Dairy Sensitivity Question

[Galixie]

If I react subtly to trace amounts of dairy, does that mean I'd definitely have a bigger reaction to larger amounts of dairy? Or could I end up having the same subtle reaction regardless of the amount?

[moosemalibu]

Do you have lactose intolerance or an allergy type reaction (anaphylaxis, etc)?  Either way I would recommend avoiding it if you body doesn't tolerate it well.

[bartfull]

If you're a newly diagnosed celiac with lots of villi damage you can't digest dairy because the villi are the part of your body that does that. Given time (maybe six months?) you may well get dairy back.

[Galixie]

It is neither lactose intolerance nor true allergy. It seems to be a sensitivity to casein and whey. The very mild reaction I seem to get after just a trace amount is only a stuffy nose. I did consume dairy for about 40 years before going off of it, so I know it wouldn't ever cause a life-threatening reaction for me. I think the only symptoms dairy generally gives me are sinus problems and gut issues. I had thought that I'd be able to tolerate at least trace amounts without a problem because of the fact that it isn't a true allergy. I guess I'm just confused about whether more is automatically going to be worse or if it could end up just being the same reaction as a trace (which isn't that big of a deal if it's just a stuffy nose). I'm also a little confused about why I'd react to a trace even though I've had dairy all my life up until 3 months ago. I don't know whether to interpret it as needing to stay away from all dairy forever, or whether I should experiment with adding some dairy back in to see how much is really too much.

 

A trace amount gives me such a mild reaction that I just don't know what it means.

[rockymtntapper]

Sort of a guess, but I'm thinking that if you avoiding it right now and it gives you a mild reaction, if you were to add it into your diet again completely you'd probably have a worse reaction. Since it's not a true allergy and just a sensitivity, you will probably be able to add it in eventually after letting your gut heal. I ate dairy all my life and now my body hates it, but I think it's just because my gut is so damaged it can't process it. After avoiding it for about a year, I was able to have it once every couple months without a reaction, but when I tried eating dairy regularly again I started having major reactions immediately after consuming it (extreme bloating, pain, sometimes even vomiting). 

[Galixie]

I have now had it confirmed that I have a dairy intolerance as opposed to a true dairy allergy. After having hives for a week (from an unrelated cause), I finally saw an allergist who did some skin-prick tests on me. While some of the food test areas did appear red, none of them developed a weal of 3mm or more. It was pointed out to me that I have very sensitive skin because the control test of saline also turned red (which it shouldn't have).

 

He did say that, since it isn't a true allergy, it wouldn't kill me to cheat and have dairy once in awhile. I will keep that in mind, but for now I'm still staying away from it.

 

While I was there I tried to ask the doctor about the meaning of just a positive IgA test when the rest of the celiac panel was negative. He wasn't familiar with the test I was asking about. All he could tell me was that there is no test for NCGS. So I'm still stumped on that one.