Dairy (lactose) Free diet

bossymoo

Hi

My dd had milk protein intolerance, and we used oatly oat milk for her. The dietician said to use the enriched one.

Or, you can buy colief, which is basically lactase, so it will break down the sugar for her, but its expensive (although can be got on prescription) and a bit of a faff to use.

Other than that, we used vitalite instead of butter / marge and couldn't really find any suitable alternative to cheese, although you may fare better with soya yoghurts and cheeses, but dd was intol to soya too.

You do get quite used to shopping, but read labels, you'll be surprised what milk turns up in. It comes in all sorts of names.

The vegan society website was helpful to us for new recipes to try.

Good luck!

pink68

It might not be a complete intolerance to Lactose. Try googling FODMAP, it's a method of eating where you find what foods make you gassy. It;s probably not appropriate to put your daughter through the elimination stage but it shows that some dairy is ok, if its already been fermented. I can eat cheese and yogurt quite happily but cant have normal milk anymore.

I have the lacto free with the cow on.

katieowl_2

Just a heads up... if it's a cows milk allergy/intolerance the lacto free stuff may still make you ill. DD can't tolerate it either...but goat/sheep is fine

Kate

RAS

Skint_Catt wrote: »

RAS - the fat problem - I'm assuming its not you trying to lose weight, its that the fat reacts badly to you? If so, may I how you feel when you have cows milk? I've never heard of that before, so would be interesting in trying to help my daughter.
C xx

Since all 3 of us have problems, the answer is that it varies somewhat.

Both my sibs were hospitalised as adults with severe abdonimal pain. One was treated unsuccessfully for iritable bowel syndrome and one was scheduled for surgery but another doctor decided to do the allergy testing as a precaution.

I have slightly different problems - excessive mucus production which mimics a heavy cold (literally handfuls of mucus draining from my nasal passages) and severe chest infection. I had a history of sinusitis and almost constant "chest infections and bronchitis". On top of that bloating, abdomenal pain and explosive bowels.

Since I stopped eating cow's whole milk products I can tell if I have eaten anything mistakenly as my chest starts to get tight and clogged up. A weeny bit (a milk choclate) makes me sneeze next day but a lot makes me white, bog-brained and incoherent and I need to spend a couple of days horizontal so I can breath enough. I do not make a lot of mistakes (three to date) as it is not fun.

It is genetic as some of the next generation are similiarly affected.

I can eat small quantities of wholly skimmed milk products (0.1 percent is OK, 0.3% is dodgy), preferably youghurt or cooked but have avoid to most pre-prepared meals as they would just be too problematic. one sib is similiary able to have small amounts of wholly skimmed products the other has to take tablets.

sonastin

I'd also suggest persevering with your GP. They see a lot of over-reacting parents so its natural for them to default to that assumption. It is worth going back again, armed with notes on what you have been doing and what you have observed. This information will make it easier for the GP to a) see that you have a real concern and you're not just sleep deprived and b) diagnose the problem/identify the right place to refer you.

If your daughter has a real dietary problem, hit&miss self-diagnosis is no substitute for proper medical attention and supervision. The NHS does work but you sometimes need to knock on the door a few times before it opens.

Lilyplonk

Good luck with the lactose problem - it could also possibly be 'cow's milk protein' that's the issue.

As others have said, make sure you keep pushing at the GP for a test - if he is still reluctant, have a word with your Health Visitor to see if they can get it arranged.

My last two grandchildren (cousins) were both diagnosed with the same problem - one at 2wks via the hospital and one at 4wks via the GP. I noticed it with the youngest one; this doesn't sound very nice, but his poo had the same distinctive pong/texture as the one before him. After the experience with the previous one, 9mths earlier, I told his parents to get him to the GP to have him checked out - and I was spot on.

Once both children were on a 'prescribed brand of baby formula' they both improved in leaps and bounds. Weaning became a bit of a problem, as we couldn't use the normal 'staple weaning food' of yoghurt / fromage frais . I started to make all their baby-foods by doing lots of slow-cooker casseroles, removing some for their needs, then blitzing and freezing in ice-cube trays/small containers

There's all kinds of 'dairy-free' products available these days - including chocolate - but like most things, they're that little bit more expensive than 'ordinary brands'. You just have to keep checking the labels!


Incidentally, both of those two grandchildren (now aged 4 and 5) have 'outgrown' the basic intolerance - though I'm personally still a bit wary with them both when it comes to foods with a high-dairy content - like milk / cheese / creamy sauces / creamy desserts. But quite honestly, my not giving them those, doesn't matter one jot in their overall nutrition levels.

I already water down semi-skimmed milk for myself and OH, so that's what they get if I'm giving them a drink of tea .

Skint_Catt

Thanks all.

RAS that sounds awful! Glad you dont make mistakes often as it doesn't sound nice to go through.

I will persevere with the NHS but I needed to do my elimination first to rest my mind that it was physical & not just DD playing us. At least I can go armed with the results, as you say! I'm certainly not diagnosing her - I'm open to the fact that it could be anything, but I felt this was a good place to start! I've never been to the Dr so much in my life as since I've had her as she's had some worrying viruses last year plus reflux as a tiny baby, so I'm fairly sure they do think I'm neurotic!

C xx

mazza111

If you're sure it's lactose, then yes go for something like lactofree. Small amounts of cheese shouldn't be a big problem if it is just lactose, because there's actually not a lot of lactose in cheese, it's mainly made with the whey. Unfortunately it's all about trial and error. My lad couldn't tolerate anything when he was wee, but now he can have lactofree and cheese. Still gets the trots if he drinks/eats too much milk products, but on the whole it's much better than it was when he was a baby.

bossymoo

They can actually test for lactose intolerance with a stool sample :eek: see your health visitor if your gp isn't open to ideas x

Skint_Catt

bossymoo wrote: »

They can actually test for lactose intolerance with a stool sample :eek: see your health visitor if your gp isn't open to ideas x

Yes, I read that, lol.

Well given she has only had a small drop of whole milk in cooked scrambled egg at lunch and no other milk or cheese or dairy products at all today, we haven't heard a peep from her yet.... normally we'd be up to her every hour trying to get her settled, sometimes 20/30 minutes at a time! Everything crossed for a peaceful night :j

I need to see the HV in a week or so anyway, so I'll talk to her then about substitutes/testing/my results etc.