Lactaid

[GFLindsey]

After 3 months gluten free, I am suspecting that I also have a mild lactose intolerance. I can eat small amounts of cheese and chocolate and yogurt without any noticeable issues. However, whenever I drink glasses of milk or eat a bowl of cottage cheese I am bloated with bad gas and normally a short bout of d. Does this sound like possible lactose intolerance to you?

I am going to see a GI specialist this afternoon so hopefully he will be able to help me pinpoint some of my continuing digestive issues. Anyway, I'm going to ask him if I should be taking Lactaid before ingesting dairy. Does anyone else out there use Lactaid? Does it seem to work for you? Any other suggestions for lactose intolerance?

[Nor-TX]

I tried lactaid - even upped the dosage but it didn't help. I have found that I am also casein intolerant. So many foods say lactose free but contain casein. I am one of those unfortunate people who love dairy products (I've been known to eat a whole container of sour cream) but can no longer eat them.

[kayo]

In the beginning lactaid did work for me but at some point it stops being effective. I've been off dairy now for quite some time now and no longer dream about brie! I can tolerate a tiny bit of casein (ie, coffee creamer) now and then but I know when I've reached my limit when I get this odd discomfort in my ribs, left side under my stomach. My enterolab results showed a 9 for casein intolerance (normal is >10).

There is another type of lactaid type product that people swear by that is plant based. I think you can only get it online. Googling 'plant based lactase supplement' may get you more info. I can't recall exactly what the product is called. I never did try it, instead I just gave up dairy because I was so sick.

[i-geek]

Yep, symptoms sound familiar. Now that my gut has healed considerably, I'm able to eat yogurt and cheese again with no problems but milk and ice cream still give me a reaction that is best described as "swift and terrible". I don't drink milk anymore (haven't for years, for that reason) but I've been using Organic Valley lactose-free milk for cereal and cooking lately, and I've had no problems with it. I hardly ever eat dairy ice cream anymore (if I do, no more than a few tablespoons plus two Lactaid caps) and don't miss it much, especially since there are some really good non-dairy alternatives. Pretty much anything from Turtle Mountain's So Delicious line is amazing.

[tarnalberry]

Those symptoms sound like fairly classic lactose intolerance symptoms. You can certainly give lactaid a try (you may need a larger or smaller dose, depending on how severe your lactose intolerance is).

[butterfl8]

Yep. That rings a bell. I had to use lactaid for about 5 looooong months. But it helped me. Now all is ok. I may be stretching that time frame a bit--but it sure seemed to last forever!

-Daisy