Lactose Intolerance...

[Wandering Hermit]

After learning of my celiac disease I soon learned I could not drink a big glass of milk without getting D.

Switching to lactose-free milk resolved this.

I understand that I may or may not outgrow the lactose intolerance as my intenstines heal.

Assuming that I do, it seems to me that I might be able to use the sensitivity to quantify the progress of my healing.

I could start by drinking x ounces of normal milk. If there is no 'reaction' after some number of hours, then I would drink a larger amount. Continue until the 'threshold' is tripped.

If this experiment was performed over the course of months, it would be interesting to see if there was a steady increase in the quantity of milk that could be consumed before it saturates your guts and caused the dreaded aftermath.

Of course doing this little experiment means knowingly having to spend some extra time on the toliet. Not quality time, either.

Anyone ever tried to make such an assessment?

[Emme999]

That sounds like it would work - but you need to find out if you are actually lactose intolerant or allergic to dairy before you can know for sure!

From what I've read, it is the upper tips of the villi that allow for the digestion of lactose - so, if you have healed adequately, you ought to be able to digest the lactose without irritation. (Assuming, of course, it's not an allergy.)

The last time I met with my gastroenterologist I asked if it would slow intestinal healing if I consumed something I was allergic to - since that's so easy for me (I'm allergic to eggs, dairy, sesame, etc.). He said that it wouldn't - unless I showed outward signs of the allergy. So... I'm thinking, "Cool! I can eat everything but milk." Milk is outright painful for me, but I hadn't had any "visible" reactions to eggs or sesame. So, I had some foods with eggs in them (baked goods) - and then developed noticeable symptoms Son of a - !

So - I'm guessing that the things that I'm allergic to are all out - because my villi healing just make it more possible to pick up the allergens that pass through my body and fully react to them!

Hopefully you are just lactose intolerant - if that's the case, then you might have a good gauge of your intestinal healing. I certainly wouldn't do it often though, if I were you. Though *my* doctor said that it wouldn't impede healing - I've read materials from other doctors who believe it will. But, I doubt that having milk every 6 weeks or so would cause any major problems.

Good luck to you whatever you decide!

- Michelle

[Carriefaith]

If you really want to consume dairy products, I would try it every month and see what happens. Try foods with less lactose first like butter, cheddar cheese, then maybe yogurt, and milk (higher lactose). You may have an intolerance to the milk protein casein or a permanent intolerance to the lactose in milk. Most celiacs will tolerate lactose again after the villi heal though. I am intolerant to dairy (even after villi healing) and the most I can tolerate is lactose in medication. Although I had been unknowingly eating margerine with whey in it maybe that's why my stomach is so mad lately I didn't think they put dairy in margerine. I was eating it becasue it was gluten-free. Ah Well! I've come to the conclusion that gluten or dairy is in pretty much everything. How annoying!

[KaitiUSA]

I was lactose intolerant pre gluten-free but I could handle it in small amounts. Now, since my intestines healed I can tolerate it in any amount.

You may have a permanent lactose intolerance or it could be until your intestines heal. Alot of celiacs tolerate it once the intestines get better.

If you decide to try it ...start out with really small amounts in case there is a problem with it.

[tarnalberry]

the thing is, everyone has an uppper limit. everyone is lactose intolerant to some degree - most are just so little intolerant they never notice. the reason this is true is because the quantity of lactase enzyme a person produces varies person to person, and generally declines with age - and can change with other external/internal events. so anyone will experience the symptoms of lactose intolerance if they drink more milk than they have the lactase to break apart. it's just not a controlled study, but you might find it provides some data.