Question About Reintroducing Dairy (cow's Milk)

[mamatide]

My daughter has been gluten-free since April 1st and is doing wonderfully. She eats gluten-free and also consumes low-lactose dairy - hard cheese, yogurt mostly. For drinkable milk she was drinking Lacteez (milk with lactose removed - not the medicated kind) and was just fine (no bloating, no crazy weird stools, happy, everything was great).

About 6 weeks ago we gave her a glass of regular cow's milk and she bloated up and had a couple of bad BMs, so we backed off and went back to the Lacteez and everything was fine again.

Last week, we tried milk again (in her cereal and a half-glass with one meal) and no ill effects. But we've found that if she has a lot of milk (a whole glass, for instance), she gets "soupy poopy" an sore belly.

Can anyone tell me more about reintroducing lactose in secondary lactose intolerance due to Celiac? I'm thinking since it's been 7 months we're about on the right track in terms of intestinal healing. Should we stay the course with little bits of regular milk and add more on a weekly basis?

What has your experience been?

mamatide

[daffadilly]

OMG, why in the world would you keep trying to give her milk when it is obvious that she is dairy intolerant. It is not going to go away in 7 months, it might never go away.

No one REALLY needs dairy - ever, please do some research on this...

[emcmaster]

OMG, why in the world would you keep trying to give her milk when it is obvious that she is dairy intolerant. It is not going to go away in 7 months, it might never go away.

No one REALLY needs dairy - ever, please do some research on this...

Why are you being so harsh and rude?

There are a LOT of celiacs that are dairy intolerant at first and after time to heal, become able to digest dairy again with no problems. I am one of them - in fact, I knew I was dairy intolerant long before I knew about celiac.

I've been gluten-free for 7 months and was just recently able to add dairy (and fat) back with no problems. For some people, it IS possible to get over the intolerance after the villi have healed, but in some cases, people are permanently dairy intolerant.

As to why the original poster would like to get her daughter back to eating dairy is quite simple: it's much easier to eat out, eat at other people's houses (provided they can cook gluten-free), and eat more things in general if you can digest dairy.

mamatide, I would recommend waiting a few more months before you try again. It looks like she's made a lot of progress, but isn't "there" yet.

[CarlaB]

Casein intolerance is a permanent intolerance to dairy, much the same as gluten intolerance. Lactose intolerance can go away as the intestines heal. It sounds like your daughter has lactose intolerance because someone with casein intolerace cannot have even lactose-free milk. So, it could go away. It sounds like it's too soon for your daughter though. If she reacts, I wouldn't give her a small amounts as she's probably reacting to it, too, but just not as much. Let her use her body's energy to heal rather than fight off the milk reaction.

It is true that she doesn't "need" milk. It's a poor source of calcium because of pasteurization. I can understanding "wanting" it, however. My kids are very healthy and have never drank milk regularly. They occasionally drink soy milk as a treat, and occasionally regular milk, like in hot chocolate.

[ravenwoodglass]

My daughter has been gluten-free since April 1st and is doing wonderfully. She eats gluten-free and also consumes low-lactose dairy - hard cheese, yogurt mostly. For drinkable milk she was drinking Lacteez (milk with lactose removed - not the medicated kind) and was just fine (no bloating, no crazy weird stools, happy, everything was great).

About 6 weeks ago we gave her a glass of regular cow's milk and she bloated up and had a couple of bad BMs, so we backed off and went back to the Lacteez and everything was fine again.

Last week, we tried milk again (in her cereal and a half-glass with one meal) and no ill effects. But we've found that if she has a lot of milk (a whole glass, for instance), she gets "soupy poopy" an sore belly.

Can anyone tell me more about reintroducing lactose in secondary lactose intolerance due to Celiac? I'm thinking since it's been 7 months we're about on the right track in terms of intestinal healing. Should we stay the course with little bits of regular milk and add more on a weekly basis?

