Develop Lactose Intolerance?

[Blueberry]

Hi everyone. I've been gluten-free for about 6 years now, self-diagnosed. I have heard and read that celiac disease and lactose intolerance go hand in hand, and that after being diagnosed with celiac, you can develop a lactose intolerance. I love diary, (ice cream, chocolate, etc.) and eat alot of it, since it is something that I can eat. Well, until recently that is. Just before the summer, I started noticing symptons similiar to celiac, but different. I am very strict with the glunten, since I am very sensitive, and even the tiniest bit will bother me. I finally traced it back one day to dairy, since the only thing I had eaten that was different, was chocolate milk. I also started noticing it with ice cream, since about 5 min after eating it, I would get terrible shooting pains in my stomach, then have to run to the bathroom shortly afterwards. I have been noticing these symptons more with other diary products, but it is hard to give up, since it will be another thing I can't eat. I have no idea if this is lactose, or something else? Has anyone had any experience with this? Will lactaid pills help me? Or is it like the celiac, where I just have to stay away from it? Should I go see my doctor, and have a test done? Any suggestions, advice?

[RiceGuy]

It can be lactose, casein, or dairy in general. However, the best thing you can do for yourself is to give your digestive system a break, by not eating any dairy for awhile. A number of people find that over time, they regain the ability to handle dairy to some degree.

However, have you checked that the ice cream, chocolate, etc you've been eating is gluten-free? There are dairy-free chocolate products too, though many contain soy, which many find they cannot eat. There have been many threads about that, which a search should bring up for you. Also, there are dairy-free ice creams, like the ones made with coconut, which are very yummy. You can of course make your own too. A soft sort of ice cream can be made in minutes, using a blender, and it works well dairy-free too.

[ShayFL]

I agree. Cut the dairy for a trial period of at least a few months to see if those symptoms go away. You can then challenge dairy by eating some pure dairy like milk or cheese. Stay away from processed foods like chocolate milk and ice cream for the challenge (because they have other ingredients you could react to). This way you can know for sure if dairy is a problem.

I myself just last week have challenged dairy. Yogurt. And now I have vertigo again. It is the only new thing I added back in within the last 2 weeks. So I am off dairy again and likely forever. I do fine without it. The Coconut ice cream by Turtlemountain is delicious!!

[aikiducky]

If you haven't had problems with dairy before, and it has just started, I doubt if it is connected to celiac. Some celiacs are lactose intolerant in the beginning of the gluten free diet because their intestines aren't healed yet but in your case that wouldn't make as much sense I'd think. So it could very well be just plain old lactose intolerance which you can also develop with age just because you're getting older and producing less of the enzyme that breaks down lactose.

So I'll just disagree slightly with the previous posts... If you are just simply lactose intolerant it could well be that you are fine with milk products as long as you take lactaid or a similar product with the lactase enzyme that you lack. So you could start with trying that, and then if the issues don't resolve, try cutting out milk completely.

Pauliina

[JulesNZN]

I was told by several physicians that the ingredients in grain assist in the digestion of dairy. I have been lactose intolerant since I went totally gluten free, it was about a year later that it became obvious to me that it was the problem. Try a lactose medication when you eat dairy, see if it helps. It takes about 2 or 3 days to see results, but it works for me.

Good luck!