Can anyone tell me more about lactose intolerance in babies?

SingleMumOf2_3

I have had so many people suggest this is why my baby could be so unhappy.. he has been an unhappy baby now since birth!!

But my gp refuses to test him or refer him to someone who can.

I just wondered if anyone knew the symptoms of lactose intolerance in babies? If anyone has any personal experiences and can tell me the symptoms experienced.. and how easy or hard it was to diagnose?

Thanks.

Gingham_Ribbon

SingleMumOf2 wrote: »

I have had so many people suggest this is why my baby could be so unhappy.. he has been an unhappy baby now since birth!!

But my gp refuses to test him or refer him to someone who can.

I just wondered if anyone knew the symptoms of lactose intolerance in babies? If anyone has any personal experiences and can tell me the symptoms experienced.. and how easy or hard it was to diagnose?

Thanks.

We're not allowed to give medical advice on here.

If you're worried you need to ask for a second opinion.

freyanneke_2

A unhappy baby can have many reasons why do you think he might be lactose intolerant?

SingleMumOf2_3

Sorry I am asking more for personal experiences rather than medical advice. I will not be taking any advice re change of feeding or anything. Just wanted a little more knowledge to how common it was so I am armed for my next visit to the gp

Supermom

My friends little boys were both lactose intolerant and it was diagnosed very quickly within a couple of weeks of both their births. The main symptoms were no weight gain, sickness and dehydration.

Broken_hearted

Rapid weight loss, runny stools, general sickness and lack of energy. May sleep a lot not waking for feeds.

freyanneke_2

Lactose intolerance can be very different from person to person. It took a long time for my son to be diagnosed, but it does run in our family. Have you tried to change your formula or are you breast feeding?

Nicki

My ds was diagnosed as lactose intolerant as a baby. We had to stop breastfeeding and put him on a special hypoallergenic formula milk. He was diagnosed by a private paediatrician specializing in gastro issues, as the nhs was hopeless. His symptoms were lots of very loose smelly stools (about 30 a day!), vomiting, frequent inconsolable crying and failure to gain weight. We were told there were no definitive tests you can do for this, the diagnosis is based on the child's medical history. He wasn't diagnosed until he was 6 months but once he was and switched to the formula he recovered almost immediately and began to put on weight.

But there are lots of reasons why your baby might be unhappy - reflux, colic, etc - so I wouldn't rush to change his diet without a proper medical evaluation.

fannyadams

I had my DS tested when his weight chart flat lined for two weeks and the nursery were complaining about his runny bottom.
Horrible Health Visitor said there was nothing wrong with him and "you just need to find a formula he likes". Stupid Cow! She had a thing against working mummies and would BLAME you for why your child didn't meet their targets, e.g. "of course he's talk more if you spent more time with him"...
Luckily I was working in pathology at the time and could discuss symptoms with colleages and then asked GP to test DS for lactose intolerance (at the time you needed to collect fresh poo and get to lab for testing within 30 mins - they needed to prearrange this, so the kit it ready to use when you arrive with sample) I felt SO releived to get definate reason for his failure to gain weight.
He was on prescription (i.e. FREE) milk called Enfamil Lactofree, it's small tins though so we got around 6-8 per month and we had to go to see dietician at the local hospital every two months.
He's a thriving 10 year old now who can (and does) eat anything. Interestingly his younger brother didn't have this problem.
Good Luck.
FA
x

narabanekeater

my son was diagnosed after a 10 day stay in hospital with many of the symptoms mentioned abouve. The worst for me was the crying. Upon changing his milk he was like a different child and gained weight. NObody would take his problems seriously till I took his to baby weigh in one day and left in a ambulance.
Feel free to PM if you wish

smithyjules

HI there,

I posted on your other thread about Colief. this link is the main information page about it http://www.colief.com/index.php/about-us/

As i said before, we brought these drops used them religiously for 2 weeks then approached our gp who aggreed that some babies struggle to breakdown lactose in milk, causing colic and that this often rights itself in time and prescribed Colief for us as he aggreed we'd given it a good test ourselves. it is a pricey product but my god was it worth it for us. We tried a few times to wean him back onto milk with no colief, and eventually we managed it and he now has full fat cows milk on breakfasts/in cooking and has formula as it is for bottle feeds.

As you said you are not looking for medical advice, just experiences. I'm just sharing mine. My little boy screamed, cried and was generally not much fun for a long time before i tried colief and i had got to that "something has got to give" point of tiredness etc.

I truly hope you find some help to settle yourself and your little boy so you can sleep and smile again!:)