Wednesday, March 20, 2013

PLEASE ADVISE: Milk Allergy Turned Lactose Intolerant?

I know it's been a long time since I've posted here and I'm sorry I don't have a recipe to share, but this is the first place I thought of to ask my question.

My youngest son, now almost 6, "outgrew" his life-threatening dairy allergy a few years ago.  Recently he has started having stomach pains after eating.  I have pretty much narrowed it down to gluten and dairy.

This morning, I gave him a glass of milk on an empty stomach and within 10 minutes he was complaining of a stomach ache. 

I don't know how lactose intolerance works since allergies behave differently.  Does this sound like lactose intolerance? If so, what are my next steps (besides removing milk)?

Thanks for any advice.  

Becky

6 comments:

Erica Zamsky Hunt said...

Ok so this might not help but I had to give up dairy while nursing my daughter because of a suspected allergy. Because I went to long without dairy my body stopped producing the chemical that breaks down dairy-and I am severely lactose intolerant now. I was always sensitive to large amounts but my doctor told me you can develop lactose intolerance from not eating dairy....maybe this is your son's case. THere is also a test they can do for it-No needles

Texas Dimons said...

My husband has the milk allergy and O have a son with it. We have recently encountered a few adults who also have the same allergy. Here is what we have found through ours and the other adults experience...As kids, they will "outgrow" the allergy for awhile. It seems that milk and dairy don't bother them and they are able to eat it. Then it will cycle back to where they can't eat it. Stomach aches and throwing up. In our experience, it is worse the later in the day they eat it. If they eat it too late and try to lay down it for sure will come back up.
At some point they go back to the full on allergy. In the 20 years we've been married, my husband has cycled between not being able to eat any dairy to being able to tolerate a very little with the aid of Lactoce pills. Sometimes, it's a combo of foods that set the allergy off. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason for it.
We have eliminated dairy for the most part. I now cook with unsweetened coconut milk if I want to make something with milk. That seems to work the best, without changing the taste, texture of things. It has opened my menu up!!
My son is able to tolerate Lactaid milk for now, so we use that for him. He can tolerate some dairy, as long as it is early in the day.
Hope this info helps.

Becky @ BoysRuleMyLife said...

Thank you both for sharing your experiences! It helps to know I'm not in this boat alone!

Thanks again!!!

Becky
MustFollowRecipes
BoysRuleMyLife

Txstraub said...

You definitely aren't alone. I gave up dairy when nursing my daughter at 2 months old. Her system got better and then when I tried to reintroduce dairy to myself, I had problems. Now we are both dairy free. I monitor hers much closer than myself because I'm an adult and can choose to feel uncomfortable if I eat dairy or not. She is only 3 1/2 years old now and is learning to say no to things with "cow's milk" and such if others offer it to her. We have "Evie-friendly" treats or some that are just for Daddy.

It is a learning process, but between rice, almond, & coconut milk I can make just about anything. (We don't do soy due to the added hormone part of it for girls.) We have found a few cheeses, yogurts, butters that are available to us locally and just use those.

Best website - www.godairyfree.org
Her cookbook is great too, has a "cream of ___" soup recipe that helps you have the "usual" casseroles and such you may have grown up with.

Unknown said...

Hey Friend! I just came over for a recipe and saw this post. I miss you a lot!!! GOtta catch up. Hey, I have a great group of milk allergy moms on facebook at Milk Allergy Mom. We ask reader questions everyday and get great responses. You should come visit and ask your question. I'm sorry he is having issues. I bet your boys are so big!

Kristy said...

That sounds about right, try switching to Lactaid, rice milk, or almond milk. See if that helps. Yoplait has a lactose free yogurt that is usually the same cost as the regular yogurt and makes my son feel like he is not being left out :) Hopefully he will grow out of the lactose intolerance also