[jane-e]

I've been chewing ice for almost year now-started out harmless enough, end of drink-eat the ice, no biggie. I've always done that since I was young. I think it was almost year ago I noticed it was more semi crushed ice then pop and I always made sure there was a constant cup near me. Last summer at work I noticed the cups getting bigger so as too keep from running to the ice machine (of course the machine on the "other" end of the building had the best ice.
So now it's a normal thing, me and my ice-I insist on the in door crushed ice dispenser fridge but it doesn't keep up-usually dump about 3-4 10 lb bags a week in there on average + whatever the dispenser makes. I have to admit I like my OCD, I quit smoking, I have a fear of leaving the house. but focus on the fact that I have my mug filled full of the wonderful stuff and leave the house to do what needs to be done. my only worry (other then my teeth that have held up great so far) isn't this a form of Pica as well? I've been taking multi vitamins and trying some suppliments as well thinking it may naturally quit this addiction itself but so far no luck. When I told my doctor of this he just laughed and said to be greatful it's just ice and not dirt ;p Are there any other ice chewers or former chewers here ? I'm open to idea's, stories-causes..etc..

[gimmeice]

You are not alone on the ice thing, hence the name gimme ice. I dont chew on the ice only because I dont have any teeth so now I just hold it in my mouth. Right now it's not as bad as it used to be at one time I was going through nearly two twenty pound bags a week now I am down to one 20 lb bag a week. Mine is definitely OCD but I had to have some medical tests run to make sure that my iron levels were okay and some other blood work because I guess craving ice can be a symptom of something serious.
Feel free to private message me anytime, I have a lot of experience with ice I have really been battling the ice cravings for nearly four years.

if im not mistaken i remember someone saying that chewing ice is a sign of a zinc deficiency. I cant find anything to back that up though.

[Hunny]

For me it was an iron deficiency. I was really low in iron.

It is surprising how quickly taking 'Slow Fe' helped. If I get that urge for ice now I know what to do. But, iron has been mentioned in a post above so it may be something quite different.

You know it may just be an iron deficiency. I thought it was zinc, but that seems to ring a bell to me too.

In fact i remember my cousin saying when she was pregnant she would literally eat ice by the tray and it had something to do with iron. So i think you may be right. But im still not sure nor can I find anything to back either up.

[sunrise]

Yes, it's iron defiency. I'm an ice eater too and am chronically low in iron. I have to watch it or I get anemic. My doctor says eat more red meat. I have a hard time with vitamins that contain iron--my digestive system can't handle the large amounts of iron they put in supplements. What I would like to find is a supplement that has a low amount of iron. Anyone know of one? I have looked and looked in pharmacies and the iron supplements are way too high. I found one good source is the 7 "day off" pills in birth control packs are often inert matter with a very modest dose of iron. I wish they sold these separately as my system can handle these.

If anyone knows of a good source of low dose iron supplement, I would be very interested to know.

jane-e, try iron and see if your ice behavior resolves. In addition to my iron deficiency, I think I just plain enjoy eating ice, so part of it for me is habit/enjoyment.

[Perna]

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/chewing-ice/AN01278

My stepmother was an ice chewer, even converted our dog to it :-) The Mayo Clinic article above also says it can be stress related so I think it would be a great stress reliever, crunch on that ice instead of other people, LOL.

[Hunny]

I had a really hard time tummy-wise with the iron too. Slow-Fe is good but even it was a bit too harsh, so I took it every other day and sometimes every third day. But when I was super low around 6 or 9 or something (can't quite remember) I would take two in a day and it wouldn't bother my tummy at all. I was so low in iron my body was desparate. Another symptom I had of low iron (I wasn't on any other meds at the time) was I could fall asleep at the drop of a hat. It was so fast that I didn't ever remember just laying there waiting to fall asleep, just kerplunk and I was out like a light! After taking the iron I would lay down, take a little time to relax and then sleep. Hope this helps.

Ice