Jump to content
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Casein Intolerance


peeptoad

Recommended Posts

peeptoad Apprentice

Does anyone else also have casein intolerance? If so, what are the typical symptoms? Are they similar to gluten intolerance?

How does one know if they are casein or lactose intolerant? (maybe that's too many questions at once, but I am confused).


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



GFinDC Veteran

Hi Peeptoad,

Casein is a protein in dairy. lactose is a sugar. When you eat hard cheeses, you are mostly eating casein because the cheese making process removes the lactose. So if you take out all dairy for a week, and then eat some hard cheese, like cheddar and it makes you sick, that could be a casein intolerance.

Symptoms are variable, but digestive upset is one that is somewhat common.

peeptoad Apprentice

So if you take out all dairy for a week, and then eat some hard cheese, like cheddar and it makes you sick, that could be a casein intolerance.

Symptoms are variable, but digestive upset is one that is somewhat common.

Thank you! That's a good idea to test for casein intolerance... think I'll give it a try.

dreacakes Rookie

I'm casin intolerant. For me, my symptoms are kinda like a mild version of getting glutened, a little GI upset, a lot of brain fog and that lovely "been hit by a bus" feeling.

Personally, I am only sensitive to cow's milk. I can eat goat and sheep (as long as it is grassfed.) You might want to try a nice goat cheese and see if you can handle it. :)

peeptoad Apprentice

Thanks dreacakes. I do eat goat cheese (and other dairy) normally, so maybe if I eliminate just cow it will help me figure things out. I also read that most dairy (cow) problems come fro holstein and that milk from Jersey cows might not be a problem (something genetically is different about the milk they produce I think?)... might try to find some Jersey cow substitutes, although I'm not sure if they are labeled differently from other products.

Findin my way Rookie

Oh boy do I know about casein intolerance. I gave up dairy about 2 months after gluten. That was in the summer. Over the holidays I mistakenly had some real cheese. I thought the gluten free pasta dish I bought had the vegan cheese. Well I didn't react too badly so I had cheese again the next day, then the next. Christmas I had trifle with mascarpone cheese and whipping cream. (I made it, so I know it was gluten free) By then my gums were inflamed, I was bumping into things again, constant headaches, tinnitus worsened, slurring my words, tingling in my hands worsened, I couldn't sleep and my skin became really itchy. So for me, I'd say it's pretty much like a glutening. It took over 2 weeks to recover. I'm too afraid to try sheep or goat cheese. Maybe after I've had time to forget how bad I felt. B)

Seifer Rookie

Anyone had any luck with raw dairy? I thought I was fine trialing raw grassfed cowcheese yesterday but then the itching, nausea and bloating came back. I guess I'll try to find raw grassfed goat/sheep-cheese next. Man it's so convenient being able to eat cheese, a lot less cooking involved


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



chai Newbie

for me casein reaction is the same as eating gluten as well. As a child my mom would still feed me goats milk and cheese but now i find even that will set me off. best advice is to pick a time when its not inconvenient to get sick and try to test goat and cow milk.

good luck. hope you can still eat some cheese. If not, i find Daiya cheese is great for pizza and other hot dishes. :)

peeptoad Apprentice

Thanks Chai.

I'm going through a LOT of work-related stress right now and, mentally, I don't think I can deal with yet another dietary restriction. I'm definitely going to try a dairy-free trial when things calm down at work (hopefully in the next month or two) and will test out both sheep and goat products, as well as aged cheeses (to see if there is possiblity of casein intolerance). I have been experiencing some symptoms that would lead me to believe one of those 2 dairy sensitivites is a possiblity: over all body itching with no rash is one, plus I ate yogurt the other day after not having it for quite some time and had moderate GI problems immediately afterwards.

