Reintroducing Dairy

[scottyfeelsick]

Thanks so much to everybody on this forum. You have all helped me out so much, and helped me to see the light at the end of the tunel.

My question is about reintriducing dairy after being gluten free for a few months. I showed a mild reaction to dairy on an enterolab test but never felt it personally. But went dairy free a few months ago at the same time as gluten because it sounds so common for people to have a temporary problem with it.

How have you felt reactions to it? was it right away, or did it take a day or two to feel a reaction? did it feel like a GI thing or more of a fatigue thing?

How long did you wait before you tried it? Did it seem like long enough or not?

How should I try it? With just a little butter at first, or go kinda crazy with everything?

Does anybody tolerate dairy in baked goods, like small amounts of butter and cream, but does not tolerate dairy like milk and yogurt and stuff?

Today, about 2 hours ago, I had a brownie that had butter and cream in it, and I feel amazingly better than I have all day. I'm sure the suger rush might have something to do with it, but still.... first dairy in months and no weird feelings in my stomach or nothing. Could I be o.k.? Am I having wishfull thinking?

If anybody has any experience with this or any thoughts about it I would really appreciate it. Thanks so much for all your help. scotty

[gfmolly]

Hi Scotty,

I waited a full year before I tried dairy and now I am 1 year and two months out and able to tolerate low-lactose products only. I can have most hard cheeses in small amounts, butter and yogurt. that seems to be all, but everyone is different based on the amount of damage before diagnosis.

I react by the next morning in the form of D, and if I really react, my tummy gets very noisy almost immediately following consumption.

Hope that helps!

Molly

[scottyfeelsick]

GFMolly, Thanks so much for letting me know about your personal experience with it. I really do appreciate it.

I would love to hear from anybody else also, to see what kind of reactions people have had. Like if some people feel like they have been glutened or if it is a different kind of feeling. Just what it felt like for them to have a reaction to dairy, and how long before they knew if they had a reaction or not.

Also has anybody had a good experience(no reactions) to reintroducing dairy sooner than a year, like only a few months after going gluten free?

Thanks again for everybodys help on this forum. scotty

[mushroom]

GFMolly, Thanks so much for letting me know about your personal experience with it. I really do appreciate it.

I would love to hear from anybody else also, to see what kind of reactions people have had. Like if some people feel like they have been glutened or if it is a different kind of feeling. Just what it felt like for them to have a reaction to dairy, and how long before they knew if they had a reaction or not.

Also has anybody had a good experience(no reactions) to reintroducing dairy sooner than a year, like only a few months after going gluten free?

Thanks again for everybodys help on this forum. scotty

My reactions to lactose came before I recognized the gluten problems. While the gluten made me gassy and bloated, the lactose (milk, cream, ice cream, frozen yogurt --not really yogurt at all) would case ED within an hour or two.

For a while after going gluten-free I cut out cheese, sour cream and yogurt as well, but have added them back in without problem although I think the cheese does make my RA worse. However, after six months gluten-free I have not been game to try cream or ice cream. A little milk in my cappuccino (I ask for all froth) doesn't affect me.

Neroli

[scottyfeelsick]

Mushroom, thanks alot for your reply, I really appreciate hearing about anybody else's experiences with all of this stuff.

I don't mean to sound ignorant, but I am kinda new to forums in general(this is the first one I have ever posted on). But, does "ED" refer to the big D? and is "RA" refering to arthritis?

Thanks again for all your help, scotty.

[ive]

My husband is gluten intolerant as well (Enterolab test is positive) and I asked him not to eat dairy for 3 months (it was hard, he really loves dairy). So 3 months were up this Saturday and he ate some sour cream and so far so good. He is reintroducing dairy to his diet, but very slowly, starting with sour cream, next week he will start cottage cheese if everything will be fine. He had mostly GI symptoms before diagnosis, but it looks like he is healed enough now.

As for me, I could not tolerate any dairy well before my gluten intolerance diagnosis, first it was lactose intolerance (2 years ago) and then in a year I couldn't tolerate any dairy at all. Mostly it was GI symptoms. I will not attempt to reintroduce dairy into my diet any time soon. I think I will wait another year or so.

I would suggest trying to introduce dairy slowly, and start with low-lactose / fermented dairy products, such as sour cream, yougurt, cottage cheese, butter. Do not drink plain milk just yet. Also start slowly, i.e. eat yougurt for breakfast one day and then do not eat dairy for 3 days and notice if you have any reactions.

