DIS Doctors/Lactose Intolerance Questions!

[Rora]

The Unofficial DIS-Disclaimer: I made a DR appointment for next week. I've Googled and Web-MD'd. I'm just looking for personal experiences/ opinions.

For the past 2 years or so I will get very uncomfortable cramps/pain after I eat. It starts fairly quickly after I've eaten and it's duration simply depends-- I can feel better within a couple of hours or not for the whole day. It doesn't happen every day and I don't typically remember to record/remember what I've eaten when my stomach hurts.

I think I've finally narrowed it down to two possible causes: meat or milk products.

This may just be from the temperature but after I eat ice-cream, frozen yogurt, milkshakes, etc. I always cough. I'm assuming it's just because what I'm eating is cold but I figure it's worth mentioning...

Last night I ate a very heavy dairy product dinner and experienced cramps almost 20 minutes after I ate. It subsided about 2 hours later. To make matters more puzzling, the meal did include chicken.

~If you're lactose intolerant or know someone who is, can you tell me your/their symptoms?

~While I know many of you aren't professionals, does it seem like I could be lactose intolerant?

~Can anyone tell me what the breath test is like that tests for lactose intolerance? I know you have to drink something and then breathe into a machine over a period of time... I read that the drink causes diarrhea.

Thanks everyone!

 

[bicker]

I'm struggling with some of the same issues. The diagnostic measures my two board-certified physicians (one, a former Harvard Medical School professor) are using seem downright primitive: Try avoiding that food for a two weeks. Okay, now let's try avoiding that food for a two weeks. Now let's try avoiding them both for a two weeks. And so on. They never even talked about any breath test.

The way they explain it, there are many things that could look like lactose intolerance but aren't. I have no idea how, given the circumstances, they would intend to tell the difference.

At this point, we think there is no significant correlation between my symptoms and dairy, but who the heck knows. I evidently have MC, and that could explain all the symptoms (or not), especially since there does seem to be some correlation between my symptoms and salad greens (go figure).

Best of luck. I hope your journey is shorter and more definitive than mine.

 

[Rora]

I'm struggling with some of the same issues. The diagnostic measures my two board-certified physicians (one, a former Harvard Medical School professor) are using seem downright primitive: Try avoiding that food for a two weeks. Okay, now let's try avoiding that food for a two weeks. Now let's try avoiding them both for a two weeks. And so on. They never even talked about any breath test.

The way they explain it, there are many things that could look like lactose intolerance but aren't. I have no idea how, given the circumstances, they would intend to tell the difference.

At this point, we think there is no significant correlation between my symptoms and dairy, but who the heck knows. I evidently have MC, and that could explain all the symptoms (or not), especially since there does seem to be some correlation between my symptoms and salad greens (go figure).

Best of luck. I hope your journey is shorter and more definitive than mine.

This is what I'm afraid of. But, I guess if that's the way it's done, I will, of course, do it.

I am so sorry about your situation! It's frustrating when you just want to feel better and can't find out what's wrong.

Thanks for sharing your experience! Feel better!

 

[kacaju]

DH is lactose intolerant. If he eats something wih dairy, he is in the bathroom within 20 minutes. Many things include lactose (which is a sugar in milk) so if yuo want to advoid Dairy, you will need to read everything very carefully.
For example cool whip was always a dairy free product. They now add cream to it,to make it creamier, yet it is still considered dairy free. DH can handle it in small amounts.
Certain cheeses bother him, yet he can eat chedder with no problems

 

[Aisling]

I self-diagnosed as lactose intolerant because after I eat dairy, especially drinking milk, about 15 minutes later I get terrible stomach cramps and have to run to the potty. Pizza also causes an almost immediate reaction.

The mystery is that this only happens 90 percent of the time There are the few times when I take a chance and have milk and I'm fine.

I look back to my childhood and remember that when I ate ice cream, especially shakes, I'd get very nauseous to the point of dizziness. It would go away without potty issues after about 20 minutes. But now, it's full-blown cramps and potty.

For some reason, cooked cheeses bother me but not usually uncoooked. Like mac and cheese or pizza or any cheese sauces will kill me. But if I have a cheese sandwich I'm generally fine. Go figure.

I hope you get to the bottom of it. I'm at the point where I never ever eat dairy when I'm out, so not to take a chance of issues.

Good luck and let us know!

