• Welcome to Crohn's Forum, a support group for people with all forms of IBD. While this community is not a substitute for doctor's advice and we cannot treat or diagnose, we find being able to communicate with others who have IBD is invaluable as we navigate our struggles and celebrate our successes. We invite you to join us.

Pica

Anybody have any experience with Pica?

I used to eat ice like crazy. I thought it was normal. I would always have one of those big coffee mug thingys filled with ice. It took my mother saying that she didn't think it was normal to eat as much ice as I did for me to even think anything was wrong with it.

I also used to eat toilet paper. Crazy, huh? After a while, I thought so, too, and told my gastro. He just laughed at me. I was soooo mad:ymad: I had opened myself to him and he made me feel like a fool. Well, the month after that I was at the hematologist's office. When I told him my concerns about the ice and the tp, he nodded his head knowingly and told me that Pica is sometimes found with iron deficiency anemia. After many iron iv infusions (which I start again this Wednesday, every Wednesday for two months) I stopped craving ice and tp. Now that the iron levels have dropped, I am back on the tp. Hopefully, not for long, haha!

I like the off-brands. So my wife will buy one off-brand roll of tp for me to munch on, and the regular tp for regular use. What a wonderful woman!:)

Anyone else experience Pica?

EDIT: I changed gastros because of this and his generally uncaring attitude.
 
Last edited:

Astra

Moderator
I don't have Pica, but I can't tell you how many times we've been to A&E with one of my little Autistic kids at the school I work in!
It's weird that kids with developmental disorders have Pica too!
 
We had a kid with pica and developmental disorders too. One theory is that both the developmental problems and the pica stem from a mineral deficiency. Or there is a metabolism problem that is related to both. Or, with ASD kids, if they go on a gf/cf diet, they crave casein like a drug addict. Casein is in a lot of glue and similar. And the kids seem to be able to sniff it out!
 
When i started to flare this summer i couldn't stop eating ice which I usually can't stand the sound of chewing.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/22/health/22real.html?scp=6&sq=anemia&st=cse

I thought that the reason that children with PDD have pica is that learning not to eat none food items is cultural. We learn it from family and community not to eat certian items. If you don't get social learning isn't your thing then you will not be held back from eating what you like.
 
Yeah chewing ice is a sign of anemia. I do have that. You can also tell by the color of your fingernails. If they are blueish purple or really pale it can indicate anemia.
 

ameslouise

Moderator
I just reread your post and saw your edit and am so glad you changed doctors! If that loser wasn't tipped off by those two sure signs of Pica, who knows how much other stuff he was missing???

Hope you're on the mend soon! - Amy
 
ameslouise: Well, when I asked my previous gastro, I specifically asked whether there was a connection between the anemia and the pica(and whether or not it was actually pica), or the crohn's and the pica. He could have at least entertained the idea. But he brushed it off pretty quickly. It was pretty embarrassing. What are our lives but a strand of embarrassments lined up one after the other, huh?

Creepy Lurker: I hear ya crunching!:)

Outlier: Thanks for the article! Interesting read. I wish that I could just take iron pills and be done with it. But noooo, it's iv iron for me.

Rebecca85 and Astra101: Thanks for the replies. I knew about Pica and children with development issues. I just never put 2 and 2 together for myself, ya know, are far as it relating to the anemia which happened to be a direct result of the Crohn's, haha.

katiesue1506: I know what you mean about the fingernails. Some of mine have ridges that are raised and crescent moon shaped.

I guess I wanted to put this info out there for someone who may have something like this but doesn't want to be looked at like a freak. The amount of ice and tp I used to eat (well, still do with the tp. not so much with the ice) is pretty crazy, but it can be a symptom of something else.

As part of the signature from Crabbyrelish says, Go To The Doctor! hahaha!
 
Last edited:
Anybody have any experience with Pica?

I used to eat ice like crazy. I thought it was normal. I would always have one of those big coffee mug thingys filled with ice. It took my mother saying that she didn't think it was normal to eat as much ice as I did for me to even think anything was wrong with it.

I also used to eat toilet paper. Crazy, huh? After a while, I thought so, too, and told my gastro. He just laughed at me. I was soooo mad:ymad: I had opened myself to him and he made me feel like a fool. Well, the month after that I was at the hematologist's office. When I told him my concerns about the ice and the tp, he nodded his head knowingly and told me that Pica is sometimes found with iron deficiency anemia. After many iron iv infusions (which I start again this Wednesday, every Wednesday for two months) I stopped craving ice and tp. Now that the iron levels have dropped, I am back on the tp. Hopefully, not for long, haha!

I like the off-brands. So my wife will buy one off-brand roll of tp for me to munch on, and the regular tp for regular use. What a wonderful woman!:)

Anyone else experience Pica?

EDIT: I changed gastros because of this and his generally uncaring attitude.
 
I was diagnosed with chrons 7years ago. I have pica, I eat paper. I've had this for most of my life, but on and off. I have never told anyone this, including my gastro consultant. I'm having a phase of it now and I've started to wonder more about it's relevance to my health.
 

Lynda Lynda

Member
Anybody have any experience with Pica?

I used to eat ice like crazy. I thought it was normal. I would always have one of those big coffee mug thingys filled with ice. It took my mother saying that she didn't think it was normal to eat as much ice as I did for me to even think anything was wrong with it.

I also used to eat toilet paper. Crazy, huh? After a while, I thought so, too, and told my gastro. He just laughed at me. I was soooo mad:ymad: I had opened myself to him and he made me feel like a fool. Well, the month after that I was at the hematologist's office. When I told him my concerns about the ice and the tp, he nodded his head knowingly and told me that Pica is sometimes found with iron deficiency anemia. After many iron iv infusions (which I start again this Wednesday, every Wednesday for two months) I stopped craving ice and tp. Now that the iron levels have dropped, I am back on the tp. Hopefully, not for long, haha!

I like the off-brands. So my wife will buy one off-brand roll of tp for me to munch on, and the regular tp for regular use. What a wonderful woman!:)

Anyone else experience Pica?

EDIT: I changed gastros because of this and his generally uncaring attitude.
I chewed ice for years !
I couldn't control myself.
Even when visiting relatives in other States I had to have my big cup of ice, the kind of ice from a mini - mart.
Ok, so we were out in the countryside, visiting old relatives cemeteries and in the middle of no where there is some gas station mini-mart place. I made my relatives stop there so I could buy two huge cups of ice !
That was crazy 😳

I read about chewing ice and iron.
In 2009 I had my iron tested. It was 5.2 and my doctor called me at work and told me to go to the Hospital for a blood transfusion ! I was at the hospital overnight, they gave me two units of blood.
I haven't chewed ice for many years.

I have my iron checked on a regular basis. I think it is 11.3 right now.

Take Care 🦋
 
When I was in my worst flare to date back in 2020, I would spend literally half an hour in the shower chewing on the shower water. It makes no sense, but I would put my face close to the showerhead and literally chew the water. It occurred to me later that this was pica for me. I was hospitalized a few months later with a hemoglobin of 5.3 and severe anemia... Haven't chewed shower water since then, lol.
 
Top