Dairy A Bigger Problem After Going Gluten-Free?

[TexasJenn]

Has anyone had a bigger problem with dairy after going gluten-free? I have been gluten-free for 2 1/2 weeks after being diagnosed with Celiac, and dairy has my stomach more upset than ever. My Celiac symptoms were not GI related, but I have been lactose intolerant since about age 10. I stopped drinking straight milk at that time, but still cook with it, eat cheese and yogurt daily, and occassionally would have a glass of milk or milk in my cereal. The straight milk sends me right to the bathroom (sorry if TMI) but it was easily dealt with, and I only considered it a minor problem. Now it seems any milk whatsoever brings on more stomach pains and bathroom issues than I'm used to dealing with. I was just wondering if it had to do with going gluten-free.

I guess I'll give up dairy for now, too (except yogurt and cheese... can't live without those!). I know that Celiac causes lactose intolerance, and that after my intestines have healed I can probably reintroduce dairy. I was just curious if it is normal to have MORE problems after going gluten-free.

Thanks!

[sa1937]

Has anyone had a bigger problem with dairy after going gluten-free? I have been gluten-free for 2 1/2 weeks after being diagnosed with Celiac, and dairy has my stomach more upset than ever. My Celiac symptoms were not GI related, but I have been lactose intolerant since about age 10. I stopped drinking straight milk at that time, but still cook with it, eat cheese and yogurt daily, and occassionally would have a glass of milk or milk in my cereal. The straight milk sends me right to the bathroom (sorry if TMI) but it was easily dealt with, and I only considered it a minor problem. Now it seems any milk whatsoever brings on more stomach pains and bathroom issues than I'm used to dealing with. I was just wondering if it had to do with going gluten-free.

I guess I'll give up dairy for now, too (except yogurt and cheese... can't live without those!). I know that Celiac causes lactose intolerance, and that after my intestines have healed I can probably reintroduce dairy. I was just curious if it is normal to have MORE problems after going gluten-free.

Thanks!

Some of us have had to give up dairy products after going gluten-free. Maybe I had a lactose problem before but it definitely became more pronounced. I did have GI problems, which led to my diagnosis.

I still use Lactaid milk but have started eating more cheese, especially hard cheeses like cheddar. While they work for some people, Lactaid tablets never did much for me. Oh, how I missed cheese, much worse than giving up gluten. One of these days I'm going to test milk again (when I don't have to go anywhere for a couple of days).

You might want to give up dairy for now and then introduce it later as many are able to do that successfully after they have healed.

[Monklady123]

I did. But for me it's the lactose not the casein. So I can have yogurt and cheese with no problem. I've discovered that I can have about 3/4 cup of milk if I take a Lactaid pill. So I still have that once in awhile on my cereal. You might try that before you give it up entirely.

[mushroom]

I had to give up milk, cream, ice cream and frozen yogurt as a result of gluten, but can eat them all just fine now.

[GFinDC]

At 2.5 weeks your body has not really adjusted to the diet yet. Your diet has most likely changed significantly, and that means your gut flora are changing, your intestines are possibly healing and things are not settled down. So giving the dairy a pass for a while (3 months) is not a bad idea. If it helps, keep it out.

[georgie]

I oly discovered I was lactose intolerant after giving up Gluten. C was my symptom of Gluten and D is my symptom of Lactose so they cancelled ach other out pre dx

I gave up dairy for 2 years ... longest years of my life ! Then I had hydrogen breath tests which showed it was only lactose. I am fine with butter, cream, hard cheeses and lactose free milk.

[anabananakins]

I only realised that I had a problem with lactose after I sent gluten free, though I did know from childhood that weetbix (breakfast cereal) and milk made me bloated. Once I stopped having non-stop stomach aches from gluten I realised that the yoghurt I was eating was the culprit with the occasional but bad stomach ache i still experienced. I drink a lot of lactose free milk, and eat cheddar cheese, but I don't really eat much other dairy anymore. It helps with weight loss since I used to want to eat massive amounts of greek yoghurt (it worked out quite well that all the things I used to crave are now verboten!) Still, it's not anywhere near as bad as a gluten reaction so I'll splurge occasionally on icecream or a smoothie.

