Lactose Intolerance - Is yours consistent or inconsistent?

[bicker]

I have a question about lactose intolerance. If you are lactose intolerant, could you go days eating cheese and milk and yogurt, in significant quantities, without any ill-effects? Or is your experience with lactose intolerance such that there is a direct impact of eating dairy (without taking pills), every time, perhaps associated with how much dairy you've eaten?

 

[KiKi Mouse]

I'm curious too as we just switched DD4 to Lactaid milk but still let her eat cheese and other dairy.

This is just something we have done on our own because she often complains about stomach aches. We have an allergist appt. this week and I will be asking about this.

 

[SueInBoston]

I've been dealing with inconsistent lactose intolerant all my life. And my doctors are of no help. I do carry lactaid and take it when I'm out eating. However I've had episodes where it didn't help at all. After all these years. I sort of know my own limits. I never eat diary on an empty stomach. Never (lactaid or not) have any cream based sauces, chowderrs.

 

[bicker]

Sue: That sounds like what's inconsistent is whether or not the pills work. I'm wondering whether you personally could go days eating dairy willy-nilly, without taking any pills, and not suffer for it. (Perhaps you never tried. I suspect it would be an experiment folks would only engage in if they weren't sure that they had lactose intolerance.)

Does a few days of eating dairy with abandon, and not having a reaction to it, mean you don't have lactose intolerance?

 

[DisMN]

Mine is inconsistent and I've come to the conclusion that it may be connected to hormonal changes through the month because it comes and goes.
I'm absolutely fine for weeks at a time and can eat and drink anything I want. Then it hits and all it takes is a small amount of milk and it's like I drank rocket fuel, if you get my drift. LOL
That will last for a week or two then I'm back to being able to have lactose products for a week or two.

If nothing else I would say it's entertainingly annoying. LOL

 

[hulagirl87]

I was lactose intolerant for 20 years, got pregnant, had DD and am no longer lactose intolerant. so yes, definitely inconsistent for me

 

[bicker]

Mine is inconsistent and I've come to the conclusion that it may be connected to hormonal changes through the month because it comes and goes.

Interesting. I wonder if and how that would map onto a man. I suppose it is conceivable that inconsistency, for any reason, could perhaps indicate the door is open to inconsistency for other reasons, in other people.

Thanks for the input.

 

[briar_rose_59]

I was lactose intolerant for 20 years, got pregnant, had DD and am no longer lactose intolerant. so yes, definitely inconsistent for me

I had the opposite experience! Well, minus the pregnancy part lol. When I was a kid, straight milk was the only thing I ever reacted to, and it just made my throat feel kind of "gummy" but it didn't hurt my stomach. After college it started to hurt my stomach if I had too much "creamy" dairy, like yogurt, milk, dairy based sauces, etc. but hard cheeses and limited ice cream were fine. Well wouldn't you know after the first night of my last Disney trip when I went to the dessert buffet (LOTS of dairy based options here, but hadn't really been an issue for me so didn't note lactose intolerance on my reservation) my body has decided that basically any dairy is too much. Which sucks because I freaking LOVE cheese! lmao

 

[DisMN]

Bicker, men also experience cyclic hormonal changes. All humans go through that....and I'm not talking about in a family planning type of way. Our bodies are always in a state of change....seasonally might be another way to think about how it works. LOL Make sense?

 

[Nayan]

Mine is inconsistent. I can pig out on cheese, yogurt, ice cream all day long for days with no problem then bam! I do notice though that mine is triggered more by milk than anything that has milk in it or made from it. If I drink milk it really does a number, but the things I mentioned above not so much.

 

[Tinijocaro]

I thought I was lactose intolerant for years but it was inconsistent. Turns out I had gall bladdder issue, got it removed last year and can eat ANYTHING!

 

[SueInBoston]

Sue: That sounds like what's inconsistent is whether or not the pills work. I'm wondering whether you personally could go days eating dairy willy-nilly, without taking any pills, and not suffer for it. (Perhaps you never tried. I suspect it would be an experiment folks would only engage in if they weren't sure that they had lactose intolerance.)

Does a few days of eating dairy with abandon, and not having a reaction to it, mean you don't have lactose intolerance?

