New Lactose Problems?

[FreyaUSA]

Lately I've been noticing that whenever I have milk my stomach becomes incredibly burbly and noisy. I mainly use soymilk, but I use butter, cheese, sour cream, yogurt, etc. A couple days ago I was in a constant state of discomfort after having a small bowl of cereal with lf milk. Yesterday, I avoided everything until I had a piece of cheese (without even thinking about it.) Then I was mildly burbly. Today I had yogurt for breakfast and NO PROBLEM. But at lunch I fixed enchiladas with cheese and sour cream and am now mildly burbly and uncomfortable. It's almost enough to make me cry! Is this a "serious" lactose problem or is this just one of those things I can basically ignore by using lactaid or acidophilous or whatever (and just stay away from milk?) Any suggestions? Just the thought of having to go CF too makes me so depressed (and here I'd thought I'd handled the diet change so well.)

[burdee]

Try using 'lactaid' supplements (chewable tablets) when you consume milk products OR try 'Lactaid' or Dairy Ease or any lactose free brands of milk instead. Yogurt bacteria help digest lactose, so yogurt may not give you similar symptoms. Many of us noticed problems with other foods AFTER we eliminated the gluten, because we didn't experience the extreme gluten reaction symptoms anymore. Since you don't have problems with yogurt, you probably don't have casein (milk protein in all cow's milk products) intolerance, but you could have lactose (milk sugar) intolerance. That's easier to fix by using lactaid supplements while you still enjoy dairy products.

BURDEE

[GEF]

Are your lactose intolerance symptoms worse through times of stress? I have found that is the case with me... just wondering if that could be a factor for you as well.

Gretchen

[MySuicidalTurtle]

I started using goats milk and it has been going well but then early this week I used cows milk and whoa my body was not happy. I stopped eatching cheese and stuff, too. It's frustrating.

[FreyaUSA]

I have to say, in a relative sense, my lactose problems are the worst they've ever been (since I never noticed them before) and the stress level currently is pretty darned low. Go figure! So, I'm going to try the lactaid tablets. I had a bit of cheese with dinner tonight and I'm not really uncomfortable, but definitely not feeling as good as I was before dinner. Earlier I had something with a little reddi wip on it and wasn't feeling too great after that either.

Would acidophilous (spelling?) work like lactaid? I have some of those in my fridge.

Thank you for the info on the difference between lactose and casein reactions! It definitely isn't a problem with yogurt, in fact, I tend to feel better all day if I eat some (and now I know why.) It is interesting that other problems do become more obvious as we clear our bodies from gluten. I really haven't ever felt as good as I do now (except for the lactose thing.) I'm certainly more aware of how my body reacts to foods than I've ever been (had I ever really thought of it before? I can't remember.)

Thank you for your help here. I feel MUCH better.

[burdee]

No, acidophilus won't help with lactose intolerance. You need the lactase enzyme (contained in those lactaid supplements) to digest lactose. Before I learned about 'lactaid', I tried acidophilus milk, which did ZIP for my lactose intolerance symptoms ... but then I also have cow's milk intolerance (lactose, casein, whey or whatever's in cow's milk). Try the 'lactaid' or generic lactase enzymes--Rite Aid stores carry a cheaper version with the same potency.

BURDEE

[lisabarella]

How long have you been gluten-free? The lactose enzyme is on the tip of the villi. So, if your villi are still not completely grown back, or are still lower than the crypt cell, then the lactose enzyme might not be abundant in your system. I take a pill called WHOLE ENZYME with every meal. You can get it at whole foods. It contains all of the enzymes that your body should naturally make. I had problems with milk too - the enzyme supplement cured it.

[FreyaUSA]

Interesting about the enzyme, I'll have to consider that (though price is an issue too. I'll do a comparison shop, lol) I've been gluten-free, with the occasional accidental consumption, for about 7 months now. How long does it take for the villi to completely recover?

[lisabarella]

I think it is 6 months to 2 years, but each person is different and there is refractive?? celiacs in which people don't see a huge response to the gluten-free diet. My villi seem to want to take the long road to healing. From what I was told from my GI, the villi are suppose to be in a 4:1 ratio with the cell (villi:cell), i.e the villi are 4 times higher than the cell and thus able to absorb nutrients. My villi were 0:1, i.e non existent at dignosis (July 18th 2003) and are now 1:1 (May 2004). Such is life:)

[tarnalberry]

It is also natural in humans to lose the ability to digest lactose over time. In fact, in some major populations, it's rare to be able to continue digesting large amounts of lactose past the age of two. (It's a genetic thing that occured after the advent of dairy sources that provided a large enough survival advantage that the ability to continue consuming dairy after weaning has made big inrodes in the gene pool.)

