Am I becoming lactose intolerant?

[mcroucher1]

I've been gluten intolerant for just over a year and now have similar symptoms when I eat yoghurt, cheese or milk especially before going to work. I never got these symptoms when I eat my breakfast yoghurt at work. So wondered, could I becoming lactose intolerant or is more likely the time I'm eating? Also, I love macaroni cheese (fully gf!) but this has also started causing a similar problem even though I have it in the evening.

[Regalbirdy]

Hi,

The easiest answer I can give you is I'm not sure! This unfortunately is probably the answer your GP may give you as well.

I eat a GF diet which is also now minus any dairy products. I can tell you that in my experience, eating dairy was giving me symptoms like being glutened. It took four months on a gluten-free diet for me before I established the connection - I was fine in the beginning.

I went to my GP about it and to be honest I wish I hadn't wasted my time. I think that there are tests for lactose intolerance out there though, if you wish to go town that route. However you will probably find trial and error with your diet more effective and a lot quicker than trying to get tested.

Have you tried all the lactofree products yet? If these make no difference to you, then you may be intolerant to dairy caseins instead. Lactose is one of the sugars found in milk, casein is one of the proteins. I believe casein proteins have a similar structure to gluten proteins and can bind to the bodies antibodies in a similar way. You would have to do more research on the actual interactions for yourself because my knowledge is very limited.

[Regalbirdy]

By the way,

I believe I react to the casein in dairy. It was the neurological side effects such as dizziness which finally persuaded me that eating dairy just wasn't worth it.

Good luck, I hope you can find the answer soon.

[Penel]

I became lactose intolerant some time after going gluten free, Like Regalbirdy I was ok with dairy in the beginning. Yoghurt and cheese are lower in lactose than milk, so you may find that lactose free products may not be any good for you. I found that the problem resolved itself after some months avoiding dairy, I think the villi had healed enough for my body to cope with lactose. It was a question of experimenting on myself.

[freelancer]

Lactose intolerance was kind of my worst fear. I'd read about other people having it and think "I couldn't give up cheese/butter/hot chocolate". It's just happened to me recently, about 18 months after going properly gluten free (I'm not diagnosed coeliac though).

Like you it came on gradually so it took ages to identify why I'd begun to feel a bit off a lot of the time and my stomach had started being a bit dodgy - I thought it was gluten contamination. It finally became clear because I was trying to diet and did one of those things where you eat very cleanly for a few days before reintroducing specific foods. When I reintroduced milk I felt definitely unwell and now I react to the slightest trace.

I went to the doctor and she just suggested I drink soya milk instead, so it wasn't particularly helpful! I used lactose free milk for a bit but in the end I cut out all dairy, except clarified butter/ghee sometimes in cooking. I now feel really well most days, which I certainly wasn't, so it's actually been quite positive.

[mcroucher1]

Thanks for all of the answers! I'm going to see my doctor next week but it sounds as if I'll have to cut things out and see how I get on!

[Allie65]

Hi, I can't have gluten which also developed into lactose intolerance and I also can't tolerate soya which writes off my favourite chocolate but that's how it has to be. I have found that doctors are pretty useless and very dismissive of All that it GF and refuse to listen so do what you and your body feel is right - I have found it works for me. All the best.