Diary / lactose intolerance question

kippers

For quite sometime now my DD has complained of tummy ache and feeling sick. I always forced her to go to school as i thought her tummy hurt because she was anxious (due to bullying, but thats a long story that is hopefully sorted).

Over the school holidays it got to the stage where she was hardly eating anything. My DH took her to docs who said it's because she is developing and near puberty (she is aged 11 yrs)...but she got really a lot worse over the next few days.

My sister can't tolerate cream and can only have a small amount of milk and she suggested it may be a diary intolerance. I started her on a diary free diet and the same day my dh took her to see a different doc who thought it may be irritable bowel but i looked up the symptoms and it really didn't seem to be right so i didn't give her the medicine he gave her. He did sayit was ok to try a diary free diet when my dh mentioned it, but said he didn't know much about it.

To cut a long story short...my dd has had no diary for a whole week and she is like a different child now, full of energy and eating normal amounts again.

I need to go back to the docs as i am now worried about re-introducing diary (as i read that different people have different tolerance levels) and i would like to be refered to someone who deals with this type of thing to help us. I am particularly worried about her calcium level.

Could anyone out there tell me who i should tell the docs that my dd should be referred to and has anyone else had problems being helped / refered by their doc for this reason.

My last question is: what is the difference between lactose intolerance and diary intolerance?...or are they they same thing. I've read they can test for lactose intolerance....can they test for a diary intolerance?

Thanks for any help

h007

kippers wrote: »

Could anyone out there tell me who i should tell the docs that my dd should be referred to and has anyone else had problems being helped / refered by their doc for this reason.

My last question is: what is the difference between lactose intolerance and diary intolerance?...or are they they same thing. I've read they can test for lactose intolerance....can they test for a diary intolerance?

Thanks for any help

When I was diagnosed as IBS I got sent to a nutritionist so maybe that is who your daughter needs to see? especially with her being so young and needing her calcium

dairy food is a big trigger to me but I discovered I am able to eat different amounts of different kinds of dairy. for example i can eat alot of yogurt as long as the consistancy isnt too thick and creamy - i can eat muller lights but not activia.
I cant eat any cream. i can have abit of low fat milk but not full fat. i can eat cheeses like mozzerella, feta and dairylea but not normal hard cheeses like cheddar. and it really is trial and error and a food diary that is needed to find which levels you can tolerate



lol diary intolerant is people that dont like writing a diary - no seriously i am not sure about the difference about dairy and lactose intolerants sorry.

lr1277

I think there are two types of dairy intolerance (willing to be corrected): 1) can't tolerate the proteins in the milk, 2) can't tolerate the lactose in the milk.
I don't know much about (1), but can tell you something about (2).

I am lactose intolerant and there in one way around it.

I take the enzyme lactase in either liquid or capsule form. I personally use the biocare brand, both the liquid and the capsule.
The liquid, I put into milk as soon as I buy it, and then give it 24 hrs to work.
I take a capsule straight after any meal which has a suspicion of containing lactose. Many processed foods have dairy, inspite that if you made these at home, you would not normally use any dairy products.
Also remember that lactase is an enzyme so if you expose it to a temperature higher than 40 degrees centigrade, it becomes ineffective.
So basically don't have have hot food/drink straight after taking lactase.

Lactase enables me to live a fairly stress free life, especially the need to find toilets in a hurry!

The other way around it is to not consume dairy products, but this may be difficult to do as you don't know what other makers of food put into their food.

HTH

lr1277

more details on allergy testing here:

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Allergies/Pages/Whichallergytest.aspx

kippers

lr1277 wrote: »

more details on allergy testing here:

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Allergies/Pages/Whichallergytest.aspx

I think the above is talking about allergies (where the reaction is immediate) rather than intolerances (where the reaction can be upto 3 days later from what i understand)?

kippers

h007 wrote: »

lol diary intolerant is people that dont like writing a diary - no seriously i am not sure about the difference about dairy and lactose intolerants sorry.

That is one thing we have been doing ie keeping a food diary for the last 2 weeks, thanks

Waffle_On

My son is almost 2, and he's just been referred to a paediatrician with a possible dairy intolerance. I've been told they can do various different tests (stool, blood, skin) to establish what's going on. I'm also hoping for some help with his diet, if that's what they decide the problem is.

In the meantime, you can keep her calcium levels up with green leafy veg (if she'll eat it!) and milk alternatives such as soya, rice or oat milk. If you read the labels most have added calcium.

lr1277

kippers wrote: »

I think the above is talking about allergies (where the reaction is immediate) rather than intolerances (where the reaction can be upto 3 days later from what i understand)?

If it is dairy intolerance or milk allergy (as quoted on this website), then I think it is an allergic reaction and suspect you can test for this.

lactose intolerance/milk intolerance website: http://www.lactose.co.uk/

I would suggest this testing would help you either include or rule out one cause.

brook2jack

One thing to bear in mind... soya,rice,oat milk etc is very very high in sugars and can easily cause catastrophic decay so be very careful.

Over 80% of people who self diagnose with lactose intolernce are not. It is much more common in certain races eg Chinese,Asian,Sicilian (majority of Chinese are lactose intolerant.) and much less in Northern Europeans <5% See your GP and ask for a referral to a dietician before permanently embarking on an exclusion diet for a child.

Milk protein allergy is an actual allergy and in common with all allergies can cause anaphaylactic shock and can be fatal, it is tested for by pr!!k tests etc .

Milk /lactose intolerance is what it says the body finds it difficult (eg may lack the enzymes) for processing foods containing lactose. Though it may cause upset stomach, stomach pains ,failure to thrive in babies etc it is not life threatening. Babies who are lactose intolerant most often "grow out" of it at a later age. However all these diagnoses , particularly in children, should be made by a doctor and a diet formulated by a dietician.

A good website http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/lactose-intolerance/Pages/Introduction.aspx

ascot64

My son has suffered with lactose intolerance for years. We have found that he can tolerate a very small amount of dairy products that have low levels of lactose eg butter, parmesan. Milk is the worst as it has a high level but the Lactofree products are a life saver. Even worse than milk is anything with added lactose powder eg some brands of salt and vinegar crisps, anything that is processed and cheese flavoured. Whey powder has the same affect we have found.

It's a case of checking labels carefully but once we realised the cause and cut out dairy like you DD he went from lethargic and grumpy to lively and happy.

kippers

ascot64 wrote: »

My son has suffered with lactose intolerance for years. We have found that he can tolerate a very small amount of dairy products that have low levels of lactose eg butter, parmesan. Milk is the worst as it has a high level but the Lactofree products are a life saver. Even worse than milk is anything with added lactose powder eg some brands of salt and vinegar crisps, anything that is processed and cheese flavoured. Whey powder has the same affect we have found.

It's a case of checking labels carefully but once we realised the cause and cut out dairy like you DD he went from lethargic and grumpy to lively and happy.

It's so nice to read your reply, thank you. My dd has gone from strength to strength over the last week and a half and i feel it must be diary intolerance. She has put a pound back on in weight in this short time and has been eating me out of house of home (i was getting very worried about her as she was getting as thin as a rake)...it is wonderful...and yes she isn't just sitting watching tv now she is actually up and about.