  • 2 months later...
peeptoad Apprentice

I finally went dairy free last week. It's been almost 8 days and so far I have not noticed a real decline in the symptoms I was having (chronic phlegm/post-nasal drip, etc). I'm going to give it another day or two and then re-introduce hard cheses to see if they bother me. If no problem there, then I'll go back to my nomral gluten-free diet and see how it goes.

mommida Enthusiast

This is actually true!  I was talking to elder milk farmer's daughters and they were telling me about the finer points of milk.  (OK so I nearly blanked out from boredom but did manage to retain some information.) :rolleyes:

Different breeds of cows are known (actually bred for) the small differences to their milk.  i.e. Higher fat content in this breed opposed to that breed.

Pasturization changes things A LOT.

The food the cows eat makes a HUGE difference.  The farmer's know the taste between early season hay and late season hay feedings by taste.  (That is also logical, because the totally knew when those cows got into the onion field too. :wacko:

 

Now you can't have any doubts that I am living in the Midwest! ;)

Thanks dreacakes. I do eat goat cheese (and other dairy) normally, so maybe if I eliminate just cow it will help me figure things out. I also read that most dairy (cow) problems come fro holstein and that milk from Jersey cows might not be a problem (something genetically is different about the milk they produce I think?)... might try to find some Jersey cow substitutes, although I'm not sure if they are labeled differently from other products.

peeptoad Apprentice

Started eating hard cheese (fresh parmesan, etc) yesterday morning. Been about 24-36 hours and so far no ill effects. I guess I will re-introduce other dairy tomorrow and see what happens. It's not looking like dairy is a major issue for me (aside from drnking a full glass of milk, which I haven't done in about 20 years).

pricklypear1971 Community Regular

I finally went dairy free last week. It's been almost 8 days and so far I have not noticed a real decline in the symptoms I was having (chronic phlegm/post-nasal drip, etc). I'm going to give it another day or two and then re-introduce hard cheses to see if they bother me. If no problem there, then I'll go back to my nomral gluten-free diet and see how it goes.

Phlegm/post nasal drip.

Have you tried allergy meds?

It is allergy season and they can literally give me a fever (cedar).

peeptoad Apprentice

I have tried allergy meds: Benadryl, Sudafed, etc. None if it helps. I've had this chronic phlegm/pnd for about 15 years now and I'm not exxagerating. It started when I was in the Pacific Northwest and I've since lived in Southern California, and now the northeast and I still have it. :(

If dairy turns out not to be the culprit, then it is something I can live with, but it really is a head-scratcher for me. One thing I know for certain: the phlegm started after I had mononucleosis in late 1996. I recovered from the virus fine, but the phlegm has remained ever since.

 

Phlegm/post nasal drip.

Have you tried allergy meds?

It is allergy season and they can literally give me a fever (cedar).

cavernio Enthusiast

Unlike lactose, there are multiple different caseins. I remember reading that only 2 types seemed to cause reactions in celiacs. In any case, different types of milk will probably have different amounts of them.

peeptoad Apprentice

Thanks for the info from everyone. I ate hard cheese (aged parmesan) for a couple of days earlier this week and started back in other dairy (yogurt, cream) yesterday... so far no bad reactions or anytning new, so I'm assuming dairy is not a major issue for me.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Donate

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Recent Activity

    1. - tiffanygosci replied to tiffanygosci's topic in Coping with Celiac Disease
      12

      New Celiac Mama in My 30s

    2. - RMJ replied to Riley.'s topic in Introduce Yourself / Share Stuff
      4

      Outgrow celiac?

    3. - knitty kitty replied to Riley.'s topic in Introduce Yourself / Share Stuff
      4

      Outgrow celiac?

    4. - knitty kitty replied to tiffanygosci's topic in Coping with Celiac Disease
      12

      New Celiac Mama in My 30s

    5. - trents replied to Riley.'s topic in Introduce Yourself / Share Stuff
      4

      Outgrow celiac?


