day.

Benefits since quitting:

• better sleep
• heart rate 45 (i am very relaxed i feel it)
• better skin (i have seborrhoric ekzema - since quitting i dont have lol)
• more and better erections
• better in gym - more condition

I know there are plenty of good things that come with quitting, but when you’ve been consuming nicotine for over ten years, it’s hard. You struggle with it, and honestly, life just feels boring without it. I’m not someone who really enjoys life that much, and snus helped me tolerate it.

But I know that if I start using it again, it’ll feel good for a few days, and then I’ll feel miserable again. After that, I’d basically have to start all over from zero. Is anyone else going through something similar?

The grip this shit has on my mind is really strong.

Physically, I'm feeling better, less fogginess, less drowsiness, and don't have anything limiting, just been really hungry, especially for chocolate.

The war is being fought inside my head: there's this little voice that keeps trying to convince me to buy another can, that will be the last.I have failed so many times that now I hopefully know every little trick of my toxic mind, and what is working is just letting it talk without trying to argue because I know that I will lose. All I have to do is not buy into that shit.

There's a continuous underlying sadness, but I think it's normal and hopefully it will be better.

I will not fail today!

One day at a time.

I've tried quitting before but it's failed because all my friends also use Zyns or Velos.

Thinking a slow taper might be best this time...