Severe Lactose Intolerance-help for a friend

[Lynn M.]

Hi all-

I have a very dear friend, who in the last year has developed severe lactose intolerance. Even bakery items with dairy derivatives (ie caseins, etc) cause her severe abdominal stress and discomfort for 12 hours at a time.

She has seen several doctors, had her gallbladder removed ( the docs thought that was the problem) but nothing has seemed to help. Everyone seems to be at a loss on what to do.


Does anybody have experience/info/advice that I might be able to share with her? She can tolerate soy products which has been good.

Thanks so much in advance, Lynn M.

 

[ElaineP]

Hi Lynn,

My son who is now 10, has been allergic to dairy sence birth. He drank soy based formula for the first two years of his life. I then swithced him to rice milk made by rice dreams. He didn't like the soy milk. I avoid all dairy products for him. Health food stores have a great variety of foods that are truley dairy free. Tell your friend to read and reread lables of food. They often change ingredients. I started to make my own bread for my son. He is also allergic to eggs. There is a food network that she could join. I can't seem to find the info right now. My son's allergist recommended it when he was first diagnosed. They have recipes and a monthly news letter.


I hope this was helpfull.

Elaine

 

[kathryn]

She definitely has to change her way of eating, and her concept of what a healthy diet is. As long as she feels she must eat what everyone else does, or that dairy is necessary for a healthy diet, she WILL feel at a loss. As a vegan, I can tell you that it is very doable to not eat dairy (if that's all she's avoiding, it's not as challenging as being vegan).

Her best bet is to make most of her own food. Dairy is actually pretty easy to substitute (easier than eggs!) in regular recipes. Just using soy or rice or any other type of milk in place of dairy milk is easy, and soy is healthier than milk, IMO. She could check out sites like www.vegsource.com for ideas for substitutions for other dairy products, and soy versions for almost every dairy product exist (though most cheese substitutes are pretty gros, IMO. There is a book called "The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook" that has reciped for homemade cheese substitutes that are better than any store-bought versions). Doing a web search on "lactose intolerance" could come up with some suggestions as well. There probably is a lactose intolerance forum somewhere!

I'm sure there are also cookbooks for the lactose intolerant. If not, there are some good vegan cookbooks that don't use any dairy products. Also, nowdays, most food products have an allergy warning that say whether the food contains nuts, dairy or other alergens.

 

[jillianh]

My friend Dorie, who posts here as dmlys, has either the same or a similar issue. She's managed to get a grasp on what she can eat and what not, but getting to that point was very painful. I'll let her know about your post.

Jill

 

[dmlys]

Hi Lynn!

Yep, I'm the one with the scary dairy protein allergy and I'm happy to help your friend out in any way that I can! I've been dealing with this for almost nine years now so I have plenty of advice. It does sound like she may not have lactose intolerance but a true dairy protein allergy like me. If this is so (and I found that doctors were extremely unhelpful and unknowledgable about food allergies), she should be very careful about what she eats because each reaction is dangerous. She should also know that a person can survive and eat relatively normally. Here are some of my best tips that will save her years of the agony I went through:

Asian food restaurants are generally safe, just ask questions. Sushi is your best bet but avoid any rolls with mayo. There may also be food allergy restaurants in your area (yes, they do exist!).

Learn your kosher symbols. Most kosher foods are dairy free so knowing the symbols makes food shopping a lot faster. I even had my wedding cake made at a kosher bakery!

You do not have to give up on chocolate! American chocolate companies generally process all dairy and dark chocolate through the same machines without cleaning them (enough to give me a reaction) so stick to European darks. I live on Droste Bittersweet and Extra Dark from Holland (you'll find it at Cost Plus and specialty grocery stores).

Tofutti is one of the few dairy substitute companies that makes TRULY non-dairy products. Their faux cheese is the only one without casein and their cream cheese, ice creams, etc all taste great!

Food manufacturers change ingredients ALL the time so read labels every time you shop. In the last year, most meat processers started adding Sodium Lactate (enough to give me a reaction) so I've had to adjust my eating habits.

Phone numbers and email addresses are on food packages for a reason. If you don't know if something is safe, call them! The help line folks are very friendly and will tell you if you can eat something. Plus, most of them will send you coupons for your time.

I have TONS more info and can answer any questions that she might have. Since she's just starting out, I'd recommend checking out http://www.livingwithout.com/ and http://www.foodallergy.org/ I hope this helps!

Cheers,
Dorie

 

[Lynn M.]

Hi everybody-

Thanks for much for your helpful replies/info. My friend has definitely had to change her way of eating, and is now an avid label reader. I am sad for her in that eating a vegan type diet is not something she enjoys.. she loves her milk and cheese!!

What was so unusual in her case is that it just popped out of the blue..one day she could eat dairy, the next day not. So weird.

Jill, thanks in advance for alerting Dorie. Any info would be great!!

Thank you again everybody!!! Take care, Lynn M.

 

[Lynn M.]

Dorie-

I think we must have been posting at the same time!! Wow, THANK YOU for the good tips and advice!! I love suggestion on kosher symbols..would have never thought of it.

I am going to forward your info to her if you don't mind. If she has any questions, can I bug you again??

Thanks again, Lynn M.

 

[dmlys]

Yes, please feel free to bug me!! I know the terrible pain and feeling of loss that comes with the sudden onset of a dairy allergy and am happy to help out. You are welcome to have your friend email me with any questions that she might have. If she's having serious problems and wants local help, celiac support groups have wonderful resources for people with dairy allergies too.

Cheers,
Dorie

 

[Lynn M.]

Hi Dorie-

Thanks for the quick response. I just forwarded her info to you and she would definitely like to ask you some questions.

If you wouldn't mind, will you email me your email address and I'll have her contact you? My email address is: [email protected]

Thanks a ton! Lynn M.