# Lactose Intolerance - symptoms?



## e-Fiona (Sep 5, 2000)

Hi,I've never been a milk drinker. I do remember that when I was a child (about 3-4 years old) if I drank milk I'd get sick. Further in my teens I'd drink milkshakes and be ok. Over the last 10 years, I notice if I have milk (in cereal) or eggs I get sleepy shortly afterwards. I read up on lactose intolerance and this isn't a symptom, but I wonder if any of you who have lactose intolerance have this as a symptom. I only have milk in my tea and on my cereal. I just started having it on my cereal over the last 2 weeks. I was feeling bright eyed this morning, had cereal and tea, and now I'm ready for bed! I also read that if you have LI you would have D right after (or within 2 hours of) consuming something with lactose. Is this true? I'm just wondering if the lactose is contributing to the D. What do you think? What does the lactose free milk taste like?







Fiona


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## Delta (Aug 17, 2000)

My lactose intollerance symptoms are strictly gastrointestinal. Crampy, bloating, g, and d. (Exactly the symptoms I get with IBS).Lactose is the stuff that when heated makes you sleepy - the "warm milk before bed" tradition.Lactose free milk is sweeter than regular milk. I like it. It's a little bit more expensive but it might be worth a try?


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## tezbear (Aug 11, 2000)

My book says symptoms will follow within 30 minutes to 2 hrs of having dairy. It also says that it depends on how much since we all can tolerate a little bit of lactose. It's usually w/ milk and icecream since most cheeses can be better tolerated. I guess I'm not lactose intolerant because if I have GI symptoms after ice cream, it isn't that soon. I don't take much dairy anyway, just cheese and occasional milk w/ cereal.


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## JennT (Jul 17, 2000)

I'm both lactose intolerant and I have a "mild sensitivity" to dairy (in the allergic sense). I get allergic symptoms right away (stuffy nose, puffy under eyes), and the GI symptoms (bloating, diarrhea, cramps) withing the two hours.


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## Guest (Sep 12, 2000)

Isn't it interesting, how different everyone is? My sister-in-law identified her lactose intolerence shortly after having her gallbladder removed. But it is only milk and real butter that bother her, she can handle cheese, yoghurt and ice cream - things that have been cooked or processed. I have another good friend who has just recently determined that dairy was causing all her gastric and sinus discomfort and cheese and yoghurt are the most reactive. I started drinking lactose free milk to see if it was a gas producer an I can't really see a lot of difference, I tolerate yoghurt well, but if I eat cheese on an everyday basis, I get worse gas problems.


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## Delta (Aug 17, 2000)

My lactose intolerance doesn't always affect me withing 2 hours - often it's the next day.It really only affects me that quickly if I eat a LOT of dairy in one sitting.


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## e-Fiona (Sep 5, 2000)

Wow, lots of lactose intolerant people here!Delta, what kind of symptoms do you get? I'm going to avoid dairy as of right now and see if this helps. This morning when i had my cereal, I had more milk in it than normal. And I feel worse (lightheaded) than normal now. Yuck!Fiona


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## Tiss (Aug 22, 2000)

I do not know if I am officially lactose intolerant, but I can tell you that when I cut out dairy products and most wheat products, my C improved greatly. I only use Soy milk now. Believe me, I was skeptical at first, but really, it tastes just like the real thing! And it helped my gas go away! The Ezekiel bread also helped with the C.


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## e-Fiona (Sep 5, 2000)

I just spoke to my doc and asked her if suddenly feeling very sleepy is a symptom of lactose intolerance and she said it isn't (unless you have D and bloating which may make you feel this way) but I didn't have D right after the milk.So now I need to find out why I feel so tired right after eating (and I didn't eat a lot either!)







Arrrrrggghhh!!!!!I want one of those Star Trek gadgets that McKoy uses for diagnosing illnesses!!!!!!!Fiona


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## JennT (Jul 17, 2000)

I don't think sleepiness is a symptom of lactose intolerance, but I think it can be a symptom of allergy. I get very sleepy when I'm allergic.


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## Delta (Aug 17, 2000)

e-Fiona: bloating, horrible cramps, lots of d and gas. Basically the same as my IBS symptoms. If I eat a lot of dairy at once it'll bother me right away, but if I eat say 1/2 to 1 cup then it's the next day that it bothers me.MGI said that maybe I'm not lactose intolerant but that maybe dairy is just a trigger for my IBS ---- but I do feel better on lactose free products so I still think I'm lactose intolerant.I've never felt sleepy with dairy but Jenn is right -- if my other allergies are bad I do get very sleepy. Have you changed the brand of milk you're buying? If so the cows may be being fed a different grain/hay/whatever-they-eat that you are allergic to.