[Guest LisaB]

Hi everybody, just wanted to say that you may want to look at a bunch of info I just posted on a post entitled "Kefir", there is an article their about how kefir culture improves milk/lactose digestion as well as others that show that kefir recolonizes the intestines with probiotics (and kicks Candida out by the way), heals the intestines, improves the immune system, creates enzymes and is a wonderful source of vitamins and minerals. I will say that digestive enzymes are great but since drinking kefir, I don't need to supplement them anymore.

Hope this helps everybody!

[kabowman]

My 2 cents - my lactose/casien intolerance has gone from mild to bad to worse over the last 5 years. Even with lactose tablets - I now avoid it completely, just like all the other foods that make me sick. I have switched to goat's milk too, although I am still adjusting to the taste, like I had to adjust to soy milk when I switched to that years ago which I have had to give up due to soy bean intolerance. However, my mother can still eat ice cream and drink milk occasionally if she takes the pills and she has been lactose intolerant longer than me.

-Kate

[burdee]

Hey Kate: I had a similar experience. Lactaid pills seemed to help me for years. But when I had excruciating undiagnosed celiac pain, avoiding gluten reduced most of that pain. When I did Enterolab tests for gluten and milk sensitivity, I learned the source of the rest of my symptoms: CASEIN (the milk protein) antibodies/intolerance. So lactaid pills for lactose (milk sugar) didn't prevent my casein reaction. I also had intolerance to soy, so I just avoid all dairy products (and soy/dairy substitutes). Another friend whose E-lab results told her she had casein intolerance tried goat's milk with disastrous results. I read that goat's milk STILL has casein, just not as much as cow's milk. So I don't want to risk a reaction. Avoiding gluten/dairy/soy is challenging, but well worth it on 'good' days.

BURDEE

[tarnalberry]

That's one of the biggest bummers about being casein intolerant - no more kefir. (And I really haven't been able to get into goat's milk enough to get past the nausea at the taste to see if I tolerate it. ;-) )

[kabowman]

Well, the goat's milk info is interesting and would explain my reaction to pumpkin pie made with goat's milk. No soy for me and I already know I am casien intolerant. Thanks...back to rice milk.

-Kate

[Guest LisaB]

Tiffany,

You can still make kefir with another medium, such as rice milk or even water kefir, the culture can feed on any type of sugar, doesn't need to be milk sugar.

Let me know if you would like to know more about it, it is a way to get the probiotics in without dairy.

[stargirl]

If it makes you feel better at all I am also "becoming" lactose intolerant. I never had any problems before going gluten free but about 4 or 5 months in I started feeling a little sick sometimes. I have now been gluten free for ten months and am now lactose sensitive. I can get away with a little but any more than that and it isn't so good.

[cynicaltomorrow]

Would acidophilous (spelling?) work like lactaid? I have some of those in my fridge.

I started having problems with dairy products after being gluten-free for a few months. I cut out all dairy. But, I was still having some problems. So I started taking milk-free acidophilous everyday. I've been taking it for a few weeks now and have slowly started reintroducing dairy products with no problems. .. Just a thought.

[red345]

--.

[Nin]

I am also sensitive to casein. My doctor just gave me some new pills and the fine print shows there is lactose in the ingredients. I gather lactose is milk sugar, does anyone know if it still contains casein?

thanks Nin

[tarnalberry]

while lactose shouldn't contain casein, if you have a very strong allergy to casein, I would avoid it until I contacted the company about contamination. (I'm not sure if lactose is synthetically derived.)

[num1habsfan]

I buy Lactaid Milk and Lactose Free Butter..I can only eat cheese if its baked on something, and even that it doesnt take much to affect me. Its a real pain going to someone else's place, out of town..You cant start carrying milk and butter around with you lol. I never bother with the lactaid pills. i dont think it'd be worth my trouble...

~lisa~

[burdee]

It's easier to carry little chewable lactaid pills than milk or butter to someone's place, out of town, etc. They do help prevent lactose intolerance reactions. However casein/soy intolerance is another story ... I sure miss ice cream, cheese and butter.

BURDEE

[FreyaUSA]

What an great board this is! Okay, so I bought some of those lactaid pills (store brand, actually) and, for the first few days ate them whenever I suspected something I was going to eat had lactose in it. It worked great! So then, I thought, I'd check to see what actually was giving me problems, testing and such. Now, I know, if I'm going to have something like ice cream, I have to take one. Cheese, it depends on the quantity. Just a little doesn't bother me, but lots (I like cheese) will. I keep a couple packets in my purse (with the imodium and migraine meds I've not had to use much at all since going gluten-free. ) I use lactaid milk now (and really like that extended expiration date!) So far so good! I'm hoping this goes away as my little villi come fully back to life

[Rikki Tikki]

How would a person be checked for lactose intolerence? I had not thought it was a problem but recently have been really bad stomach ache's after drinking milk. I hesitate to take yet another item off my do not eat list.