Lactaid Pills - Kind Of Ranting!

[Sweetfudge]

so i bought the rite aid brand last month, and the only time i took it i got sick. don't know if it was from that, or cc. so i went out and got the fast acting lactaid pills, but couldn't call the company, since its the weekend. anyone know if they are gluten-free? if not, anyone take walmart's brand? NO ONE WILL TELL ME ANYTHING!!!!

i was really pissed off at rite aid. i asked the pharmacist, and he said if there's nothing on the box, there's no gluten in them. i called the company and the rep i talked to didn't know, so he said he would find someone who did, and have them call me. well, a week went by, and i was tired of waiting, so i took the pill. after being sick for a couple days (from it or not), i get a call from someone who said they couldn't guarantee that the pills were gluten-free. i was ticked. and why the heck does no one list their phone numbers on their generic brand products. i had to hunt down rite aid's number, and no one in the store would give it to me either!

i would have gotten walmart's box, but there's no number on theirs either!! idiots!

so if none of these are safe, please tell me what you use!!

..................sorry, think it may be that time of the month.............

Thanks for your time

[JennyC]

I buy the Lactaid brand for my son. They are made by the Tylenol company. They do not test the pills for gluten, but they track outside ingredients and there is no gluten-containing ingredients in Lactaid. This is the same principle why when Tylenol sends you their gluten free list only some products are on there. For example, Tylenol grape, Tylenol cold cherry. Many more flavors are gluten free, they just don't test every single one of their products. My son takes the Lactaid frequently, and is very sensitive, and does not react to them.

[2kids4me]

Both my kids use the Lactaid brand as well (Lactaid ultra). Kathryn is very sensitive to trace gluten and neither one has a problem.

If you are casein intolerant and not just lactose intolerant then no brand of lactose med will help with dairy.

Unless a company has certified gluten free facility (done through ELISA testing) then legally they cannot claim something is gluten free. They usually say " we do not use gluten products in the manufacture but cannot guarantee it to be free of trace amounts). Dont get mad at the employees who have to respond in a way that their legal dept says is the only way.

It is always a frustrating journey to contact companies. Even when you work in a medical field - this is what actually happened to us: A dog eats a store brand name of mouse killer - it is toxic when ingested by dogs. Could not reach the company via number listed (no answer)...called poison control to confirm ingredients as box was half eaten too. Got the info and then gave dog an injection of Vitamin K from a a new bottle - dog screamed and flipped, swelling at injection site. We are like "What the he**??" Contact drug company - we stayed on the line for a while then faxed after getting bored on hold for 15 minutes. They called 2 days later and asked that we fill out an "adverse effect sheet" and send it to them.. Jeez, thanks for your help people!! [insert sarcasm here]

[Guest j_mommy]

I use lactaid fast acting and they are gluten-free!!! Was told that by teh tylenol co!

[Sweetfudge]

yeah it can be very frustrating

thanks for letting me know about the lactaid brand. yay! maybe i'll start feeling better soon! *crosses fingers* Otherwise i'll have to kick the dairy habit

[wolfie]

I called Wal-Mart a while back and they said their brand of Lactaid was gluten-free. I usually buy the Lactiad Fastact now, though. I think it works better.

[Swimmy]

Lactaid pills (brand name) are gluten free! I take them often because I am lactose-intolerant and have never had a problem. They are also listed as a "safe" drug on www.glutenfreedrugs.com

[missy'smom]

Before gluten-free I seemed to have trouble with one of the store brands. They either didn't work or irritated my system and I ended up with stomach irritation and D everytime I took them. Didn't have trouble with the Lactaid brand.

[Puddy]

I use the Lactaid Fastact....no problem here!

[zagadka]

As a warning, DO NOT use VITAMIN WORLD lactase enzymes. I have used them for years and for some reason today looked on the bottle, read the ingredients -nothing odd- but found the disclaimer "this product contains wheat"!!! No wonder why I still feel bloated and icky a year after going gluten-free. WTF!

[celiacmegan]

I took lactaid fast act last year for about 2 weeks and have never been sicker. I don't know if they've changed their ways since last May, but I definitely got glutened from them.