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## e-Fiona (Sep 5, 2000)

Hi again,Jenn, I never thought of another food allergy! I'll have to trial and error this one as well.Darla, I consume so little milk that I've already bought the Lactose-free stuff. I'm going to start using it.Thanks guys!







Can one be allergic to milk but not lactose-intolerant? Does that make sense?Fiona


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## Guest (Sep 13, 2000)

e-fiona,Yes, definitely, one can be allergic with out being intolerant. My mother has ben for going on thirty years. I think she can not get desensitized because milk solids and bi-products are in so many things. She gets puffy-eyed and her joints swell and sometimes skin rashes. She can get by with cheese amd yoghurt though.


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## e-Fiona (Sep 5, 2000)

Hmmmm, this is getting interesting.Is your mom allergic to lactose or milk altogether?Fiona


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## flux (Dec 13, 1998)

> quote: But it is only milk and real butter that bother her, she can handle cheese, yoghurt and ice cream - things that have been cooked or processed.


Butter has no lactose, so that nixes that idea.


> quote:My lactose intolerance doesn't always affect me withing 2 hours - often it's the next day.


If it's dairy by itself, then this nixes the lactose idea.


> quote:my C improved greatly.


This is the opposite of the effect of lactose.


> quote:I don't think sleepiness is a symptom of lactose intolerance,


It's not.


> quote:Wow, lots of lactose intolerant people here!


Doesn't seem like anyone is according to studies. In fact, they show that for diet-sized doses of dairy products lactose doesn't cause much of a problem. It only happens if you chug-a-lug it.


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## Delta (Aug 17, 2000)

Flux: The original doctor who diagnosed me as lactose intollerant (no I did not diagnose myself) said that all the symptoms I had were consistant with studies done. This was 9 years ago so -- I will give you the benefit of the doubt -- and common knowledge on the subject may have changed. What studies have you read about this? Are they on-line? I'd like to read them and see what differences there are between my case and the studies you've read - based on the whole 2 posts I made that you based your opinion on. "Doesn't seem like anyone is [lactose intolerant] according to studies." I did say, "It really only affects me that quickly if I eat a LOT of dairy in one sitting." Perhaps my wording wasn't clear enough for you?







You said basically the same thing, "In fact, they show that for diet-sized doses of dairy products lactose doesn't cause much of a problem. It only happens if you chug-a-lug it." The GI who said that I might not might not be lactose intolerant, spent only 5 minutes talking to me before he shoved a tube up my butt







so I don't really count on his opinion for much regarding that. Especially since I do notice a difference when I use lactose free products. And if my boyfriend screws up and makes a meal using his non-lactose-free products instead of my lactose-free ones - if it's a large meal, I do notice. Does that count as a blind-taste test?


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## flux (Dec 13, 1998)

> quote: did say, "It really only affects me that quickly if I eat a LOT of dairy in one sitting.


Yes, this does sound like LI, but that other statement does not. In other words, unless you specifically do this, then LI should not be an issue.This information comes from three studies..http://www3.infotrieve.com/medline/infotrieve/detail.asp?nmed93-95+850 150+"(suarez):AU+AND+(lactose)"://http://www3.infotrieve.com/medline/...+AND+(lactose)"://http://www3.infotrieve.com/medline/...+AND+(lactose)" http://www3.infotrieve.com/medline/infotrieve/detail.asp?nmed96-98+399 107+"(suarez):AU+AND+(lactose)"://http://www3.infotrieve.com/medline/...+AND+(lactose)"://http://www3.infotrieve.com/medline/...+AND+(lactose)" http://www3.infotrieve.com/medline/infotrieve/detail.asp?nmed98-99+2882 4+"(suarez):AU+AND+(lactose)"://http://www3.infotrieve.com/medline/...+AND+(lactose)"://http://www3.infotrieve.com/medline/...+AND+(lactose)" (You may have to manually copy the URL, removing the space, because BB software can't embed these long URLs.)[This message has been edited by flux (edited 09-13-2000).]


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## Delta (Aug 17, 2000)

