[CatUK]

I've had my suspicions I'm intolerant to eithe rlactose or dairy. For a start when I was born 4 weeks early I was being sick all the time and had really bad colic, the Dr's said I was intolerant to milk and I was then put on soya (they never did any tests, that's just what my Mum was told to do).I've been plagued with stomach pains and nausea for as long as I can remember but my Dr just puts it down to IBS. I did a 5 week exclusion diet and cut out completely wheat and gluten (very strict) but I felt no better at all. So my next thing was dairy. I told my Dr and she said be careful as you can end up living on lettuce leaves (I managed). For the first 2 weeks no pain at all (still had the nausea but that could be my anxiety) then suddenly it came back out of nowhere. I think it's because I had slightly relaxed and started having milk in my 2 cups of tea a day (and I ate the occasional lump of chocolate). This diet ended in December as I wanted to enjoy the foods of Xmas.Started a healthy eating plan 3 or so weeks ago and cut out chocolate totally and cereal as I knew it affected me. Last night I had one funsize bar of chocolate as treat for the weekend (don't drink, don't have takeaways etc) and all night I kept waking up feeling like I was going to be sick and had tummy pains.This morning I felt better so I thought I would try cereal for the first time in a month or so. I had lactofree milk (because I thought maybe it was the lactose that was the problem) and 1 and a half weetabix cold (plus 2 spoonfuls of sugar). Within an hour of eating it I was rushing to the loo with gripes and an upset stomach. Once I'd been I didn't need to go again but I have been left with really bad lower stomach pains now and my tummy still feels off.Now I'm confused as to if I'm intolerant to dairy or lactose? I know it's not wheat as I have toast every morning with a dairy free spread and don't react. I can also eat a bag of cheesy wotsits and be ok. But if I have anything that contains a lot of milk like chocolate, cereal etc I feel awful.I'm not sure now if to cut out lactose or dairy or any of them as my Dr didn't really want me to cut out either. So confused but I need to do something as can't cope with the continuous tummy pains and nausea (very intense nausea).

 

[Kathleen M.]

Usually with lactose intolerance there is some amount you need before you get symptoms. So it isn't one or two molecules that set you off, but when you have a substantial amount. Chocolate has a lot of other triggers in it, the lactose is usually the least of it in there. So it could be the caffeine or the fat or the sugar, etc. Or when you have multiple trouble compounds all in the same food.Cheese, especially cheese flavored powder put on snacks does not have lactose in it. As long as it is a hard cheese. Young soft cheeses can still have some lactose. The bacteria that turn milk into cheese eat lactose.It may be you are ok with a spoonful of milk in tea at a time or foods without much in the way of any lactose remaining (much lower than they amount that triggers symptoms in lactose intolerant people in clinical trials) but not with several ounces at a time. That actually is what science seems to say SHOULD happen. This is not unusual or weird.So if you can have a few drops here or there, no need to cut that out. Just don't do more than you can tolerate in one sitting and if you are worried take a lactase pill with the meal.The reason lactose causes problems is the few molecules of gas released from each molecule of lactose. You aren't going to have huge problems with a couple of extra gas molecules, but you would from a bunch of gas. Especially when added to other IBS triggers like too much fiber or whatever else it is combined with. Now if you didn't have IBS you would tolerate the gas better, but many IBSers have to stay on a low gas diet and that can mean avoiding things like dairy that isn't transformed by things that eat lactose. (the farther away it is from liquid milk the more likely some bacteria or other got rid of all the lactose)

 

[CatUK]

Thanks so much for your reply Kathleen, you are always so helpful. I'm going to cut out huge amounts of lactose like cereal etc and when I have small amounts take Lactase pills. Need to get some as never had them before.Do you think I'll be ok with my medication as they have lactose in (the contraceptive pill, metoclopramide, merbentyl).I do have the Dr's on Tuesday which I'm going for the amoount of pain I seem to be having in my lower abdomen (and loads of gas and nausea). From googling it seems that is a common place to get pain after eating lactose.I will mention my symptoms and see if she suggests lactose intolerance. Thanks again for your help

 

[Kathleen M.]

The amount in a tablet is very small so should be OK.

 

[CatUK]

Had a discussion with my Dr and she thinks I've an intolerance to cows milk rather than lactose. Everytime I have a bowl of cereal with cows milk on I get an upset stomach, nausea, cramps etc.She suggested goats milk as many people who can't tolerate cows milk can digest goats milk. I bought a litre last night and this morning made a cup of tea with some and again tried the weetabix with some. This time I haven't had a single bit of pain, no rushing to the loo etc. I'm now thinking maybe goats milk is the way to go for me. This is the first time in ages (and I mean near a year) I haven't had pain or a dodgy stomach.Will try again tomorrow and see if I can still tolerate it. If I can at least I will have found a way to help settle my stomach a bit.

 

[Kathleen M.]

If it is the milk proteins then goat's milk will work. Each animal has a different protein.You may need to check processed foods depending on how sensitive you are. Some people have a severe allergy to cow's milk proteins and it is used in a lot of processed foods so you may need to read labels.http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/UVAHe...llergy/milk.cfm has a list of foods and what some of the food additives to avoid are called.

 

[CatUK]

Thanks so much for the link Kathleen, that will be very helpful.Just keeping my fingers crossed it carries on working and it wasn't just a one off because this will really help with my stomach pains.

 

[puzzel]

wow thats so interesting kathleen! i realized i got really bad ibs whenever i had milk a few years ago, so i decided that it must be the lactose. so ive stayed away from anything dairy ever since except for a few times that i decided to experiment. one time i had some cheese cake n my digestive system wasn’t particularly delighted about that. but now i read your post and im not sure if its only soft cheese that i cant handle. would cheese cake be in the soft cheese category? and i actually tried milk chocolate a few times(couldn’t resist...) and gave my ibs a chance to prove its consistency in its dislikes. now im a tad confused though because you wrote that it could be the caffeine or the fat or the sugar. would the symptoms have been different if i was reacting to the lactose or something else (i got really gassy)? or is there some other way to tell? i would try caffeine in coffee but that would need milk too and drinks that have caffeine are usually gassy. how can i isolate the ingredients to see which one triggers the ibs?a lactase pill sounds like something worth trying. i saw it in a pharmacy recently but i didnt think it would actually work. but if your mentioning it, it must do some good. im looking forward to trying that.