Dairy Allergies?
 

Hi,

Does anyone have experience with dairy allergies? I was just told by my doctor today that I have them and that since this wasn't found out until now (I'm 24) that some of my glands are messed up as well as my small intestines. He says everything will eventully work itself back insync but as of right now, I am to be off diary completely and he wants to see me in a month to see how I am doing. Any advice would be appreciated. I am huge cheese lover so this is going to be HARD:(

Thanks,

I am so glad you posted this. I'm not lactose intolerant but for a while now (a few years) I've been having trouble with dairy where I get sick almost every time time I eat it. I thought it was a weird thing to be allergic to. Glad to see I'm not the only one.

Must be something in the air around NYC.....

I caught a nasty cold last week or so and the only thing I can think of that's different in my life is my diet...and the added dairy I've been eating recently. More milk, cheese, yogurt & ice cream. My little sister is the same way when it comes to dairy & colds and has been since birth (she's 14 now) so perhaps it just hits some of us later in life....

I dont know if diary allergies and intolerance is the same thing, but I have one those (self-diagnosed). I can't drink milk, eat ice cream or large amounts of cheese. It's not that much of an inconvenience because I absolutely hate the taste of milk.

I did a little research and while dairy allergies and intolerance have similar symtoms, people with dairy allergies should avoid all dairy (specifically reading labels for dairy proteins, just because it says "dairy free" doesn't mean it isn't.) and people with dairy intolerance can slowly reintroduce certain items and see how they react or take pills etc.

Is one of the symptoms abdominal pains? Lately everytime I put milk in my cereal I have stomach pains and slight nausea. I don't have any other symptoms though.

Sure you're not pregnant? LOL.. Just kidding

My son has been lactose intolerant forever and I have been since my last Crohn's surgery. You get really bloated after having lactose and feel gas pains and then usually get the runs. It can depend on how much you have. We are both OK with cheeses and yogurts but ice cream and milk are a problem. It's not enough to stop me from having small amounts, and he feels the same way. An allergy is different though and I don't know that the symptoms of that are.

Dee

My nephew is allergic to dairy, not the lactose, but the protein. My sister in law, his mom, is able to find a lot of alternatives: rice cheese, "Rice Dream" frozen dessert, etc.

Good luck!

Wow...I know a lot about dairy allergies...being allergic to cow's milk since birth...

First. Lactose intolerance and dairy allergies are two entirely different things. Lactose intolerance comes from lacking an enzyme that breaks down lactose. Dairy allergies arise from the bodies' reaction to certain proteins in milk.

Second: While in some people dairy allergies cause stomach aches, most people with the allergy will present with typical allergic reactions...I've know kids that sneeze when they drink milk. Personally, I develop a weird throat congestion problem when I have too much. Further, like any sort of allergy, some people need a lot more exposure before they have a reaction. Total aversion to dairy is only really necessary for those people who react very acutely and with reactions that are more likely to be life threatening. For example, I can usually have milk on my cereal in the morning, be fine all day and then have a small bowl or cone of ice cream after dinner and have only mild symptoms.

Third: the vast majority of people (greater than 80%) will slowly develop lactose intolerance as they age. The body tends to slow production of lactase as one ages, making dairy harder to digest.

Oh Wow, I've heard of Dairy products helping to make more body more suseptable to different allergies, btu never heard of a dairy allergy.

I would just do what your doctor says...try to stay away from all things dairy. Check the nutritional facts where they list the ingredients. Usually if diary is pretty far down the list, then it might be ok to eat that product (depending on the severity--oh wow i'm suck at spelling today--of your allergy).

I know when I was allergic to Corn (yes corn!) I couldn't eat anything that had to do with corn. I couldn't have sodas, cereal, mexican food (oh how i hated my body..lol) because it all contained corn meal, corn syrup, corn starch....nothing! I had to do that for about 6 months, and after a while I just couldn't deal with it anymore. Corn is my favorite vegetable, and i'm mexican, how could i not have mexican food? UGH.

Thankfully, after those 6 months (it was probably sooner, but i stayed away from corn for 6 months) my body got adjusted to my allergy and now I can eat Corn without any consequences (which in my case was a SEVERE strep throat...i used to get it every other week before i was diagnosed.)

Sounds like my younger brother. I can just picture the expression on the folx face at the local pizza place when we ordered pizza, half with no cheese (This was in the 80s mind ya)

Now no one blinks an eye if you order a pizza with no cheese

This might seem like a weird question, but is it possible that any of you who have trouble eating dairy have IBS? Intolerance of dairy foods is a symptom of IBS, so if you're having stomach troubles in general, I'd speak with your doctor.

I must thank the GC community for giving me something to look up with all my newly accessed medical resources. I have a bunch of new things to look up dieseases and conditions now that med school has started.

From what I've found, lactose intolerance can present with IBS, but the two are usually not causing the other, only enhancing symptoms.

The biggest thing about IBS is the frequency/length/continuation of symptoms, somthing that may be easily separated from lactose intolerance. Basically, IBS is considered when you have problem stools for 12 weeks out of the preceding 12 months (not necessarily consecutive weeks).

But, IBD can cause lactose intolerance:

People can also develop lactose intolerance for other reasons. Sometimes another illness may keep the intestine from producing enough lactase. For example, people with inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohn's disease, or other long-term problems that affect the intestines are often lactose intolerant.

I read an interesting stat the other day that said 90 percent of African Americans are lactose intolerant. The funny thing about it though, is no one in my family (I guess I should qualify that and say that I know of) suffers from it. And what are the odds of all of us being in the 10 percent?