Lactose Intolerance Vs. Celiac

[kathyhay]

I'm just trying to figure out what is wrong with my husband... exploring all possibilities...

I am trying to find out also if there is a forum for discussion for lactose intolerance like this forum for celiac disease.

My husband tells me that milk soothes his stomach, so I don't know what to think. One of his aunts is lactose intolerant...

[GEF]

kathy,

We discuss a lot of related issues at times.. you are certainly welcome here. The answer to whether lactose intolerance & gluten intolerance display similar symptoms... the answer is yes.... the reaction is just due to a different thing. Gluten intolerance is A LOT more serious than lactose intolerance though.. and he should see a doctor about getting tested. Also, lactose intolerance could also be present as a side-effect of the damage of gluten intolerance, so it's not unusual to see both. It really is important for your husband to see a doctor... he should have some things ruled out... just in case

Good luck!

Gretchen

[SteveW]

I think the symptoms can be the same or different depending on the person.

My reaction to milk/dairy is Severe and sudden. Lots of gut wrenching pain and about an hour in the head. After about 2 hours the pain is done and I feel better.

Gluten is more sneaky with me. Prior to being diagnosed I would have never guessed it was gluten that was causing most of my problems. Delayed reaction or no obvious symptoms at all. I ate a DD muffin and coffee every morning for 5 years and was not sick for weeks at a time. That was up to last year when I got really sick everyday from just about everything I ate.

You should really have your husband checked out by a doc. There are so many things that can cause GI symptoms (assuming that

[debmidge]

Kathy,

Lactose intolerance can be tested for at the gastro's office. It's a device that you breathe into a few times and it measures something in breath. Several years ago gastro tested my husband like this, and he passed the test. My husband is celiac and I am severely lactose intolerent. I have been lactose intolerant for about 26 years - as soon as I hit my twenties I developed it. I am the only person in my family that has it. Go figure. Milk/dairy with lactose in it never soothes my stomach. Actually when I look at dairy that has lactose in it, I know how sick I'll feel afterwards and I reject it.

The serious gut diseases that would give symptoms like lactose intolerance would be, and are not limited to: celiac, Crohn's, intestinal cancers and pancreatic cancer. These should not be fooled around with. Any diarrhea lasting over a week should be investigated, even if the diarrhea comes and goes for weeks. The diarrhea in the early stages of pancreatic cancer is intermittant like that - which would give he patient the idea that whatever they had went away or it was only stress that gave them the stomach ache/diarrhea. Diarrhea from intestinal cancers are the first sign - that's why it should not be ignored or taken lightly. Pancreatic cancer is sneaky like that, many doctors have a hard time diagnosing it until it's too late. A blood test for liver/pancreatic function would be the first step. I don't want to put the fear of God into you, but I have lived thru a husband with celiac and a father with pancreatic cancer; the pancreatic cancer followed almost the same track as the celiac did, same symptoms: maldigestion and malabsorption with diarrhea.

Best wishes for a speedy diagnosis.