Sometimes Dairy Issues...

[Guest Leidenschaft]

Hi all, I'm wondering about my on again/off again relationship with dairy! I seem to have tolerance for some dairy, and not others. Milk is out of the question, whip cream and heavy cereal cream (in a soup for instance) will make me pay as well. Recently I had an immediate reaction to some potatoes fried in butter... Even my beloved gluten-free shortbread cookies will give me gurgle guts!

I seem to be able to get away with hard cheese, cottage cheese and yogurt, although cream cheese is sometimes a problem.

Does anyone else have this love/hate relationship with dairy? Could it be the culture in cheese and yogurt that makes it more digestible?

Also, any thoughts on what if any damage I'm doing to my body by indulging?? Every once in awhile I crave a big glass of milk with my gluten-free pancakes... it's instant bloat, and gurgle gut for hours!

I never cheat on gluten because I know the damage I would do, but is the same true for dairy intolerance/allergy??

Thanks as always for any insight.

[tarnalberry]

It sounds fairly classic of lactose intolerance. Enteropathy causes by dairy is rather rare, so I wouldn't worry about damage so much as symptoms. Does lactaid help at all?

[Guest Leidenschaft]

I haven't had much success with lactaid... seems I always needed more than the dose I took... more pain and expense than it was worth.

Just wondered why I could tolerate some dairy and have problems with others...

[skbird]

I am not sure if I have dairy problems or not. I love dairy, all kinds. Last fall I was advised by a naturapath to give up dairy, so I tried that for a month. It was one long hard month. At the end of that month I had some cheese and I actually felt a little better than I did before eating it, I had been cranky in fact and the cheese made me feel better. There was no obvious downside, either.

I regularly consume yogurt, sour cream, cheese of all kinds, and goat milk. I started drinking some organic cow milk recently as the store was out of goat milk and I have noticed a minor sour stomach after drinking it. When I gave up dairy last fall I had been suffering from a migraine from something else unrelated and was trying to find things to eat that would not make it worse. I had some cottage cheese and within minutes, I wasn't even finished, I felt this imflammation rush up my neck and wrap around my head. I haven't been interested in cottage cheese since then, when I used to always love it.

I tend to eat a lot of dairy because I am hypoglycemic and it is a good source of protein and fat that helps keep my blood sugars stable. I'm wondering if I am not noticing a lot of problems with it because I don't want to. But giving it up for a month didn't seem to change anything.

I am waiting on my Entero Lab test results to see if I am casein sensitive. My mom told me recently that when I was 2 that I'd had terrible diahrrea when we were in Europe on a trip for a month, because of the milk. They finally took me to a pharmacy in Germany and the pharmacist said it was the milk and gave me some kind of carrot powder and that stopped it. I've read that some sensitivities that are present in kids can go away and resurface. I'm wondering now if this is the case for me. Also wondering if some dairy is safer in some senses than others - like goat dairy, or cheese versus milk.

Anyway, I hope to learn more and hope I don't have an actual sensitivity but am beginning to think that I do...

Stephanie

[Carriefaith]

Just wondered why I could tolerate some dairy and have problems with others...

If you are lactose intolerant (which is common in celiacs)... There are different levels of lactose in different foods. I think milk has the highest amount of lactose, I had a list once from my GI doc telling me which dairy products have the most lactose, I think I lost it though. Lactaid may help, although it doesn't work for me, even in the highest doses. Personally, I am done with dairy products... They make me sick so I stay far away Blah

[Lynne Billington]

Now, can anyone tell me the difference between lactose and casein?? Can you have a problem with one and not the other? How do you differentiate the two?

My husband has a gluten intolerance but something else out there is giving him additional problems now and he's wondering if it's dairy.