 

[Rora]

DH is lactose intolerant. If he eats something wih dairy, he is in the bathroom within 20 minutes. Many things include lactose (which is a sugar in milk) so if yuo want to advoid Dairy, you will need to read everything very carefully.
For example cool whip was always a dairy free product. They now add cream to it,to make it creamier, yet it is still considered dairy free. DH can handle it in small amounts.
Certain cheeses bother him, yet he can eat chedder with no problems

Thanks! I've read that people can handle dairy in small amount-- good to know!

 

[bicker]

FWIR, it isn't necessarily always the amount of cheese, but rather the type. Some folks are very sensitive to soft cheeses like mozzarella, but can eat hard cheeses, like parmesan, with relatively little concern.

I think trying to pin down anything with regard to cheese is a lost cause though because cheese itself is a science experiment - there are so many agents involved and if you have an underlying issue that is something other than just strictly chemical (like my MC, for example), then any one of those could be a trigger. Heck, even just-plain-milk is difficult - it is a very complex food with thousands of molecular components.

 

[Aisling]

Bicker, what's MC? Thanks.

 

[bicker]

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/microscopic_colitis/dd_overview.aspx

Fun reading - not!

 

[Aisling]

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/microscopic_colitis/dd_overview.aspx

Fun reading - not!

Oh, dear. I hope one good thing that comes with this condition is that it causes you t eat healthily and stay away from the crap foods that make us fat and sick.

 

[LilyWDW]

FWIR, it isn't necessarily always the amount of cheese, but rather the type. Some folks are very sensitive to soft cheeses like mozzarella, but can eat hard cheeses, like parmesan, with relatively little concern.

For my boyfriend, the whiter and harder the cheese, the better he can deal with it. In fact, stuff like parmesan and even swiss do not cause any issues. Cheddar can be hit or miss as can mozzarella. He can not have straight milk or ice cream, but is normally okay with yogurt.

 

[bicker]

Oh, dear. I hope one good thing that comes with this condition is that it causes you t eat healthily and stay away from the crap foods that make us fat and sick.

I've been eating healthy for years; this won't make much of a dent. If anything, it seems to be prompting me to eat less healthy, since it precludes some more natural protein sources, like yogurt, leaving me with the prospect of doing without protein most days (which is okay, I guess, but not optimal) or aiming toward more processed protein sources, like tofu.

 

[Michelle67]

Other than the coughing, the symptoms you describe do sound like they could be lactose intolerance to me, especially if you were too embarrassed to mention that you also have to run to the restroom and that the situation then is rather....errrr.....explosive. Although that last part may not always be the case, but is kinda characteristic for a lot of people.

I was "diagnosed" with lactose intolerance during an anthropology lecture in college. It was sort of a sidetrack in a discussion of how different cultures will (or will not) develop different enzymes and tolerances for foods, bacteria, etc. I never liked milk in the first place so I didn't drink it, but during that lecture the lightbulb suddenly came on as to why I'd been having issues with ice cream and other dairy delights. It has since been explained to me that this can manifest or worsen after puberty, so while you might never have had problems as a child, or have had only minor issues, you may suddenly have much worse issues as an adult. I notice that it gets worse the older I get.

Lactose intolerance is an enzyme (lactase) deficiency. You might have practically no enzyme production, or you might just have insufficient enzyme production. That's why you hear people say they can handle this but not that, and there can be a lot of variation in what people can tolerate. Some people can't tolerate whey in a product like a granola bar. Others can drink skim milk but can't handle whipping cream. As you can already see from this thread there's a lot of variation in types of cheese that people can get away with. For myself, I can eat "firm" cheese without a problem usually, but most soft cheeses (like brie, one of my very favorites) are out to get me.

I have good luck with lactase tablets such as Lactaid, BUT even using those kinds of products I have to limit my intake. For example, if I bought a mocha in the morning, then had pizza for lunch, then came home and had real butter on my baked potato and followed up with ice cream for dessert, even if I took the pills every time, I'd pay for my overindulgence. My general pattern is to use the pills one time or less per day. I might get away with twice. Beyond that is flirting with disaster. Other people I'm sure have completely different experiences.

One cheap way to find out if you might be lactose intolerant is just to buy a small bottle of Lactaid, use them when you eat dairy, and see if your problems go away. Disclaimer disclaimer, I'm not a doctor, consult your doctor, blah blah (of course you already said you were going to see your doctor).

Good luck getting it figured out! Cramps are a bummer.