What has your experience been?

mamatide

When I reintroduced dairy I did it like you with hard cheeses and gluten free yogurt. I was able to tolerate them with no problems and after a month or so I tried gluten-free ice cream and then started using milk in my cereal. I took it slow and had no problems. I should note that a large glass of milk, much as I love it with a cookie or two will still cause some distress, but if I keep it under half a cup I'm okay. Different people tolerate different amounts but the lactose in the harder cheese and the yogurt is easier to digest than in just plain milk. You might want to consider getting the enterolab tests done for casien intolerance just to be on the safe side before reintroducing. Lactose intolerance can improve but casien intolerance is like gluten intolerance it is there for life. Good luck.

[aikiducky]

The thing with lactose intolerance is that different people's bodies can produce different amounts of lactase, the entzyme needed to digest lactose. And if one doesn't drink or eat any dairy, the body doesn't produce as much lactase anymore. So completely stopping with giving her milk would actually make it more difficult to introduce it later.

Of course someone whose vili are completely gone isn't going to be producing lactase no matter what so then it's better to not have any milk...but in this case it seems it's a question of the amount.

The lactose in hard cheese and yoghurt isn't easier to digest actually, there's just less of it (in hard cheese, almost none) so a person whose body makes a little bit of lactase will be able to use that little amount to digest the little amount of lactose in yoghurt for example, but a whole glass of milk is just going to be too much. And how much is too much can vary from person to person and even for the same person at different times.

I think it's a good idea to just give the little bit that she can handle, and not to rush it.

Pauliina

[mamatide]

The I think it's a good idea to just give the little bit that she can handle, and not to rush it.

Pauliina

Thanks Paulina and the others who were kind enough to give me some constructive advice. We tested for lactose intolerance when we were testing for Celiac disease and she is not lactose intolerant in the traditional sense. I see no reason to eliminate it completely from her diet and have not - allowing only hard cheeses and yogurt and lacteez milk with excellent (symptom free) results. And trust me, she had every single symptom in the book prior to gluten free.

I am encouraged that she can tolerate a little bit of milk but I think I'll wait a couple more months before trying it again.

You're right, life is easier with milk. If she could drink regular milk,she could fit in a little more at school and be able to buy something in the cafeteria for instance - not important to most of us, but it would be nice for her since she's in Kindergarten and already stands out for her different dietary requirements.

At 7 months, we're on our way but we're clearly not "there" yet. I still believe I have no reason to completely eliminate dairy from her life. She's thriving, is happy, has pink skin, has gained 3 lbs and 3 inches in height since going gluten-free.

Thanks for the support. I was disappointed when I only saw the first response.

mamatide.

[emcmaster]

Thanks for the support. I was disappointed when I only saw the first response.

mamatide.

That first response made my blood boil. You did/said nothing to call for that.

Please don't let that poster's rudeness keep you from continuing to post.

[daffadilly]

SORRY, I DID NOT MEAN TO BE RUDE - JUST QUICK I WAS POSTING FROM THE OFFICE.

PLUS I HAD A REALLY BAD DAY, BUT BECAUSE PEOPLE THAT I KNOW READ THIS BOARD I CANNOT POST HOW AWFUL MY DAY WAS. SORRY AGAIN I POSTED I SHOULD NOT HAVE POSTED. I THINK I DID SAY DO SOME RESEARCH ON THE ISSUE, MEANING I DID NOT HAVE TIME TO GO INTO THE DETAILS BUT THAT THE POSTER COULD CHECK IT OUT AND MAKE IN INFORMED DECISION.

ONE THING I CAN SAY IS THAT MY GRANDSON'S BLOOD TEST CAME BACK NEGATIVE, HE HAS TWO DQ1 GENES SO DIL IS ALL HAPPY AND WILL NOT BE TAKING THE KID gluten-free, THE SISTER'S ENTEROLAB TEST IS NOT BACK YET, SHE HAS NEVER HAD THE BLOOD TEST. I AM JUST SICK OF THESE KIDS GETTING NEGATIVE BLOOD TESTS AND THE PARENTS ALL HAPPY BECAUSE THE DOCTOR IS NOT ORDERING THEM TO BE gluten-free OR DF AND THE KIDS ARE SUFFERING.

