Bad Reaction

[OttR]

EDIT 9/08: It turns out it was the tobacco I was smoking that was irritating my throat and I believe the pepper in the snus aggravated it. See my third post in this thread for more info.

I really don't want to post this because I don't want to turn anyone away from snus if it helps to quit smoking. But I'd feel irresponsible if I didn't.

Started snus six days ago. Until today, all was going well. My throat was a little bit sore from it. (Had no throat issues before I started it.) I thought it just needed time to adjust.

Today I put in a portion and almost instantly, I had a pretty bad reaction to it. My throat closed up and I couldn't swallow and almost couldn't breathe for a minute or two. I spit it out and calmed down, but since then, my throat has been bleeding. I've been spitting up blood since that happened. Not lots and lots of it, but some.

I would like to think it was something other than the snus that caused it, but it's pretty clear. I'm sure it will be better tomorrow (it's healing up and the blood is less and less), but now I'm afraid to try it again.

This is really depressing. I was starting to get in to it.

[snusjus]

Personally, I've never had that problem. However, if you recently quit smoking, your body might be re-adjusting from inhaling tobacco smoke.

Which brand are you using? I've heard that Goteborgs Rape causes a swelling reaction in some users.

[sagedil]

Never ever heard anything even close. My only guess is your throat is reacting to the salt. Normally, this is something the body adjusts to within a week to 10 days.

Strange...

Are you ever gonna try it again? I sure would understand if you didn't, but suspect you won't have that reaction again in a few days

[lxskllr]

What brands exactly?

I've heard of people having issues with the juniper in Göteborgs, and with the smoke flavoring in various kinds. Could it be something like that?

[Jason]

Yes, please post the brand(s) you were using so we can narrow it down; as mentioned, GR has caused reactions like this several times.

[OttR]

It was General original portion. This was my second day of using that. The first few days I used General white. This happened with the second portion I used this morning.

I was still smoking, though I've cut down an awful lot because I'm starting to come to prefer the snus instead. Yesterday I only had two cigarettes.

I guess it could be the reaction to the salt. But snus doesn't seem much saltier than other things I eat; I can eat salted sunflower seeds no problem (though I've never tried to eat them for six days straight).

Maybe I was swallowing too much of the juice? I didn't think so, because there is hardly any flavor if there is no juice and everyone raves about the flavor, so I thought having a little trickle of juice and swallowing it was the way to go. Is that not right?

My throat has stopped bleeding now, but it's still sore. I think I will try again in a couple of days after it gets to feeling normal again. I'll report back when I do.

I don't want to give up on snus. I was starting to see a real way out of the smoking hole. I had already started wanting snus after meals instead of cigarettes.

It just occurred to me that this might have been something my stupid smoking-addicted brain tried in a last-ditch effort to get me to quit the snus and go back to smoking. It sounds silly, but I've gone through some really crazy mental battles with myself over smoking; it wouldn't surprise me too much.

Okay, not too serious about that last part; it could be just the salt or the pepper or other flavoring, or swallowing too much juice.

I'll try again.

[lxskllr]

Try a brand that doesn't have smoke flavoring. LD might be a reasonable choice, or perhaps a Gotland product.

[Roo]

Or maybe since the problem is all in your throat and not your mouth you could try spitting for a few days and gradually re-acclimate to the juice? Whatever the case, crappy problem my friend, hope it gets resolved. The throat-closing and breathing difficulties definitely sound like an allergic reaction. That happens to me if I eat watermelon, which (needless to say) I don't anymore. And watermelon, like snus, kicks ass.

[VBSnus]

The throat cloasing thing happened to me once. It was while using Thunder Wintergreen, lying on my back, and getting a lot of juice straight down the throat. Suddenly I had the urge to swallow and I couldn't. My brain started freaking out, and even though I could breathe I found myself holding my breath and frantically trying to swallow...it was somehow like a drowning feeling. Then I figured out if I turned my head to the side, I'd have no problem.

That only happened once. I've snused on my back since and never had an issue.

[RobsanX]

I've never spat blood from using snus. Hopefully it's just a freak occurrence, since snus can really help you to quit smoking...

[simon]

Go get checked for an ulcer man.. Might have irritated an ulcer in your esophagus. Something you probably wouldn't have notice till tobacco juice hit it and irritated the hell out of it...

[Veganpunk]

Another thing, where are you putting the snus? Try putting it closer to the front of your mouth, you will get a significant less amount of drip that way.

[Nicobuzz]

Wot Simon said is good advice - sounds like an ulcer in your throat.
There is no way that snus would cause bleeding in your throat unless you've got an underlying problem. Get your throat checked out.

I can understand an allergic reaction doing something like this but it wouldn't cause the blood.

[dupee419]

Wot Simon said is good advice - sounds like an ulcer in your throat.
There is no way that snus would cause bleeding in your throat unless you've got an underlying problem. Get your throat checked out.

I can understand an allergic reaction doing something like this but it wouldn't cause the blood.

I'll second this, I've been snusing my ass off for the past couple months with no problems like that. A trip to the Dr seems to be in order.

[OttR]

Update on this.

It turns out that it wasn't the snus, at least not by itself. It was the tobacco I was smoking that was irritating my throat. I had switched from my regular rolling tobacco to another kind a couple weeks before I tried the snus. After I ran out of that, I went back to my old kind and noticed the difference.

But I believe the pepper in the snus aggravated it and it was the pepper that triggered the reaction. I've had trouble with pepper-flavored stuff before. I couldn't use the nicotine gum because it had that same peppery flavor.

I'm not sure whether I will go back to snus. If I can find some that isn't peppery, maybe. Right now, though, I'm thinking I should just quit smoking the old-fashioned way, because I would prefer to have no addiction at all.

But don't let my reaction discourage anyone from trying snus.