Ok, I’ve got a simple answer for this, but it will likely require a bit of back story. You look new here, so you probably missed the first rendition of this story. I’ll try to make it brief. Here is the shortest version possible.
Three years ago I spent 7 weeks in the ICU in an induced coma. When I woke up, I was being fed through my nose. I couldn’t walk, talk or swallow but I sure was thirsty. The ICU nurse told me I couldn’t have water (because of that not being able to swallow thing) but I was allowed a small cup of ice chips. I eventually charmed the nurses, and they’d bring me the biggest cup of ice they had. Frequently. I spent the next three weeks learning how to walk and talk and swallow, and I always had a giant cup of ice chips to munch on. It was really my favorite part of two months in the hospital. Chik-Fil-A has similar ice, so whenever my family swings through there, I ALWAYS get a large cup of ice. It’s my comfort food.
If you haven’t recently, you may wish to get your blood work, including iron, and blood counts checked.
Craving and chewing ice, known as pagophagia, is often associated with iron deficiency, with or without anemia, although the reason why it causes this behavior is unclear.
Less commonly, other nutritional problems may cause you to crave and chew ice. And in some individuals, pica is a sign of emotional problems, such as stress, obsessive-compulsive disorder or a developmental disorder.
A thorough medical evaluation can help determine if pica is due to an underlying medical condition. If the cause of pica is an emotional or developmental issue, cognitive behavioral therapy may be helpful.
@PhysAssist I do have an iron deficiency, also thiamine for some reason. My morning routine includes an iron supplement and benfotiamine. It’s fun being old and broken.
I don’t go out of my way, and not cubes, but ice in my cup of tea, hell ya, or my water glass at a restaurant. and in my iced coffee, unless i haven’t done cold foam, hell to the no.
I’ve been told I’m so much a Yank because what I drink has to be very cold or hot. Room temperature is another one of those hell to the no
yekoP does it every night. It’s a ritual. Night night pee pee at 10:00 and night night ice cubes when he comes in. He even has his own tiny ice cube tray. We’ve always thought he had OCD. Maybe @PhysAssist is on to something!
Not ice cubes but I like shaved ice and the sonic type ice. The home machines for sonic ice came out several years ago and they were really expensive. I priced them recently and they are more in range with the budget in the near future.
@ironcheftoni@PooltoyWolf It’s Sonic, the fast food restaurant. Their ice is actually closer to hospital ice, but the closest one to me is about 30 minutes away.
@ironcheftoni@PooltoyWolf Heh, with my last name you wouldn’t believe the number of times I’ve heard ‘Touche Buchet’ Still wish I named kiddo ‘Tre’ Although, she is a siege machine when she steps on the pitching mound
@capnjb@PooltoyWolf yes, the ice from Sonic Drive in. I think they were one of the first restaurant that used that type of ice machine. I tend to make a note of restaurants that has that ice. Raising Cane’s is another. I’ve worked at two companies that had machines in their break rooms. Which meant like capnjb, I took a big cup home every day.
@capnjb@ironcheftoni@PooltoyWolf I think you have Circle K stores in Dallas, at least I remember them buying out Valero a few years back who I think had a large Texas presence.
Most of the Circle K stores will have two fountain drink machines, with one serving cubed ice and one serving nugget ice aka Sonic ice. And you can just get a cup of ice. At many stores it’s like 25¢ but I guess it depends on the manager’s discretion.
And an extra benefit, there’s no deep fryer so the ice doesn’t taste like grease which is somehow the prominent flavor at every Sonic around here.
@capnjb@djslack@PooltoyWolf circle K’s are few and far between but we have racetrac, quik trip and of course Buc-ees. I can’t remember if 7 eleven’s have it since I’ve boycotted the one near me with the exception of free slurpee day. The manager thinks that iced tea is seasonal and doesn’t make it in the winter months. Meanwhile racetrac and quik trip sell so much they have to make it every few hours
@ironcheftoni that manager must be from somewhere outside of the South.
Quik Trip and Bucees are much better, but IDK about their ice situations. We have two QTs in the region, but approximately 736 Circle K’s. In a couple of years we’ll have a Bucees an hour away.
@capnjb@djslack@ironcheftoni@PooltoyWolf RaceWay stations often only had iced tea in summer on Friday and Saturday, and maybe not then. They’d have the equipment set up, but it would be empty. I learned to avoid them.
@capnjb@ironcheftoni@PooltoyWolf@werehatrack other fun fact I forgot to mention… I don’t think it’s widely advertised but you can buy bags of ice from Sonic as well. That’s got to be at least 3 or 4 big cups worth
@ChompyGator yes, I’m a frequent blood donor. I counter balance the ice habit with supplements, red meat and salmon. The last was a suggestion of one of the carter bloodcare vampires.
@ChompyGator@ironcheftoni
Not sure which blood bank you use, but ours only checks hematocrit. This is not necessarily an accurate iron level indicator.
When I was younger. I don’t anymore. Not sure how/when/why it changed.
@OnionSoup I can say it’s when I started getting cavities in my molars and gingivitis on my gums
Ok, I’ve got a simple answer for this, but it will likely require a bit of back story. You look new here, so you probably missed the first rendition of this story. I’ll try to make it brief. Here is the shortest version possible.
