4 replies to this topic

[Cheryl_C]

As I've discussed on here before, I have food-related ear pain/inflammation, though we were not sure of the source. I went for allergy testing, and it came back with a strong reaction to MILK.

Ok. This is where I get confused.

I eat dairy EVERY DAY. Every single day. While it's true that I can't tolerate milk by the glass these days (stomach cramps) I eat cheese, chocolate, yogurt, cottage cheese, ice cream, (not all those every day, obviously) and the ear pain does not occur every time.

How can I be allergic to something and not react every time? Isn't that the point of an allergy?

I left even more confused than I arrived. I would have asked more questions, but the allergist had such a rotten bedside manner that I couldn't wait to get out of there. Miserable old coot.

[missy'smom]

I'm not at all suprized. That's how it is with me. I've had varying degrees and types of reactions my whole life. You should definitely eliminate it. You may be suprized how it helps with other things that you hadn't realized. I love cheese etc. but suprizingly I could breathe so much better off it that I was motivated to stay off!

Dairy-free is doable.

There is hope too. After eliminating dairy for a year, the allergist and I tested the waters with goat's milk products and much to my suprize I am tolerating them well. I was tested for goat's milk shortly after that and it was neg. so far so good.

[Cheryl_C]

I'm not at all suprized. That's how it is with me. I've had varying degrees and types of reactions my whole life. You should definitely eliminate it. You may be suprized how it helps with other things that you hadn't realized. I love cheese etc. but suprizingly I could breathe so much better off it that I was motivated to stay off!

Dairy-free is doable.

There is hope too. After eliminating dairy for a year, the allergist and I tested the waters with goat's milk products and much to my suprize I am tolerating them well. I was tested for goat's milk shortly after that and it was neg. so far so good.

Hmm, thanks for the info. It's so weird, but seems to be accurate. Yesterday, absolutely everything I ate was for-sure gluten-free, and I made sure to throw in about 3 different kinds of dairy. Sure enough, my ears were on fire by the time I went to bed, and my lower abdomen has been bloated all day.

Part of me is afraid that if I totally eliminate dairy, even though a little bit seems ok, that eventually I won't be able to tolerate any at all.

So today I tried to mix it up - take-out (totally gluten-free) Greek salad (cow's milk feta) and gluten-free pizza with goat's cheese. Unfortunately, they put feta on my pizza, so that was twice as much dairy as I had intended. Ears still hurt, stomach still distended and feeling uncomfortable.

My Dr warned me that once I started feeling better without gluten, other issues might come out of the woodwork. Too bad she's so darn smart!!

[plumbago]

My Dr warned me that once I started feeling better without gluten, other issues might come out of the woodwork. Too bad she's so darn smart!!

But I've also heard that you might have to give up things - eg soy, milk, etc - when first going gluten-free and then you can reintroduce it after you've healed.

[missy'smom]

Part of me is afraid that if I totally eliminate dairy, even though a little bit seems ok, that eventually I won't be able to tolerate any at all.

So today I tried to mix it up - take-out (totally gluten-free) Greek salad (cow's milk feta) and gluten-free pizza with goat's cheese. Unfortunately, they put feta on my pizza, so that was twice as much dairy as I had intended. Ears still hurt, stomach still distended and feeling uncomfortable.

As to your fear of not being able to tolerate it at all, the reality is that's where you are at now, obvious symptoms or not, so you've nothing to lose by eliminating it and something to gain. If you plan to try goat's milk. You should give your body a break from all dairy for a good long while first. Give it time to call off the attack on dairy and quit calling it an enemy invader, then try the lowest lactose forms of goat's milk products-aged cheese and yogurt. You allergist should be able to test you for goat's milk at some point if that would be helpful. You can always take lactase tablets if lactose is a problem and allergy is not. Allergies can get worse and contribute to other problems if we ignore them too.

I love cheese etc. but my breathing improved so much after eliminating dairy that was motivating to keep it out. There are some dairy-free alternatives that help us out-Enjoy-life chocolate chips, coconut milk icecreams that are yummy! and some "butter" and "milk" alternatives. Let us know what we can help with. Many of us here have to deal with these same challenges.