Flux: went to your URLs to read those studies.The first URL led me to a study on determining healthy weight based on frame size, the second to a study about discharging elderly patients from the hospital and the third to a study on intracardiac shunt. So I had to do a search myself to try and find a few articles. I found that there was a study to support any point a person wanted to make. Nothing was the same.Interesting quotes:"Scientific findings also indicate that people with laboratory-confirmed low levels of the enzyme lactase can consume 1 serving of milk with a meal or 2 servings of milk per day in divided doses at breakfast and dinner without experiencing symptoms. "(we knew this one)"individuals from caucasian extraction with high levels of lactase enzyme throughout life are then considered "normal." It would be better to ascribe racial and ethnic lactose malabsorption as the result of genetically determined reduction of lactase activity"(non-caucasions are more likelyto be lactose intolerant)"Daily ingestion of less than 240 mL of milk is well tolerated by most lactose-intolerant adults. Some persons with normal lactase activity may become symptomatic on consumption of products containing lactose. Lactose maldigestion may coexist in adults with irritable bowel syndrome and in children with recurrent abdominal pain. "(So people with normal levels can experience symptoms on occassion too --- Hmmmm)."A recent study on lactose intolerance and irritable bowel syndrome has shown that subjective lactose intolerance is increased in patients with irritable bowel syndrome, despite no increase in the prevalence of lactose maldigestion. "(People with IBS have increased LI symptoms even when test show their absorption is ok)"CONCLUSION: The inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis intensified gastrointestinal symptoms in lactose maldigesters, suggesting a negligible role for prostanoids in lactose-induced symptoms. "(Lactose intolerance can be affected (increased or decreased) by the foods you eat with the lactose food)"The temperature of the solution used in a lactose tolerance test affects the gastrointestinal symptoms, but has only minor effects on the other indicators of lactose maldigestion. "(temperature affects the symptoms too)I couldn't find a quote on the time frame of symptoms but one of the articles I read (the one on prostaglandin synthesis) recorded symptoms past the 3 and 6 hour mark. So symptoms aren't always within 2 hours -- not according to this study it seems.My conclusion: No one knows for sure - but if you think you might be lactose intolerant it is possible but try and eat dairy every day anyway.


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## e-Fiona (Sep 5, 2000)

Very interesting information.I've read in a few places that 70% (in some info) or 90% (in other info) of Asians are lactose intolerant. I'm 1/2 Chinese. I don't know if my mom was lactose intolerant because she was not into dairy at all.Fiona


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## Delta (Aug 17, 2000)

From on the of the surveys I read on the wesites in flux's post, it seems a lot of cultures are and that lactose intolerance may be a normal decline of lactase. (post breastfeeding we don't need it anymore? -- who knows what mother nature was thinking)I'm part native american and it's supposed to be common among native american's too.


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## flux (Dec 13, 1998)

Don't know why they didn't work. Try two: http://www3.infotrieve.com/medline/infotri...+AND+(lactose)" Your third quote comes from here. http://www3.infotrieve.com/medline/infotri...+AND+(lactose)" Your first quote comes from here. http://www3.infotrieve.com/medline/infotri...+AND+(calcium)"


> quote:My conclusion: No one knows for sure


The conclusion seems quite clear to me. LI was believed to be a major player in gut symptoms in the past, but the recent data clearly indicate it's not much of a big deal and most people, IBSers included, should rethink their concerns about lactose.


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## Delta (Aug 17, 2000)

Flux: maybe if a person is not specifically "lactose intolerant" it still might be possible that lactose is the ingredient that is the trigger? I don't know what the effect of absorption rates are for trigger foods -- are they similar to intolerance or do they absorb ok but just cause the gut to go nuts?I was able to follow the new links just now but not the earlier ones you posted (I tried them again).


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## Guest (Sep 14, 2000)

I have just in the last year becaome unable to tolerate some milk products. Sometimes I have D right away (minutes) after consuming. Sometimes it takes up to 6 or 8 hours. I know that it's the milk because I experimented and ate only ice cream for dinner ( a sacrifice i know but someone had to do it!) and a couple hours later I spent a couple hours in the bathroom.Strange though, there are times I can eat ice cream and not have it bother me. (I can't seem to give it up altogether, so sometimes I'll eat it expecting D and I don't get it)I don't know if you can label my reaction lactose intolerance or an allergy but for me the end result is the same (no pun intended).


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## Krissy (Jul 6, 2000)

Hi,i wanted to say WOW if i eat icecream,milk,anything like that,at first i am ok,but then its like theres a balloon inside of me blowing up,and then run for the toilet because the bombs about to explode! i don't know how else to word it,cramps? this is like pressure of a air pump in my tummy,i have it,my mother has it,and my 3 year old daughter has it too.I can eat yogurt and i go to TCBY,that doesn't bother me either. And the gas that stays with me after,forget it,i could heat 50 houses all winter with it!sheesh,thats what happens to me.I drink Lactaid milk now and do fine with it. Krissy


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## Carl_Kawasaki (Jul 22, 2017)

Some lactose containing products with high fat content (e.g., ice cream) may not cause any symptoms. And live yogurt cultures containing lactobacilli may also be well tolerated. At any rate, it is recommended that dairy products be limited to 2 servings per day, but NOT entirely eliminated. As well, calcium intake must be evaluated; adolescents and young adults should consume at least greater than 1200 mg per day.

Heres a youtube link with an explanation.... Lactose Intolerance


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## Akn1965 (Jan 13, 2017)

Carl_Kawasaki,
Whenever I drink milk I have no cramping,no abdominal bloating but after two days of taking milk diarrhea occurs.it comes out as white mucus. Is it a symptom of lactose intolerant?
Thanks.


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