Self Diagnosis Through Return Of Dairy Tolerance?

[ladymiss]

Just wondering if there are any out there, with gluten intolerance, who have seen their ability to tolerate dairy come back after being gluten-free and feel like this is a clue to conclusively deciding 'it's celiac'.

Would this be true or possibly true? I'm assuming that with gluten intolerance one's villi is not damaged in the same way as celiac to cause lactose intolerance. Am I off base on this? Thoughts, stories or articles appreciated.

Thanks!

[Takala]

Gluten intolerant, went grain free and low carb for a good while, and eventually went to being able to handle non lactose dairy, such as organic cheese or safe yogurt, where the lactose is very low.

But this is because my digestive tract healed up.

I have no idea what was going on in there from a visual standpoint, I can only report the results. At the time leaky gut was a theory that was not accepted by the mainstream blogosphere. I don't know my genetic status, all I can say is that my blood tests were not helping with any diagnosis.

I don't think it's true that gluten intolerance causes a "different" type of damage that would allow healing for lactose consumption, rather, I think that one's body does or does not react to certain proteins in cow products. Plus, I think that milk products can have a lot of other residual chemicals from what cows are fed, or how those products are processed and preserved - I know I've reacted to certain commercial cheese products sometimes. I've eaten certain "safe" ice cream flavors, and felt like I was getting some sort of very mild allergic reaction, not a glutening, but something else, maybe to antibiotic residue. Poor cows, who knows what they were being given.

Years after the fact, I read that the ability to handle some dairy again may be due to healing, and thought, oh, okay, makes sense. But at the time I changed my diet the worst thing I was reacting to was fats and fried foods, and my gall bladder was going crazy. Now that doesn't bother me, either. But it wasn't the fat, per se, it was the gluten that tends to be used with that sort of cooking.

Most adults in the world become lactose intolerant after childhood. Some ethnic groups become lactose intolerant at a much earlier age than others. Some cultures don't even think that cow's dairy products belong in their cuisine for anybody over toddler age. I had enough northern European in me that I was still able to drink milk, while it was bothering my college aged roomate. By the time I was in my thirties it was not agreeing with me anymore. By the time I was in my forties and very unknowingly gluten intolerant, I was getting to where all dairy was bothering me. Once gluten free, lactose free was then okay. My spouse, on the other hand, can drink milk in his fifties, he is on the other side of the spectrum.

[CMCM]

Just wondering if there are any out there, with gluten intolerance, who have seen their ability to tolerate dairy come back after being gluten-free and feel like this is a clue to conclusively deciding 'it's celiac'.

Would this be true or possibly true? I'm assuming that with gluten intolerance one's villi is not damaged in the same way as celiac to cause lactose intolerance. Am I off base on this? Thoughts, stories or articles appreciated.

Thanks!

I spent my first 55 years thinking I had serious tolerance issues with dairy. Although my mom had been diagnosed with celiac disease 40 years ago (she nearly died from malnutrition before a bright doctor recognized and diagnosed her), my symptoms were not like hers so I didn't think I had celiac disease. When I got sick myself (still somewhat different set of symptoms from my mom, and I did not lose weight) and finally realized I also had celiac disease, I went both gluten and dairy free for maybe 6 or 8 months. (Enterolab's testing showed I was casein sensitive, and they recommended that I NOT eat dairy and also stated it could also damage my intestines....I don't know how true that is or not). So after this amount of time, I re-introduced dairy in a limited way and found it no longer bothered me in the same way as before. It seemed that a bit here and there wasn't a problem (whereas previously, any amount of dairy upset me horribly). Over time, I learned that more than a little dairy still caused problems. A bit of hard cheese didn't seem problematic, a bit of cream or half and half didn't bother me, but yogurt, cottage cheese, and dairy on a daily basis still gave me issues. Dairy also bloats me up. So in the end, I really minimize it, and I've done well enough with this for several years now.

[mushroom]

Since I was never tested I have no idea if I am celiac or gluten intolerant. But lactose intolerance was one of my first clues if I had recognized it. Gave that up approx. 15 years before gluten. But I could still eat yogurt, cheese, sour cream. Something has healed to now allow me to eat lactose-containing products. Ice cream, mmmm

[ladymiss]

Thanks for your stories. So helpful to hear them! Good food for thought.

I've read that the lactase enzyme is produced in the very tip of villi.

So I've been wondering if the renewed ability to tolerate dairy again could signify the healing of villi damaged through the autoimmune response of celiac. And wondering if this would be somehow different for someone healing from years of gluten sensitivity but not true celiac.

Thanks again.

[dilettantesteph]

I had been dairy free for years before diagnosis because it made my symptoms so much worse. Now I can tolerate dairy again. I drink milk and eat cheese and yogurt. Though only from one source. If I get glutened, even a tiny little bit, my lactose intolerance comes back. I think that most gluten intolerants have the autoimmune disease even if it hasn't been proven with an intestinal biopsy. The blood test looks for immune molecules after all.