[Harpgirl]

I did. But for me it's the lactose not the casein. So I can have yogurt and cheese with no problem. I've discovered that I can have about 3/4 cup of milk if I take a Lactaid pill. So I still have that once in awhile on my cereal. You might try that before you give it up entirely.

I'm confused about lactose and casien. Twice in my life (not now), I was lactose intolerant. I had terrible cramping and bloating. I labeled it as "severe" because I couldn't eat milk, butter, cheese, or even a bite of bread without a reaction (I realize now, that the bread issue could have been the gluten). My mom is lactose intolerant but can eat butter, cottage cheese, yogurt, etc.

What exactly is the difference between lactose and casein? Did I just have a reaction to both at the same time?

[GFinDC]

Lactose is a sugar, casein is a protein. The fun part is, you can have a problem with one or the other or both. Most hard cheese would be mainly protein, (casein) as the lactose is et up during the making of the cheese. So you can try eating hard cheeses and see if they are ok. You may end up being able to eat cheese with no problem, but not able to eat milk, which has lactose sugar in it. There is no way to tell without testing yourself. But it is not good to try such a test until you have your system pretty settled down and stable. And are good with the gluten-free diet and understand how to eat right. You might want to do a search on elimination diets and get the general idea first. They are a system of adding foods in a controlled manner so that you can understand the ones that cause problems. many of these food intolerance issues are not easy to identify.

[TexasJenn]

Thanks, everyone. I may try the Lactaid milk and see if that helps. I never thought about the lactose symptoms and the celiac symptoms opposing each other and cancelling each other out. Perhaps that is what I had going on, so now that I'm gluten-free the lactose symptoms are more severe. Interesting...

Thanks again! I'm so new at this, I have much to learn!

[Monklady123]

Thanks, everyone. I may try the Lactaid milk and see if that helps. I never thought about the lactose symptoms and the celiac symptoms opposing each other and cancelling each other out. Perhaps that is what I had going on, so now that I'm gluten-free the lactose symptoms are more severe. Interesting...

Thanks again! I'm so new at this, I have much to learn!

One thing about the Lactaid milk -- I found it to be too sweet. I forget why that is...someone did explain it to me, but I can't remember. But I just couldn't drink it, even on cereal. So now I use regular skim milk and take a Lactaid pill as soon as I start eating. This works well, as long as I don't have too much milk at once. 3/4-1 cup is my limit, but that's plenty for a bowl of cereal.

[Harpgirl]

Lactose is a sugar, casein is a protein. The fun part is, you can have a problem with one or the other or both. Most hard cheese would be mainly protein, (casein) as the lactose is et up during the making of the cheese. So you can try eating hard cheeses and see if they are ok. You may end up being able to eat cheese with no problem, but not able to eat milk, which has lactose sugar in it. There is no way to tell without testing yourself. But it is not good to try such a test until you have your system pretty settled down and stable. And are good with the gluten-free diet and understand how to eat right. You might want to do a search on elimination diets and get the general idea first. They are a system of adding foods in a controlled manner so that you can understand the ones that cause problems. many of these food intolerance issues are not easy to identify.

Ah! Thanks for the info. If it happens to me again, I'll be prepared to do some experimenting...

[anabananakins]

One thing about the Lactaid milk -- I found it to be too sweet. I forget why that is...someone did explain it to me, but I can't remember. But I just couldn't drink it, even on cereal. So now I use regular skim milk and take a Lactaid pill as soon as I start eating. This works well, as long as I don't have too much milk at once. 3/4-1 cup is my limit, but that's plenty for a bowl of cereal.

Hahaha, the sweetness is my favourite part! I am an avid milk drinker now :-)

Someone explained it to me too...but I also do not remember. Something about the different sugar it ends up containing (the enzyme changes it from lactose to something?)

I can have small amounts of regular milk in tea if need be, but it doesn't taste right anymore

[sa1937]

I've found Lactaid milk to be too sweet, too. Works fine for me using it on cereal or in recipes for baked goods, which usually have a bit of sugar in them anyway (thinking bread here). Other than that, I wouldn't want to use it in something savory and I really don't drink milk by itself.