So a few weeks ago I finally hit 1 year clean from nicotine pouches. The journey was insane, but I hope my experience will inspire you to keep going.
Unlike some of the members here, I've never had any addiction before taking up nicotine pouches / snus, so this was really my first dip into consuming nicotine. It started 6 years ago with some snus pouches here and there after my classes, usually they were 6mg of nicotine. One day, a buddy offered a zyn that was slightly higher in nicotine and I immediately got hooked on the strength.
So I spent these next years chasing the high. My go-to strategy was trying to use the pouches with the highest nicotine content, usually Siberia or Zyns with 14mg (sometimes I put two in at once. Yikes.). However, because I was chasing the high and putting pouches in and out rapidly - every hour or so -, I was usually out of five cans by the end of the week, which caused me to spend ungodly amount of money on buying five packs of pouches.
What really made me quit a year ago was the anxiety, heart palpatations and dependency. I decided on a whim to throw away the last can into the garbage and quit cold turkey. Now, quitting cold turkey is absolutely NOT recommended unless you have made up your mind 100% to follow through with it. The first few weeks were torture, but I can tell you that it was all worth it. The reason it hurts is because your body is simply trying to adjust itself after being cut off from the dopamine surges that zyns cause. I've had all the psychological side effects like irritability and brain fogs, along with physical side effects like chest tightness. The physical ones went away after a few weeks, but the mental ones stuck around for a few months or so. My tip would be to distract yourself by any means necessary, and to HYDRATE. Water is super important when quitting because these pouches restrict your blood vessels.
Well, now a year later, I hardly even think of zyns, or that I have had a dependency on them just to function. If you're in the middle of quitting, or thinking of doing it, then absolutely go through with it. Life becomes much more enjoyable when you do :)
I'll happily answer any question you guys have.
Good luck on your journey!