Ice Chewers Bulletin Board - All about Chewing Ice

Gosh Guys! You have absolutely no idea how happy I am to have found this website! I am super addicted to ice. Its gotten so bad that if I don't have it I get the shakes. So I found this website and I started looking more into my addiction, and I think it might be a very real possiblity that I may be Anemic. I have to look more into it though. So I'm making a doctors appointment for this problem within the next week. But I have no idea what to say..."Hi I'm an ice chewer, and I think I may be anemic?" I don't know how to go about asking for the blood work to find out. Any suggestions? So anyways my boyfriend and I am trying to ween off my addiction, so now he defreezes our freezer on a daily basis, so when I come home from work or school, if I really want ice(which I always do) then I hafta make it and wait for it. Trust me guys its the longest thirty minutes of my life! But I of course still eat ice at work and at school, so now this past week I've been taking a cup of ice home with me, b/c I know I'll hafta wait another thirty minutes before I can get some more. God its like this weird ass addiction. Ok well thats my story, reply back with some good feedback.
Peace out!
Comining out of the Freezer!

Just tell the doctor you want your iron or hemoglobin measured, he or she will know what to order. Someone told me that a zinc deficiency will also cause ice chewing. You can take zinc lozenges for that, not sure if it can be measured. Ice crunching is much more enjoyable without the addiction/obsession.

Comingoutofthefreezer wrote:Gosh Guys! You have absolutely no idea how happy I am to have found this website! I am super addicted to ice. Its gotten so bad that if I don't have it I get the shakes. So I found this website and I started looking more into my addiction, and I think it might be a very real possiblity that I may be Anemic. I have to look more into it though. So I'm making a doctors appointment for this problem within the next week. But I have no idea what to say..."Hi I'm an ice chewer, and I think I may be anemic?" I don't know how to go about asking for the blood work to find out. Any suggestions? So anyways my boyfriend and I am trying to ween off my addiction, so now he defreezes our freezer on a daily basis, so when I come home from work or school, if I really want ice(which I always do) then I hafta make it and wait for it. Trust me guys its the longest thirty minutes of my life! But I of course still eat ice at work and at school, so now this past week I've been taking a cup of ice home with me, b/c I know I'll hafta wait another thirty minutes before I can get some more. God its like this weird ass addiction. Ok well thats my story, reply back with some good feedback.
Peace out!
Comining out of the Freezer!

Reply, all you have to do is to start taking vitamins with Iron. I did, and on the days that I took them. The craving was less. I am a nurse and had only started ice chewing a year ago, after starting to work an extra job. Once I found out that anemia contributes to it, it is a side affect of anemia. The side affect is a form of teeth grinding. You may not realize it, but you may also be grinding your teeth in your sleep.

Thanks nurse, Your feedback from the medical field is well appreciated. It sheds better light on the anemia / ice chewing correlation.