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,979
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    volivier
    Newest Member
    volivier
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.5k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • tiffanygosci
      Thank you for sharing all of this, Knitty Kitty! I did just want someone to share some commonality with. I did not know This one Deficiency was a thing and that it's common for Celiac Disease. It makes sense since this is a disorder that causes malabsorption. I will have to keep this in mind for my next appointments. You also just spurred me on to make that Dietician appointment. There's a lot of information online but I do need to see a professional. There is too much to juggle on my own with this condition.<3
    • RMJ
      I think your initial idea, eat gluten and be tested, was excellent. Now you have fear of that testing, but isn’t there also a fear each time you eat gluten that you’re injuring your body? Possibly affecting future fertility, bone health and more? Wouldn’t it be better to know for sure one way or the other? If you test negative, then you celebrate and get tested occasionally to make sure the tests don’t turn positive again. If you test positive, of course the recommendation from me and others is to stop gluten entirely.  But if you’re unable to convince yourself to do that, could a positive test at least convince you to minimize your gluten consumption?  Immune reactions are generally what is called dose response, the bigger the dose, the bigger the response (in this case, damage to your intestines and body). So while I am NOT saying you should eat any gluten with a positive test, the less the better.  
    • knitty kitty
      @Riley., Welcome to the forum, but don't do it!  Don't continue to eat gluten!  The health problems that will come if you continue to eat gluten are not worth it.  Problems may not show up for years, but the constant inflammation and nutritional losses will manifest eventually.  There's many of us oldsters on the forum who wish they'd been diagnosed as early.    Fertility problems, gallbladder removal, diabetes, osteoporosis and mental health challenges are future health issues you are toying with.   To dispel fear, learn more about what you are afraid of.  Be proactive.  Start or join a Celiac group in your area.  Learn about vitamins and nutrition.   Has your mother been checked for Celiac?  It's inherited.  She may be influencing you to eat gluten as a denial of her own symptoms.  Don't let friends and family sway you away from the gluten-free diet.  You know your path.  Stick to it.  Be brave. 
    • knitty kitty
      @tiffanygosci, Hello.  I apologize for your thread being hijacked.   I recognize your symptoms as being similar to what I experienced, the migraines, food and chemical sensitivities, hives, nausea, the numbness and tingling, joint pain, tummy problems, sleep problems, emotional lability, and the mom brain.  My cycle returned early after I had my son, and I became pregnant again with all my symptoms worsening.  Unfortunately, I lost that baby.  In hindsight, I recognized that I was suffering so much from Thiamine deficiency and other nutritional deficiencies that I was not able to carry it.   Celiac Disease affects the absorption of nutrients from our food.  There's eight B vitamins that must be replenished every day.  Thiamine Vitamin B1 becomes depleted first because it cannot be stored very long, less than two weeks.  Other B vitamins can be stored for two months or so.  But Thiamine can get low enough to produce symptoms in as little as three days.  As the thiamine level gets lower, symptoms worsen.  Early symptoms like fatigue and anxiety are often attributed to life situations, and so frequently go unrecognized by medical professionals who "have a pill for that".   I used to get severe migraines and vomiting after gluten consumption.  Thiamine and the other B vitamins are needed to turn carbohydrates, fats and proteins into fuel for our bodies.  With a large influx of carbohydrates from gluten containing foods, the demand for Thiamine increases greatly.  Available thiamine can be depleted quickly, resulting in suddenly worsening symptoms.  Emotional stress or trauma, physical activity (athletes and laborers) and physiological stresses like pregnancy or injury (even surgery or infection) increase the need for Thiamine and can precipitate a thiamine insufficiency. Pregnancy requires more thiamine, not just for the mother, but for the child as well.  The mother's Thiamine stores are often depleted trying to meet the higher demand of a growing fetus.  Thiamine insufficiency can affect babies in utero and after birth (autism, ADHD).  Having babies close together doesn't allow time for the mother to replenish thiamine stores sufficiently.   Thiamine insufficiency can cause migraines, pins and needles (paresthesia), and gastrointestinal Beriberi (gas, bloating, diarrhea or constipation, back pain).   Thiamine deficiency can cause blurry vision, difficulty focusing, and affect the eyes in other ways.  Thiamine deficiency can damage the optic nerves.  I have permanent vision problems.  