PICA

[Rerun]

I could never understand eating Elmer's glue.  It doesn't even smell good.  Not like rubber cement and airplane glue. 

I know mine is related to ESRD because as soon as I got my transplant it went away and then came back about a month before I went on dialysis.  So for 17 years I didn't even notice the smell of gasoline or exhause as being good.

Oh, man, I had to go out to my car for a second.  Now I feel better. 

[glitter]

i like the smell of markers too- I never did eat glue, but I have been guilty of sucking the nitrios oxide out of the occasional whip cream can.LOL

[Steve-0]

Heh.  The last time I was on dialysis, in 2003, I always had a strong compulsion to eat coffee beans or coffee grounds.

Now that I'm back on it... the urge is back, baby!  Coffee beans for a snack is common for me these days!


~Steve

[donnia]

LOL... I too eat coffee beans for snack

[monrein]

I worked once with an anorexic girl who ate cigarette butts and it was said to be pica.  And there was another girl who would eat just about anything..pencils, even glass.  She ended up in hospital after chomping on a light bulb once.  She had many many problems so can't say if that was pica or what but she sure was a challenge.

[kidley]

Before I started dialysis a two months ago, I had lost most of my sense of smell.  Now it's back and I am noticing and enjoying smells again.  Is anyone old enough to remember the smell of memeograph fluid that teachers used to make those purple copies of tests and handouts?  I think that's the reason I became a teacher!

[paddbear0000]

Before I started dialysis a two months ago, I had lost most of my sense of smell.  Now it's back and I am noticing and enjoying smells again.  I anyone old enough to remember the smell of memeograph fluid that teachers used to make those purple copies of tests and handouts?  I think that's the reason I became a teacher!

Oooo...yes! I remember! It was always a treat to be picked to go to the 'closet' to make dittos!

[Bajanne]

My dad was a school principal and we had one at home.  Loved the smell of the spirits.  (And I became a teacher!!!!)

[mikey07840]

I loved that smell. Brings back memories. Typing on a typewriter. Mimieographs. Carbon paper. Good lord I feel old!

[cherpep]

Since being on dialysis, I absolutely crave certain smells.  Mostly it is coffee and fabric softener.  I keep coffee beans in my drawer at work, just so I can sniff them.  I do admit to eating one occasionally too (glad to read that I'm not the only one who does that).  For that fabric softener smell, sometimes, I pull my shirt over my nose and just breathe it in.  I've been caught a couple of times at work, and get some weird looks, but I don't care.  I put fabric softener sheets under my pillow case so that I can breathe it in while going to sleep.  I've also stuck a couple in zip loc bags and placed them in my purse, so that I can pull them out for an occasional hit.  My hubby washes my dialysis blanket frequently, just because he knows how much I need that smell.  It's soothing, it's comforting.  I crave it!!!  I swear the happiest moments for my senses is when laundry is being done at the same time coffee is brewing -- HEAVEN! 

[KICKSTART]

Hehehe, can i blame my illness for  loving  the smell of , nail polish , lighter fluid , black marker pens , some glues, petrol , creosote . I can imagine its easy to become a 'glue sniffer' !!!

I do have a question though ? One thing im craving right now is sugar , not sweets (candy) but actual sugar . I buy sugar lumps for the horses , but i could sit and crunch my way through the whole box!!! Obviously full of calories and not so good for the teeth , but does it affect dialysis ??

[Rerun]

Hehehe, can i blame my illness for  loving  the smell of , nail polish , lighter fluid , black marker pens , some glues, petrol , creosote . I can imagine its easy to become a 'glue sniffer' !!!

I do have a question though ? One thing im craving right now is sugar , not sweets (candy) but actual sugar . I buy sugar lumps for the horses , but i could sit and crunch my way through the whole box!!! Obviously full of calories and not so good for the teeth , but does it affect dialysis ??

If you are diabetic...that would be a huge YES!      Otherwise, I'm sure one or two won't hurt you but don't eat the whole bag.

When I was a kid I craved salt.  My grandmother would see me eating salt and she would say "That will harden your arteries!" and point to her wrists.  Well, it probably wasn't too good for my blood pressure and kidneys either.  But, I would sneak into the feed store and buy a rabbit round salt lick.  It was like I was buying drugs.  I'd hide it in my sock drawer (Like Mom wouldn't find that). 