Three years ago I spent 7 weeks in the ICU in an induced coma. When I woke up, I was being fed through my nose. I couldn’t walk, talk or swallow but I sure was thirsty. The ICU nurse told me I couldn’t have water (because of that not being able to swallow thing) but I was allowed a small cup of ice chips. I eventually charmed the nurses, and they’d bring me the biggest cup of ice they had. Frequently. I spent the next three weeks learning how to walk and talk and swallow, and I always had a giant cup of ice chips to munch on. It was really my favorite part of two months in the hospital. Chik-Fil-A has similar ice, so whenever my family swings through there, I ALWAYS get a large cup of ice. It’s my comfort food.
;Tldr Yes, I eat ice.
If you haven’t recently, you may wish to get your blood work, including iron, and blood counts checked.
Craving and chewing ice, known as pagophagia, is often associated with iron deficiency, with or without anemia, although the reason why it causes this behavior is unclear.
Less commonly, other nutritional problems may cause you to crave and chew ice. And in some individuals, pica is a sign of emotional problems, such as stress, obsessive-compulsive disorder or a developmental disorder.
A thorough medical evaluation can help determine if pica is due to an underlying medical condition. If the cause of pica is an emotional or developmental issue, cognitive behavioral therapy may be helpful.
https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/what-is-pagophagia
@PhysAssist I do have an iron deficiency, also thiamine for some reason. My morning routine includes an iron supplement and benfotiamine. It’s fun being old and broken.
@PhysAssist
I don’t go out of my way, and not cubes, but ice in my cup of tea, hell ya, or my water glass at a restaurant. and in my iced coffee, unless i haven’t done cold foam, hell to the no.
I’ve been told I’m so much a Yank because what I drink has to be very cold or hot. Room temperature is another one of those hell to the no
@Cerridwyn
Prolly not a problem medically, at least, but not considered great for dental health.
@capnjb
I feel your pain- the only thing worse than getting old is the alternative.
yekoP does it every night. It’s a ritual. Night night pee pee at 10:00 and night night ice cubes when he comes in. He even has his own tiny ice cube tray. We’ve always thought he had OCD. Maybe @PhysAssist is on to something!
@ybmuG
It’s not me, it’s medical science, sort of…
Not ice cubes but I like shaved ice and the sonic type ice. The home machines for sonic ice came out several years ago and they were really expensive. I priced them recently and they are more in range with the budget in the near future.
@ironcheftoni Sonic ice? As in, made somehow using sound waves? Enlighten me!
@ironcheftoni @PooltoyWolf It’s Sonic, the fast food restaurant.
Their ice is actually closer to hospital ice, but the closest one to me is about 30 minutes away.
https://www.sonicdrivein.com/
@capnjb @ironcheftoni The lack of references and capitalization threw me off, and that’s with me being a huge Sonic Drive-In fan!
@ironcheftoni @PooltoyWolf I’ve got a 17 year old daughter. I’ve learned that punctuation and capitalization are “implied”.
@capnjb @ironcheftoni Hahaha, touché!
@ironcheftoni @PooltoyWolf Heh, with my last name you wouldn’t believe the number of times I’ve heard ‘Touche Buchet’
Still wish I named kiddo ‘Tre’ 
Although, she is a siege machine when she steps on the pitching mound 
@capnjb @PooltoyWolf yes, the ice from Sonic Drive in. I think they were one of the first restaurant that used that type of ice machine. I tend to make a note of restaurants that has that ice. Raising Cane’s is another. I’ve worked at two companies that had machines in their break rooms. Which meant like capnjb, I took a big cup home every day.
@capnjb @ironcheftoni @PooltoyWolf I think you have Circle K stores in Dallas, at least I remember them buying out Valero a few years back who I think had a large Texas presence.
Most of the Circle K stores will have two fountain drink machines, with one serving cubed ice and one serving nugget ice aka Sonic ice. And you can just get a cup of ice. At many stores it’s like 25¢ but I guess it depends on the manager’s discretion.
And an extra benefit, there’s no deep fryer so the ice doesn’t taste like grease which is somehow the prominent flavor at every Sonic around here.
@capnjb @djslack @PooltoyWolf circle K’s are few and far between but we have racetrac, quik trip and of course Buc-ees. I can’t remember if 7 eleven’s have it since I’ve boycotted the one near me with the exception of free slurpee day. The manager thinks that iced tea is seasonal and doesn’t make it in the winter months. Meanwhile racetrac and quik trip sell so much they have to make it every few hours
@ironcheftoni that manager must be from somewhere outside of the South.
Quik Trip and Bucees are much better, but IDK about their ice situations. We have two QTs in the region, but approximately 736 Circle K’s. In a couple of years we’ll have a Bucees an hour away.
@capnjb @djslack @ironcheftoni @PooltoyWolf RaceWay stations often only had iced tea in summer on Friday and Saturday, and maybe not then. They’d have the equipment set up, but it would be empty. I learned to avoid them.
@capnjb @ironcheftoni @PooltoyWolf @werehatrack other fun fact I forgot to mention… I don’t think it’s widely advertised but you can buy bags of ice from Sonic as well. That’s got to be at least 3 or 4 big cups worth
@djslack @ironcheftoni @PooltoyWolf @werehatrack Ooooh, that sounds like my kind of weekend
Just need to clear some freezer space first.
If you crave ice to chew on, it might be a good idea to have your iron level checked. Which they do for free if you donate blood.
@ChompyGator yes, I’m a frequent blood donor. I counter balance the ice habit with supplements, red meat and salmon. The last was a suggestion of one of the carter bloodcare vampires.
@ChompyGator @ironcheftoni
Not sure which blood bank you use, but ours only checks hematocrit. This is not necessarily an accurate iron level indicator.