High histamine levels can make your brain feel like it's on fire or swelling inside your cranium.  High histamine levels can affect behavior and mood.  Histamine is released by Mast Cells as part of the immune system response to gluten.  Mast Cells need Thiamine to regulate histamine release.  Mast Cells without sufficient thiamine release histamine at the slightest provocation.  This shows up as sensitivities to foods, smelly chemicals, plants, and dust mites.  Thiamine and the other B vitamins are needed to lower histamine levels.  Vitamin D is needed to calm the immune system and to regulate our hormones.  Menstrual irregularities can be caused by low Vitamin D.   Celiac Disease is a disease if Malabsorption of Nutrients.  We must take great care to eat a nutritionally dense diet.  Our bodies cannot make vitamins.  We must get them from what we eat.  Supplementation with essential vitamins and minerals is warranted while we are healing and to ensure we don't become deficient over time.  Our bodies will not function properly without essential vitamins and minerals.  Doctors have swept their importance under the rug in favor of a pill that covers the symptoms but doesn't resolve the underlying issue of malnutrition. Do talk to your doctor and dietician about checking for nutritional deficiencies.  Most blood tests for the eight B vitamins do not reflect how much is available or stored inside cells.  Blood tests reflect how much is circulating in the blood stream, the transportation system.  Blood levels can be "normal" while a deficiency exists inside cells where the vitamins are actually used.  The best way to see if you're low in B vitamins is to take a B Complex, and additional Thiamine and look for improvement.   Most vitamin supplements contain Thiamine Mononitrate, which is not easily absorbed nor utilized by the body.  Only thirty percent of thiamine mononitrate listed on the label is absorbed, less is actually utilized.  This is because thiamine mononitrate is shelf stable, it won't breakdown sitting on a shelf in the grocery store.  It's so hard to breakdown, our bodies don't absorb it and can't turn it into a form the body can use.  Take Thiamine in the form Benfotiamine or TTFD (tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide) which the body can utilize much better.  (Ask for an Erythrocyte Transketolace Activity test for Thiamine level.  Though not accurate, this test does better picking up on a thiamine deficiency than a blood test.) Are you keeping your babies on a gluten free diet?  This can prevent genetically susceptible children from developing Celiac Disease.   P. S. Interesting Reading  Thiamine deficiency in pregnancy and lactation: implications and present perspectives https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10158844/ Descriptive spectrum of thiamine deficiency in pregnancy: A potentially preventable condition https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37458305/ B vitamins and their combination could reduce migraine headaches: A randomized double-blind controlled trial https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9860208/
    • trents
      @Riley, on this forum we sometimes get reports from people with similar experiences as you. That is, their celiac disease seems to go into remission. Typically, that doesn't last. At age 18 you are at your physical-biological peek in life where your body is stronger than it will ever be and it is able to fight well against many threats and abuses. As Wheatwacked pointed out, absence of symptoms is not always a reliable indicator that no damage is being done to the body. I was one of those "silent" celiacs with no symptoms, or at least very minor symptoms, whose body was being slowly damaged for many years before the damage became pronounced enough to warrant investigation, leading to a diagnosis. By that time I had suffered significant bone demineralization and now I suffer with back and neck problems. Please, if you choose to continue consuming gluten, which I do not recommend, at least get tested regularly so that you won't get caught in the silent celiac trap down the road like I did. You really do not outgrow celiac disease. It is baked into the genes. Once the genes get triggered, as far as we know, they are turned on for good. Social rejection is something most celiacs struggle with. Being compliant with the gluten free diet places restrictions on what we can eat and where we can eat. Our friends usually try to work with us at first but then it gets to be a drag and we begin to get left out. We often lose some friends in the process but we also find out who really are our true friends. I think the hardest hits come at those times when friends spontaneously say, "Hey, let's go get some burgers and fries" and you know you can't safely do that. One way to cope in these situations is to have some ready made gluten-free meals packed in the fridge that you can take with you on the spot and still join them but eat safely. Most "real" friends will get used to this and so will you. Perhaps this little video will be helpful to you.  
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.