 

[kirbydog48]

You can have a sensitivity to milk products without being lactose intolerant. Have you given a thought to gluten?

 

[Nette]

The runny nose leads me to think of a casein allergy rather than lactose intolerance (lactose intolerance is trouble digesting the milk sugar, casein is a milk protein that many people are allergic to). The symptoms for both are similar. I'm in the middle of cutting dairy out for myself and my son to see if it is what is causing his gastric distress. In his case, if this works it's almost certainly a protein allergy, because babies are VERY RARELY lactose intolerant (human milk has lots of lactose... more than cow milk).

some of the symptoms we are seeing are gas, constipation (rare side effect... it is usually the other way) and congestion.

Also, it does seem that the best way to figure out if you have an allergy or intolerance of any sort is an elimination diet. Sometimes stuff will show up on an allergy screen (blood or scratch) that really isn't a problem at all (if all the stuff that came back from my blood screen was really an issue, I'd be allowed to eat lettuce and vodka and not much else. )

Good luck to you.

 

[Rora]

You can have a sensitivity to milk products without being lactose intolerant. Have you given a thought to gluten?

Tested and the results were negative!

Thank you all for the responses! I guess I will go see what the DR says and get ready for the elimination process!

I appreciate your time!

 

[bicker]

... It was sort of a sidetrack in a discussion of how different cultures will (or will not) develop different enzymes and tolerances for foods, bacteria, etc.

Yup: Groups in some geographical areas developed a mutation whereby they don't lose their ability to metabolize dairy as they get older. Effectively: Being able to eat dairy after puberty is a relatively new development in human evolution.

 

[chou4555]

Hi! You may have sorted out your problem by now, but there's a lot of similarities (and therefore confusion) between IBS (Irritable Bowel Sndrome) and Lactoce Intolerance. This video helped me work out what the issue was for my eldest son.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8V81uwYDa0Q

 

[EMom]

For my boyfriend, the whiter and harder the cheese, the better he can deal with it. In fact, stuff like parmesan and even swiss do not cause any issues. Cheddar can be hit or miss as can mozzarella. He can not have straight milk or ice cream, but is normally okay with yogurt.

Aged cheeses such as Parmesan have little or no lactose. DD11 is lactose intolerant but loves cheese. Since she is not crazy about meat, we rely on cheese a lot.....and boiled eggs.

Anyway.....I search for cheeses that look like Parmesan...kind of dried out and hard, as opposed to something like a moist, soft cheese such as Brie, which would tend to have lactose. Some cheddars are aged more than others, so some have less lactose.

I go to the cheese section, pick a cheese that is dry-ish and hard and DD loves them. And they do NOT all taste like Parmesan. Also, try Finlandia brand. They tend to be lactose free.

Now about the coughing after eating/drinking something cold. That is something else. I have every kind of asthma you can think of and one of them is cold induced asthma. If I inhale cold air, drink a cold drink or eat a cold food, it brings on a cough every time as my airways constrict. DD does not have asthma, yet eating or drinking something cold always makes her start coughing too. DH seems immune to the problem. It is actually fairly common...a lot of people probably do not even make the connection.

 

[LilyWDW]

Aged cheeses such as Parmesan have little or no lactose. DD11 is lactose intolerant but loves cheese. Since she is not crazy about meat, we rely on cheese a lot.....and boiled eggs.

Anyway.....I search for cheeses that look like Parmesan...kind of dried out and hard, as opposed to something like a moist, soft cheese such as Brie, which would tend to have lactose. Some cheddars are aged more than others, so some have less lactose.

I go to the cheese section, pick a cheese that is dry-ish and hard and DD loves them. And they do NOT all taste like Parmesan. Also, try Finlandia brand. They tend to be lactose free.

Now about the coughing after eating/drinking something cold. That is something else. I have every kind of asthma you can think of and one of them is cold induced asthma. If I inhale cold air, drink a cold drink or eat a cold food, it brings on a cough every time as my airways constrict. DD does not have asthma, yet eating or drinking something cold always makes her start coughing too. DH seems immune to the problem. It is actually fairly common...a lot of people probably do not even make the connection.

Thanks for the hints and suggestions as to what to try! The poor guy LOVES cheese so it is difficult for him at times. Luckily, the pills do work to and extent so as long as it is not ALL cheese, he can usually deal with it. It does seem to be getting worse though and he's been very frustrated.

When I was in choir (back in the day) it was suggested NOT to eat or drink dairy (especially straight up milk) before a performance.