[roxie]

I tried to add dairy back into my diet after being gluten free for about 4 months now (I think). I tried the Breyers extra creamy nonfat chocolate ice cream. There were all kinds of weird ingredients in the ice cream so I called Breyers, and they said that it was gluten free if the ingredients did not specifically say "wheat". I had a good sized bowl of the ice cream and I was very sick for 2 whole days! I felt like I had the full blown flu. However, I seem to be able to tolerate things with very small amounts of dairy.

[ksymonds84]

Mushroom, thanks alot for your reply, I really appreciate hearing about anybody else's experiences with all of this stuff.

I don't mean to sound ignorant, but I am kinda new to forums in general(this is the first one I have ever posted on). But, does "ED" refer to the big D? and is "RA" refering to arthritis?

Thanks again for all your help, scotty.

Hi Scotty

I've found through keeping a food journal that dairy was a problem for me but only when I ate heavy cheese sauces such as gluten free alfredo, cheesy enchilada's, or drank a glass of regular milk. I would always have bad gas and a bloaty stomache a couple hours later followed by D the next morning. I have found that I can tolerate hard cheeses and a tablespoon of sour cream on a baked potato. I tried yogurt the other day and got the uncomforable bloat & gas but no D in the morning so I will hold off on yogurt for awhile. I believe RA means rheumetoid Arthritis (probably spelling wrong) but don't know the ED. Don't worry no question here is ignorant, we are all learning!

[Nancym]

Dairy gives me constipation, it used to counterbalance the dairrhea that wheat gave me, most of the time anyway.

Anyway, nowadays my symptoms from dairy are excess mucus production, stuffy nose especially at night and weirdly enough, muscle spasms especially in my neck and shoulder area.

I seem to be ok with butter though.

[scottyfeelsick]

Ive, Roxy, Ksymonds84, Nancym; Thanks alot for all of your replies, I really do appreciate it.

So what I am kinda gathering here is that dairy is deffinatelly a digestive issue. Weather it is an upset stomach, or the big D or C, or any other kind of discomfort, it seems to be mostly related to GI issues, and not really the same problems that gluten causes alot of people. (like fatigue, brain fog, physical weakness, severe lethargy, etc..)

Please correct me if I am wrong, but I seem to get the feeling that I should try things like goat yogurt and goat cheese first, and things like kefir, just things a little lower in lactose. And if I don't get any kind of bloating or diarrhea or digestive discomfort, then I am probably ok with that amount, and can move on. If maybe I feel a bit more tired or run down that day, its most likely just an off day or something else not related to the dairy, as long as my stomach and bowels all feel fine still? I know this is not a for sure thing, but am I relatively safe in this assumtion? Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong here. Maybe it is just wishful thinking, because I had a brownie with some dairy in it and felt fine all day afterwards.

Thanks again everybody for all your help, scotty.

[ive]

If maybe I feel a bit more tired or run down that day, its most likely just an off day or something else not related to the dairy, as long as my stomach and bowels all feel fine still?

Before I stopped dairy, I would get extremely tired after eating it, even lactose-free milk. We used to do lattes (with lactose-free milk) on the weekends and I would get so sleepy and exhausted after it. It was actually well before my gluten intolerance diagnosis. And I did not have GI symptoms from non-lactose dairy.

So no, you are not safe if you don't have GI symptoms from dairy. Dairy can give you a lot more than GI symptoms, it can give you stuffy nose, fatigue, tiredness, brain fog, skin problems, etc. I guess majority of people have GI symptoms, but some of us do have non-GI symptoms.

[scottyfeelsick]

Ive, thanks alot for the info. Thats what I was kinda afraid of, it just seemed to simple to only watch out for GI stuff.

I am sorry to keep asking so many questions, I feel like I am probably getting kinda annoying. But, anyway Ive, could you give me a little bit of an idea of how long after eating dairy that you would notice those symptoms, and how long they would usually last for? Would it usually be pretty consistant, or could you have a different reaction different times? thanks alot, scotty.

[Ann1231]

My reactions to lactose came before I recognized the gluten problems. While the gluten made me gassy and bloated, the lactose (milk, cream, ice cream, frozen yogurt --not really yogurt at all) would case ED within an hour or two.

For a while after going gluten-free I cut out cheese, sour cream and yogurt as well, but have added them back in without problem although I think the cheese does make my RA worse. However, after six months gluten-free I have not been game to try cream or ice cream. A little milk in my cappuccino (I ask for all froth) doesn't affect me.

Neroli

I have the same problem with cheese and my RA.

Milk makes it worse as well and also gives me violent D within an hour or two. I am finding that I have to avoid dairy except for butter, which doesn't seem to bother me at all.

Neroli, do you find meat bothers your RA?

RA= rheumatoid arthritis, btw for those who asked.

Ann