Lactose Intolerance

[JacobsMom]

Happy Easter everyone....

How many of you out there have to avoid dairy also??? Jacob has been gluten-free for about 3 weeks now and I can tell that he 99% better...I mean he is acting great and I can already tell he has put some weight on...We will find out on the 19th of April how much BUT his tummy is still swelling by the end of the day and he still says his tummy hurts and now I am wondering if the dairy could be causing it. I may try to take him off of milk products and try...The only thing that we are going to have a fight over is YOGURT....This kids eats tons of it everyday!!!

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks

Brandi

[tarnalberry]

If he's not sensitive to soy, you can get soy yogurt that's pretty good.

[KaitiUSA]

I was lactose intolerant on and off my whole life until a few months after going gluten free. Lactose intolerance can come with celiac because of the villi damaged in your intestines. After I started getting better the lactose problem went away and now I have no problem with it.

[lotusgem]

Hi Brandi.

You asked if any of us need to avoid dairy products too, and I'm in that group, although I must stay away from them not because of lactose intolerance, but because I am allergic to casein. Perhaps you already know this, but lactose intolerance is an inablility to digest the sugar, lactose, because the person lacks the enzymes that would perform that function. In my case, my body has an inappropriate allergic response to what it views as a foreign protein, casein. My symptoms include eczema and respiratory problems that lead to sinus and ear infections. From your description of your son's symptoms though, it sounds like his problem could be with the lactose. His tummy hurts because he is likely having trouble digesting the dairy. In contrast, I can digest it no problemo, but I will pay a heavy price, so I am totally dairy free as well as needing to be gluten free. The lactose intolerant are more fortunate than those that are allergic to casein because there are many dairy substitutes available that are lactose free, but that maddeningly, still contain casein. I've also tried soy yogurt bought from a health food store. It didn't taste bad...doesn't have that nice sour tang that the real thing does though. Ultimately, though, I stopped buying it because I had too many containers that should have still been good that had mold on the top. Also, if your son goes through a lot of the stuff, you will find, sorry to say, that it is quite a bit more expensive. Best to both of you.

Paula

[lainie]

My daughter has been on her gluten free diet for about 3.5 weeks and her belly still gets swollen too. I too am concerned. I spoke with the GI doctor who did the biopsy on my daughter this week. He said that it is probably normal for her belly to still be swollen. He asked if she was having regualr bowel movements (which she is) and said that he is not concerned about the distended abdomen at this point. It may take some time for it to go down due to the damage that was done. So, I am optimistic that it is not another intolerance.

[Carriefaith]

I have to avoid dairy like gluten, any amount of dairy makes me sick. It's common in celiac's, for many lactose intolerence goes away with time, but for others it's permanent.

[snoopylian]

Yes, I believe the dairy is causing the problem. The enzyme for digesting lactose is formed on the tip of the villi in your intestine. Since celiacs villi are atrophy, damaged, blunted, etc. they lack the enzyme. From what others have told me and what I've read, there is a strong possibility this can rectify itself in time - the longest I've heard so far is a year.