Well..I'm Asian so diary is not a big part of my diet anyway, I've never tried to find the real cause, I just learned to adapt. At this stage of my life, there are very few food I'm willing to experiment without the pills.

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

Mine is very inconsistent.

I know better than to drink straight milk, eat ice cream or have any cream based sauces or soups because no amount of Lactaid will help. I can eat cheese with no ill effects - even cheese soup.

After I had my gall bladder out then I did experience almost a year of not having to take Lactaid when I ate or drank anything dairy but that wore off and I am back where I was before and have to pop a Lactaid if I even put a dab of sour cream on my baked potato.

 

[shortbun]

I can eat a little once in a while. I can even have a small blizzard, lol!(of I've towed the line for the last couple days) I can not have cheese and ice cream. I can have a little milk on my cereal. I have tried almond and soy milks without satisfaction. I have not tried any of those pills that supposedly allows lactose consumption.

 

[mr.bungle]

I'm weird. I can't do milk, cream, cheese. I am fine with Ranch in small amounts (milk based, so go figure), and butter in small amounts. Forget about icecream or Alfredo sauce or Pizza.

Aside from being frustrated at restaurants, I can make most of my favorite dairy filled foods at home with lactose free substitutes. Breyers makes ice cream, many brands make lactose free milk, pretty much all Kraft shredded cheese contains 0g of lactose.

 

[vgrandy]

Most people with lactose intolerance can digest small amounts of lactose. Hard cheese such as cheddar have almost no lactose in it (it is removed in the process of making the cheese). Yogurt is also easily digested by those with lactose intolerance because it has enzymes in it to break down the lactose.

I can't eat ice cream, pudding, milk or cream sauces but I can eat baked goods with milk in them.

Victoria

 

[kacaju]

Most people with lactose intolerance can digest small amounts of lactose. Hard cheese such as cheddar have almost no lactose in it (it is removed in the process of making the cheese). Yogurt is also easily digested by those with lactose intolerance because it has enzymes in it to break down the lactose.

I can't eat ice cream, pudding, milk or cream sauces but I can eat baked goods with milk in them.

Victoria

My husband is like this. Hard cheeses he is fine with, chedder, swiss he can have. He is careful not to eat too much at one time. I do my best to only serve him food that is loctose free, but once in a while something slips by and he reacts to it.
Dh does not mess around and try to cheat..it is not worth it to him.
I will say we talk to others that are lactose intolerant and it does seem that everyone reacts differently

 

[bicker]

Bicker, men also experience cyclic hormonal changes. All humans go through that....and I'm not talking about in a family planning type of way. Our bodies are always in a state of change....seasonally might be another way to think about how it works. LOL Make sense?

Yup.

One of the things that I think makes such situations murkier is that even if the human body was more reliably predictable with regard to something like this, the human body isn't a controlled test environment: The same or similar symptoms can be caused by myriad different things. Heck, one problem could hide another problem - the two could have symptoms that effectively cancel each other out, making it impossible to understand that either is happening, because a symptom of each is "missing".

 

[ckay87]

Mine is directly tied to the fat content in the dairy. I would even think that would indicate that it's NOT a lactose intolerance, but taking Lactaid helps, 100% of the time.

I can eat cheese (in normal quantities, such as a slice of pizza) or yogurt or low-fat anything. Straight ice cream is the kiss of death UNLESS I take Lactaid. Then I'm perfectly fine. Same with regular sour cream or real butter...I can't touch it without a Lactaid. Butter is the worst...I can't be in the same room as a stick of real butter!

 

[disfan07]

Mines inconsistent. When I was younger I could not eat any dairy. That was probably until I was about 7. After that, we still limited dairy to a rare occassion. These days I can eat a little at a time (a slice of pizza, chesses on a sandwich, a scoop of icecream, etc.) But I can't eat it everyday or even more than twice a day. Also, antibiotics seems to set my stomach off so while I am on antibiotics and for about a week afterwards, I avoid straight dairy products (meaning, it can be baked into things but I can't have cheese, ice cream, milk, etc). Lactaid does not work for me. It never has. So if my stomach can't handle it, I just avoid it until my stomach recovers.

I still can't stand milk though. Drinking a glass of milk leaves a terrible taste in my mouth and a worse after taste. That is one thing that will probably never change.