ANYWAY, JUST LABEL ME A RUDE PERSON, THANKS FOR THAT IT WAS A GREAT END TO A GREAT DAY

SO SORRY YOU BLOOD BOILED

[tarnalberry]

daffadilly, I think you missed the information that said that the child *was healthy* and had *no* symptoms when on casein but not lactose. that makes a crucial difference. no, dairy isn't needed - thank goodness for that, as I can't have it. but its not evil either.

mamatide, as has been noted, being able to digest lactose isn't an all or nothing thing. the *amount* of lactase you produce varies from person to person, and varies for a person due to various reasons, and just over their life-time. if she's been without lactose for a while, her body may need time to start producing it again, or she may just not produce very much, and she would need to take lactaid with her. (she can take lactaid - pills, or chewables (though I don't know about the gluten-free status of the chewables) prior to eating dairy with lactose.) or you can just keep the amount of dairy she has down in a day to what her body can deal with on its own.

[tl2277]

I have been gluten free for about 11 months and can now tolerate dairy in cheese and in food. You might want to try starting by using lactaze enzymes every time dairy is consumed and use products made from goat's milk, as those seem a bit easire on the digestive system. At least for me they are. I still do not drink milk straight, and I still try to avoid dairy as I think it contributes to nasal congestion.

[mamatide]

if she's been without lactose for a while, her body may need time to start producing it again, or she may just not produce very much, and she would need to take lactaid with her. (she can take lactaid - pills, or chewables (though I don't know about the gluten-free status of the chewables) prior to eating dairy with lactose.) or you can just keep the amount of dairy she has down in a day to what her body can deal with on its own.

I never thought that lactaid would help. I buy the milk with lactose removed (as opposed to the treated kind) because I thought it would be easier to digest than treated milk. She certainly has absolutely no trouble with the lactose-free milk. It's just that it's not as readily available say when we're travelling (and we travel a fair bit). Perhaps a few drops of that lactaid in regular milk would help her when we're out or whatever.

Anyway, thanks all. The importance is that she's gaining weight, is positively thriving, of course.

mamatide.

[tarnalberry]

I never thought that lactaid would help. I buy the milk with lactose removed (as opposed to the treated kind) because I thought it would be easier to digest than treated milk. She certainly has absolutely no trouble with the lactose-free milk. It's just that it's not as readily available say when we're travelling (and we travel a fair bit). Perhaps a few drops of that lactaid in regular milk would help her when we're out or whatever.

Anyway, thanks all. The importance is that she's gaining weight, is positively thriving, of course.

mamatide.

inside her stomach, lactose free milk, and regular milk plus a lactaid pill are the same thing. in the former case, the lactose has been broken down by adding lactase before it gets to her intestines (before she drinks it). in the later case, the lactose has been broken down by adding lactase before it gets to her intestines (in her stomach). as a bonus, lactase is available as a pill, a chewable (check the gluten-free status of that one, though), and as a liquid. additionally, it stays good for... a year, I think, when kept in it's packaging, and is cheaper than buying lactose free milk.

[StrongerToday]

There's also a new(er) product out called Digestive Advantage (I think, sorry!) but it's in with the lactaid pills at the pharmacy. It's a pill you take once a day, every day then you don't have to worry about having a pill with you when ever you need one.

And just an FYI; I couldn't eat dairy for almost a year. Even just a little yogurt or milk would make me very gassy. I still try to watch how much I consume, otherwise I'm not always pleasant to be around but for the most part it's much better. You never know how long it will take your body to heal. I finally just avoided dairy completely for months, then slowly re-introduced it. Yum!!