TIA,

Lynne

[tarnalberry]

lactose is milk sugar, casein is milk protein. yes, you can have problems with either one and not the other, or both, or neither. additionally, just as is true with wheat, you can be intolerant or allergic to casein, or both (or neither).

the vast majority of peple in the world have some degree of lactose intolerance, because the body's production of lactase (the enzyme that breaks lactose into it's two simple sugars) starts decreasing after the weaning process. (for plenty of people - depending on the ethnic background - it decreases slowly enough that it's not noticeable for decades.) lactose intolernace will not damage your body - it just means that you don't digest the lactose molecule, and when it reaches certain bacteria in your intestine, they do - and produce gas as a byproduct of breaking it down. that can make you feel bloated and cause gas.

fewer people, but still a number, have problems with casein. it's one of the eight major food allergies - which means that the body produces an IgE-antibody mediated response to the protein. IgE allergies can cause hives, itchiness, red skin, headache, intestinal discomfort... all sorts of symptoms. in very serious, and rarer cases, it's possible to have an anaphylactic reaction to milk, which can be lifethreatening, must be brought to the attention of a physician, and requires that you carry an epi-pen around at all times.

it's also possible to be intolerant to casein - which generally manifests in the form of IgG-antibody mediated responses, much like gluten intolerance. there are very few cases (per the medical literature) of dairy induced enteropathy of the intestines, so it generally doesn't cause any significant physical damage, but can still cause a whole host of quality-of-life damaging symptoms. headaches, intestinal discomfort, ... I don't know I could begin to remember the list! others may be more helpful there!

differentiating between them _usually_ isn't too hard, but sometimes can be tricky. in the case of lactose intolerance, the problem is an underproduced enzyme, so you can take something like lactaid, which supplies your body with the enzyme, when you start consuming the dairy product, and shouldn't have a problem with dairy. in the case of casein issues, lactaid won't change your reaction. separating between an allergy and an intolerance generally requires you to, at least, get an allergy test, if there are not obvious histamine-related symptoms (like rashes, itchiness, or sneezing). more research is being done on IgG intolerance testing, but many doctors don't accept the results from blood tests like that just yet.

[Binks]

I had problems with dairy before I ever suspected anything was wrong intestinally. I figured out it was casein after switching to soy cheese with casein in it; lactose does not seem to be the problem for me. My symptoms progressed from gas and discomfort to sinus pain and congestion to (after a few years) suicidal ideation without physical symptoms. Just like clockwork, a few hours after eatting dairy until it cleared my system, I would be plagued with consuming, irrational, morbid depression. Enzymes don't help so I avoid dairy except for butter which seems to be okay.

I found out through testing that I have an IgG sensitivity to MANY foods. This was even before suspecting celiac. My doctor explained that in celiac disease since the intestinal brush border is damaged where enzymes are produced for digesting dairy, that dairy is one of the first things to cause digestive disturbances.

This is my first post and I haven't figured out how to list that I have been gluten-free since July of 2002, had inconclusive blood tests, refused the biopsy because I totally responded to dietary modification (IBS of 8 years gone within one week). I had already stopped wheat a year before which resolved chronic FMS so gluten was minimal...still battling food sensitivities and increased intestinal permeability.

[stef-the-kicking-cuty]

Hello Tiffany,

what is this lactaid? Where can I get it?

Hugs, Stef

[Guest Leidenschaft]

Hey Stef, lactaid is a digestive enzyme and can be found at most drug stores on the shelf (or perhaps over the counter)... I haven't had much success with it although some swear by it!

Just had my morning bagel with cream cheese while reading the last two days' posts, and have gurgle guts this morning! Guess today isn't a good dairy day!

Binks, you can add all that info in your "signature" which you create by selecting "My Controls" to the right of your name where it shows you "Logged in as:" then select "Edit Profile" under the "Personal Profile" section, third topic down on the left margin. There you can play around with different font types, sizes and colours, you can also add an avitar! Also, please tell us where you're from, since geographic location is so helpful when sharing resources! Good luck, enjoy the forum! Neat and friendly people hang out here!

[Guest Leidenschaft]

then select "Edit Profile" under the "Personal Profile"

Sorry Binks, I should have said "Edit Signature"!

[stef-the-kicking-cuty]

Thanks a lot Tammy ,

I will keep that in mind and try it one day. However not now...