I Eat Drywall And Chalk.

I have been eating drywall since I was about 12. I am now almost 21. My mother initially thought I was crazy. She didn't understand how intense the cravings would get. I've eaten drywall, joint compound paste, dirt, dust, chalk, sand, and even baking soda. When I went off to college I didn't have direct access to drywall and so I started buying chalk from the store. I would buy the small boxes, and even the sidewalk chalk in the largest boxes I could find. I always felt like everyone at the store knew my secret, so I would hop from store to store buying it. Eventually it all caught up with me because I was eating so much in a day, and my bowels got impacted. I didn't know what to do so I started taking laxatives every day. It got worse and worse to the point that I was in too much pain. I couldn't eat. I couldn't sleep because I would wake up in pain every hour. After a week I was rushed to the hospital where they thought they would have to do surgery. It hurt to move or even pee. I was in the hospital for three days before anything began to move. It was the worst three days of my life. After that I still couldn't fight the urge to eat chalk and ended up back in the hospital four months later. After racking up over a thousand dollars in medical bills I knew I had to do something. Taking iron supplements helps ease the cravings a lot, but I still find myself thinking about eating drywall/chalk. Sometimes I still go to the store and buy chalk, I've even ordered larger boxes online from Crayola. Whenever I do eat it, I make sure to drink water with Miralax laxative in it, and I eat it in very small amounts, only 1-3 sticks of sidewalk chalk a day. Life has gotten better, and only my immediately family knows about my pica. I'm going to graduate from college in a year, and I've been able to control my cravings so far without anyone knowing. Eventually I believe I will be able to quit altogether, but until then it's all about eating in moderation.