[Sweetfudge]

  zagadka said:

As a warning, DO NOT use VITAMIN WORLD lactase enzymes. I have used them for years and for some reason today looked on the bottle, read the ingredients -nothing odd- but found the disclaimer "this product contains wheat"!!! No wonder why I still feel bloated and icky a year after going gluten-free. WTF!

i hate it when companies change their products hope you get feeling better soon!

  celiacmegan said:

I took lactaid fast act last year for about 2 weeks and have never been sicker. I don't know if they've changed their ways since last May, but I definitely got glutened from them.

hm, i've been using them quite regularly for the last 3 months, and have been fine.

also, anyone know if you can build up an intolerance to lactaid? i feel lately like they're not working as well as they used to. still not full out dairy reaction, but definitely not fun

oh, and FYI, I was at costco the other day, and was trying to find out if the costco brand lactaid was gluten-free. took 15 minutes of me on the phone with them, but they finally were able to tell me that they couldn't confirm that the pills were gluten-free. *crosses another one off the list*

[aikiducky]

What could be happening is that your body has started to produce even less lactase, if it was still producing a little bit until now. That would mean that you need to take more pills for the same amount of dairy.

Pauliina

[Beth in NC]

I woke up this morning feeling awful, just like I did a week ago (not even) when I got glutened from some crackers that I thought were ok. The only thing differently I did yesterday was Lactaid...my first one. And the pharmacist at Target even called them FOR me!

I guess I'll have to search elsewhere for the culprit. I guess sometimes we just never know?

[Sweetfudge]

  aikiducky said:

What could be happening is that your body has started to produce even less lactase, if it was still producing a little bit until now. That would mean that you need to take more pills for the same amount of dairy.

Pauliina

Decided either this was happening, or I was suffering from a dairy allergy (my allergist said either could be a possibility...) so I stopped eating dairy a couple months ago. I've felt a lot better, and have lost 19 lbs!!

  Beth in NC said:

I woke up this morning feeling awful, just like I did a week ago (not even) when I got glutened from some crackers that I thought were ok. The only thing differently I did yesterday was Lactaid...my first one. And the pharmacist at Target even called them FOR me!

I guess I'll have to search elsewhere for the culprit. I guess sometimes we just never know?

Sorry to hear that Beth. Hope you can figure out what was causing you to feel sick

[ravenwoodglass]

One other thing to consider if you are still getting ill with dairy even with a lactaid product is that you may be sensitive to the milk protein in the dairy products rather than the milk sugar in them. If your problem with dairy is casien and not lactose the lactaid pills are not going to help.

[dadoffiveboys]

  ravenwoodglass said:

One other thing to consider if you are still getting ill with dairy even with a lactaid product is that you may be sensitive to the milk protein in the dairy products rather than the milk sugar in them. If your problem with dairy is casien and not lactose the lactaid pills are not going to help.

Yep you are right. After going gluten-free and still not feeling 100% I tried Lactaid milk (as a recommendation by my Allergist). He said, and I quote, "I think your reaction (that I was describing) is an intolerance to the milk protein and not lactose - drink lactaid and if you are sick - you are also allergic to casein." Well.. I was even MORE sick drinking lactaid then regular milk! So.. if you are trying these lactase enzymes and feeling really bad - you probably are also allergic to Casein - which is VERY COMMON among celiacs.

[Beth in NC]

:huh:

La la la la la la la la la la la

I'm not ready to hear that! Don't even wanna THINK about that!

[ravenwoodglass]

  Beth in NC said:

:huh:

La la la la la la la la la la la

I'm not ready to hear that! Don't even wanna THINK about that!

Neither did I!

I have been surprised though that many of the dairy replacements haven't been too bad. Hemp milk turned out to be rather tasty, I really enjoy the chocolate and Wegmans Rice milk seems to work well in my cooking and baking. Finding a butter sub was hard for me because they all have soy. I used Ghee for a bit and had no problems with it but I have started using butter again, so far with no issues.

[Sweetfudge]

  Beth in NC said:

:huh:

La la la la la la la la la la la

I'm not ready to hear that! Don't even wanna THINK about that!

lol kinda feeling the same way.

so, if it's casien...do i have to avoid ALL dairy? how can i learn more about avoiding casien....gulp

[ravenwoodglass]

  Sweetfudge said:

lol kinda feeling the same way.

so, if it's casien...do i have to avoid ALL dairy? how can i learn more about avoiding casien....gulp

Yes all dairy would need to be avoided including items that are labeled lactose free or a non-dairy product if it still contains casein (which many do)

To find out more I would post a specific question or two here, lots of us here have to avoid it, and I would also do a search on a good search engine using the words 'casien intolerance' you should have quite a bit come up.

Also it should be noted that unlike with celiac and gluten you may be able to handle casien after you have healed. After a few months with your digestion working properly you could do a challenge and see how you handle it. Not all of us can add it back in but some will be able to.

[AJ Leigh]

Does anyone know about the BJ's brand? I've been having gluten symptoms, but I've been watching my diet carefully. I cannot find the source! This is the last thing I can think of to check.

I read the ingredients and they seem okay. I would call the company but it's the weekend .