Lactose Intolerant

Just wondering if anyone here is lactose intolerant? I recently went to a gastroenterlogist and he wants to test me for it I'm thinking it must be very tough to manage! Any info would be appreciated

I'm lactose intolerant (must say that I have never been tested by a gastroentrologist but I get all the symptoms). It's not too difficult to manage day to day- I avoid drinking milk and I read all food labels to avoid lactose at all costs. I can eat cheese and small amounts of yoghurt and sour cream, but if my stomach is feeling upset, I can get reactions to yoghurt. You can get lactose-free dairy products as well. Avonmore make lactose-free low-fat milk, and Lactofree make lactose-free cream, cheese and yoghurts (these are full of sugar though). Because you won't be consuming much dairy, you'll need to take a calcium supplement as well. I take a multivitamin which is high in calcium- can't remember the brand name.

Im not intolerant but it does aggrivate my IBS, I use the lacto free cheese/milk/yoghurts and mostly i use the almond /coconut milk instead of normal milk. Its not that hard to avoid the big things as you can substitute them for the lacto free but the processed foods would have lactose in them so you would have to read all the labels on those types of food so i tend to just avoid them and eat fresh meat and veg

My son is allergic to lactose and the protein You have options of soya milk or goat's milk. Goats may not suit you You can buy from most major supermarkets or health food shop. Health food shops sell the 500ml cartons of soya milk and soya butter. There are sweetened or unsweetened milks Hope this helps

Thanks for all the replies and the info I've already switched to almond milk and I find it great and it tastes good. I'm not sure about soy products as I've hypothyroidism and soy can aggravate it. Thanks tassajarra I didn't even think of a supplement, I'll look into it as I don't eat much dairy tbh. Hi carriedaway, I was wondering myself if its actually IBS that I have, even though no-one has mentioned it. Its not just dairy that causes me hassle and its abdominal pain that they're concern. Do you mind me asking if you found abdo pain to be a symptom of IBS. They're a bit baffled as to whats going on with me I'm so fed up of feeling crap and not knowing when it will flare up

I'm going through some investigations at the moment. At the end of last year i was so fed up of feeling rubbish ALL THE TIME so i started keeping a food diary. This helped me pinpoint what my triggers are for feeling rubbish. I cut out all white bread/pasta and cow's milk immediately and the difference was unbelieveable. I still have weeks where I feel crap so try to figure out what caused it...weetabix, coffee and grapes seem to be other triggers for me. I just try to be careful about what I eat and if I get a bad episode try to remember what I ate that was different this time around. I am controlling it quite well in the last 3/4 months so for that reason I amn't too worried about getting diagnosed or labelled as such. I definitely know when I have taken milk unknown to myself (like in a sauce at a friend's house and scones my sister made).

I'm like carriedaway- I have IBS and I find that certain dairy products set it off, especially when it comes to bloating. I started drinking rice milk which is great and it has added calcium to it too so I don't really miss milk now. I don't seem to have to steer clear of all dairy but I definitely find the higher the fat content in it, the worse my IBS will be. Full fat milk is the worst for it. I find that abdominal pain is definitely one of my symptoms with the IBS.

[quote="GJ":zkofu8yv] Hi carriedaway, I was wondering myself if its actually IBS that I have, even though no-one has mentioned it. Its not just dairy that causes me hassle and its abdominal pain that they're concern. Do you mind me asking if you found abdo pain to be a symptom of IBS. They're a bit baffled as to whats going on with me I'm so fed up of feeling crap and not knowing when it will flare up [/quote:zkofu8yv] Hi, My main symptom was abdominal pain. I ended up getting so many xrays and cameras because they didn't know what was wrong. I get pain on my right hand side in line with my belly button, the pain can change it can be sharp stinging pain and other times just a dull achy pain . I avoid gluten and dairy and that really helps with the pain. The annoying thing with IBS is that there is no test for it, the only way to diagnose is to rule out other illnesses. Hope you get some answers soon xx

I've been lactose intolerant for about 13 years now. It took me a year to figure out what my body was reacting to and then another year learning about my tolerances. I've lost all taste for milk as I drink soya milk. Almond milk is fabulous for you, its on the pricey side, but you can also try rice milk if you can find it. The only yoghurt I've found free from is the soya ones, but if you find another brand let us know. You'd find days you'll want a piece of cheese or cant eat mashed potatoes, but once you find a balance living with it just becomes normal. [quote:29uk1h3o]I get pain on my right hand side in line with my belly button, the pain can change it can be sharp stinging pain and other times just a dull achy pain . [/quote:29uk1h3o] Carriedaway have you had a doctor look at your gallbladder? My mom had the same type of pain. She doesnt do dairy and went gluten free but it wasnt helping. She had to have gallbladder surgery and have it removed. Ask your doctor maybe about it your symptoms persist.

[quote="featherrocket":t1ulne4e] Almond milk is fabulous for you, its on the pricey side, but you can also try rice milk if you can find it. The only yoghurt I've found free from is the soya ones, but if you find another brand let us know. [/quote:t1ulne4e] there is a brand called lacto and they sell cheese, yoghurts, milk, cheese spread all lactose free, you can get it in tescos [quote="featherrocket":t1ulne4e]I I [quote:t1ulne4e]I get pain on my right hand side in line with my belly button, the pain can change it can be sharp stinging pain and other times just a dull achy pain . [/quote:t1ulne4e] Carriedaway have you had a doctor look at your gallbladder? My mom had the same type of pain. She doesnt do dairy and went gluten free but it wasnt helping. She had to have gallbladder surgery and have it removed. Ask your doctor maybe about it your symptoms persist.[/quote:t1ulne4e] I had an ultrasound to check my gall bladder it was clear, its a bitter sweet moment when a test comes back clear its like yeay i don't have that and then its like sh1t i still don't have answers