The thing with Pica is when I got my transplant all cravings for gasoline went away.  Now it is back.  I have an empty water bottle and I put about an inch of gas in the bottom and keep it in my car.  It won't blow up or it would have done it by now.  I just love the smell.

[KICKSTART]

No phew im not diabetic! But i cant just eat one or two ! I find its like after something savory , i need to crunch one a few of these! Its the actual texture i like ..( i think !)  I dont really eat a whole box full , in one go ! but then again i dont really eat sweets or take sugar in my drinks , tea/coffee , so hopefully i am eating no more sugar than if i had a coupla spoons in my drink each time !
Rerun   ..do you not like the smell of nail polish ? It would be easier to carry round with you !!! Just slip it in your handbag and have a sneaky sniff !!

[Rerun]

Yeah, nail polish is ok.  Epoman said he loved the smell of tires.  When I go into the auto part of Sears for my job I am starting to like the smell of tires.  When I go to the lawn and garden part of Sears they have small gasoline cans for sale and it makes me crazy.

[cherpep]

I also really like the smell of Home Depot.  I don't know what exactly it is about the place, but I love to just go in and deeply inhale.  My hubby thinks I'm strange.

[Rerun]

The poor lady that sits next to me at dialysis admitted to the Dr. (so embarrassed) that she craves Corn Starch.  She said she doesn't swallow it she just wants to have it in her mouth.  She though she must be low on zinc.  She was so relieved when she was introduced to PICA.  When the doctor left I asked her how much she had and she said about a box a day!  It is getting expensive she said.  She will go to Walmart and just stock up.  People must wonder when seeing this lady with a cart load of Corn Starch!

[MIbarra]

Since I was a kid I have always loved the smell of the bus exhaust and loved going to pump gas just for the smell -- I've had kidney problems since I was little. Everyone always told me I was a freak. Now I don't feel so bad!

[twirl]

and I thought I was strange
I feel normal now
I love the way the ocean smells
the way the swimming pool smells
do not like candles

[pelagia]

It's just amazing what you can learn here at IHD!

[Bajanne]

I went to a store and bought some Welcome mats and found that they had that smell I like, something like new tires, so I kept one in my bedroom to sniff from time to time.  I went away for a while, and a young lady who was staying at us had put it inside the front door!!!!
I was thinking about buying another one. But a few days ago, I  bought a nice little mousepad with a wrist rest and guess what!  It has that lovely smell, so I can sniff whenever I want!!! (I even bought another one and put it away!) Payload!!

[Wat76]

Yes, I crave white dirt.  Just went home to Georgia for the 4th of July and picked up 2 big bags.  I use to crave it all the time when i was young and would eat globs of it.  I love Red clay as well and when i see it, my mouth automatically starts to water.  Sometimes when I am traveling, I see dirt and want to pull over to get to the bottom layer and eat it.  It is so weird, but I have been eating pure white dirt since I was 12.  I love to smell weird things as well, like gas, rain, nail polish and oil.  Call me crazy, but did not know it was because of my kidneys.  My Mom and Aunt use to eat white dirt as well.  I feel so good when I eat it, it is like something was missing.  My husband and kids hate to see me eat it, but they do not understand how good i feel afterwards.  Just did research on it and most research says people crave weird things because of a lack of iron.  Will never stop eating white dirt or red dirt.  Stop for about  2 years, because I could not find any.  I don't eat just any dirt, it has to have clay mixed in and come from deep deep ground.

[Rerun]

 

Any new members have PICA.  You need to start at the beginning of this thread and read it.   

[malaka]

I've found myself chewing ice.  Whether that's because of thirst/fluid restrictions or my anemia (I'm HD patient with anemia) causing PICA,  I don't know.

All I know is that if I don't stop, my wife will make good on her threat to divorce me. 

I haven't craved paint chips, corn starch, tires, or any of the other oddities listed in this thread.

[sullidog]

I don't crave stuff like that, but I like weird smells, like I like the smell of fome, and the smell of my coat closet, and the smell of some basements, and the smell of addicks, but stuff you shouldn't eat I don't crave or eat that.

[Rerun]

OMG now I have to go in my garage to get a gas fix.