My Experience with Pica – A Sickle Cell Warrior Tale

I want to talk about pica in sickle cell disorder from my experience to:

1. Raise awareness about it among other sickle cell warriors who are exhibiting it.
2. To help parents and caregivers approach it properly and not unnecessarily scold, beat or tackle improperly the sickle cell warrior battling with it. The sickle cell warrior battling with pica is as well confused and scared of what is happening to him/her.
3. To allow the medical community to engage in further research to explore pica and its association with sickle cell disorder, design solutions (both physical and mental therapy) on managing and preventing it.

Pica, the uncontrollable craving and eating of non-food items with no nutritional value, is an eating disorder that sickle cell warriors battle with. Personally, I battled with pica through primary and secondary school days.

I was madly feasting on chalk and sand, and no matter how much and far I had eaten real food, the satisfaction of eating only gets completed after eating chalk or sand. Most of those days in primary school, I always and earnestly waited for the teachers to finish with the class so I can go and pick all the white chalks and had a feast, it was such a mad craving.

I must confess I was responsible for most of those days in primary and junior secondary school when chalks frequently disappeared in my class. I was eating sand, smaller stones and chalk when I was battling with pica. At a time, I was also eating the debris from my nostrils. I stopped eating chalk at junior secondary school, but eating sand and small stones stopped at the end of secondary school.

It was as if I was possessed, I could not control myself when the urge comes. It got so bad that if I am walking on a path and observed that the sand there was neatly and finely arranged with small stones, I will mark that spot and go back there alone to feast on the sand and small stones. I can still remember some paths in Ilorin where I marked the sand and go back to feast whenever I was alone. It was really bad that even after eating a plate full of my favorite meals, rice or pounded yam and okra soup, I still do not feel full or satisfied (though I was physically full and satisfied) until I go back and get sand to eat.

At a point, on every Sunday afternoon, my parents ensured we ate pounded yam. My siblings and parents do the pounding of the yam while I was restrained from engaging in it because of my health. The mental impact it had on me then of being ostracized from doing what others were doing is a story for another day. During the period of 7UP (Seven Up) bonanza when Jetta cars were won, my dad always stock the house with crates of 7UP. After eating pounded yam in the afternoon, we normally topped it up with 7UP to ‘flush the meal down’ and virtually sleep off after the meal. But with the 7UP and pounded yam feast, I never felt full or satisfied until I get sand to eat.

For me, rather than sleep, I will close my eyes pretending to sleep while monitoring my parents and siblings to ensure that they were all asleep. Once I notice that everyone had slept, I will quietly open the door and sneak out to go and get sand with small stones to eat; it was at this point that I feel satisfied and full. I will be walking to and fro outside the compound gate like a mad boy, searching for where the sand and small stones were finely arranged and pick some to eat before feeling full. Afterwards, I will return into the house to join others that were fast asleep. On some occasions, my mum woke up when I was sneaking back inside the house and asked me where I was coming from. I often tell her a lie to cover my addiction to eating sand and small stones.
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The urge (craving) of pica (eating inedible substances) is so strong and mostly uncontrollable. The victim is literally pushed to do what he/she will not do naturally. No matter the best of meal or feast you’ve had, you never feel full or satisfied until you are pushed to eat the inedible substances.

My deliverance from pica came in December 1995; I was in Kaduna with my mum and sister on holiday after completing my secondary education. I stood naked in front of a mirror with stunted growth, delayed puberty, tiny hands and legs, protruding stomach plus pica and I told God, ‘if there is anything you can use this body for, please do’.

In January 1996, I joined a department in my Church denomination and got serious in my relationship with God. The last experience I had with pica was in December 1995.

The deliverance was complete, thank God.

God who totally delivered me from pica will deliver every sickle cell warrior battling with pica and other problems.

Excerpts from the book,

A LIFE WITH SICKLE CELL ANAEMIA,

By David Owoeye,

On Amazon and Okadabooks.