Lactose Intolerant? Indeed, I can't stand it!

[AmandaUCSC 1,152]

re: China and East Asia more generally: they don't have much dairy in their diets to begin with (most people there find cheese as foul as much as you or I might find chicken's feet to be unpalatable), and as another person suggested one would be best to avoid milk at all costs there given recent "milk" powder scandals. As a lactose-intolerant person myself, eating in China was not that difficult until I became a vegetarian.

 

Although I've always had milk-related issues growing up, including only being able to drink skim milk in the U.S. and fed soy formula as a baby, nothing was quite as bad as when I initially moved to France at the age of 8 - two weeks after arriving I had some chocolate ice cream and came down with a 104F fever for the following 1-2 weeks. Since then I've gone through good years and bad years, sometimes avoiding dairy at all costs for several years at a time. Without getting into details, the results were much worse than it was worth (the symptoms some people have described on here), eventually making it difficult to continue attending a dinner/party/time with friends, or even get anything done the rest of the day. I just gave up all dairy around 2006 or so. Then, a few months ago, I began to reintroduce some cheese into my diet. I've had no major problems (well except with Gorgonzola, which was a disastrous mistake) and am now able to tolerate plain cheese pizza, some cheese on pasta, and things cooked with butter. I guess this sort of thing goes in cycles for some people--everyone's body will react slightly different I suppose.

 

With that said, I would agree that dairy is more common in the diet here and the dairy does seem to be heavier/creamier than that in the U.S. A pregnant friend of mine visited in July from the U.S. and she was psyched to eat the yogurts in the store here (which I can't eat) and she swears they are much better than anything she's found stateside. I've never seen someone eat so much yogurt in a short period of time. If you're looking for a lighter option, you could try the Alpro Soya brand of yogurt, which I typically eat. I much prefer it over the soy options in the U.S. because it doesn't have that heavy soy after taste, IMO, and costs about half the price of Silk (in the U.S.).

[royp 227]

This is not lactose intollerence it is stress from moving to a new country, the stress can be both emotional and physical, even getting used to the water in a different country can cause all of the stated symptoms, this will just go with time. Lactose- dairy is very heavey on the digestive system and if you have a problem such as extra stress on your digestive system it will come out when you eat lactose-dairy products, but this is not nessacerily lactose intollerance.

 

also if you are of European heritage, then it is by far more likely that it is the gluten in bread that has upset your system, and it only becomes visible when you eat heavier items like diary product,also the contents of German processed food contains alot more wheat then the US where soya is a more common ingredient.

 

I would bet that with time all of your symtoms will naturally go away as your body gets used to the German environment, local water, local food, local bacteria etc

[NinjaMaus 158]

Oh wow, I feel so sorry for all of you guys! Honestly don't know what I would do without cheese or ice cream in my life!!

 

#firstworldproblems

[chaos_amoeba 2,724]

Yes, ninjamaus, first world problems. And? You may think it is easy to live with food allergies and intolerances, but it can be a real nuisance. Maybe you will volunteer to do the cooking at my house for a while. Do bear in mind, though, any trace of gluten will make The Boy sick for about three days and his arthritis bad for about a month... tell me, is rheumatoid arthritis that prevents him bending his fingers and thus doing simple tasks, not to mention playing his clarinet etc... is that a first world problem too? It's a direct consequence of coeliac disease, aka a food intolerance... He's 28, btw.

[chaos_amoeba 2,724]

The fact that we can never go out for a meal, because even trace contamination (eg, bags of flour being opened in the kitchen and creating dust) is enough to poison him - now that's a 1st world problem. And it still makes me sad.

[AmandaUCSC 1,152]

 

This is not lactose intollerence it is stress from moving to a new country, the stress can be both emotional and physical, even getting used to the water in a different country can cause all of the stated symptoms, this will just go with time.

 

Erm, that is a possibility, but not necessarily the case. Stress is not the primary cause of food allergies and intolerances, although that would have made it much easier for me when "adapting" to Chinese cuisine when I moved there, rather than suffering through a year of periodic illness due to the food. Even the bottled water is questionable there.

 

To the OP: the best advice I ever got re: food intolerance was from a doctor who told me to keep a food journal for a few weeks of my regular diet, and then start from scratch with a bland diet for 4-6 weeks (as in, boiled potatoes and carrots, etc). Then, slowly re-introduce potential trigger foods into your system (i.e. a bit of cheese on a sandwich perhaps, or a very small glass of milk) and see what happens--it's possible you just have a level of intolerance and don't have to swear off all dairy.

[Gill_from_oz 98]

gave you some greenies chaos amoeba.

 

although sometimes i joke that you wouldn't want to be poor with special food requirements (LF and GF products can be expensive!).

 

I'm lactose intolerant and also allergic to wheat/barley/oats/rye (no, don't have coeliac disease, it's just a coincidence). Also allergic to a bunch of other random foods that aren't so "everyday" (pineapple? herring?).

 

Eating out can be a real pain. At home it's a bit easier. But you make a mistake and you're truly sorry. With intolerances and allergies, the reactions can vary. For me it's digestive problems, migraines and feeling like i got stung by a bee in my ear/mouth/nose/throat. Oh and being ITCHY.

 

So next time any of you want to bitch about someone's diet limitations, imagine being in a meeting at work with a dry mouth and tongue, a splitting headache, a dribbly bumhole, an itchy back and stabbing abdomenal pain, while you're boss is asking you why you can't keep it together. and you're only decent answer is "I had some bread and butter at lunch".

[Lavender Rain 7,859]

 

Stress is not the primary cause of food allergies and intolerances,

 

 

When the Body Says No: Exploring the Stress-Disease Connection is a book I recently read about the correlation of stress and disease.

 

Stress can affect the functioning of the immune system. Food allergies/ intolerances as well as many diseases can be related to a malfunctioning immune system.

 

What I'm wondering has the OP explored other possible causes of his systems as he/she may have a wheat or gluten intolerance as there's a lot of wheat around here in Germany.

 

Wheat intolerance has similar symptoms as lactose intolerance.

[aqua_minie 2,797]

 

 

When the Body Says No: Exploring the Stress-Disease Connection is a book I recently read about the correlation of stress and disease.

 

Stress can affect the functioning of the immune system. Food allergies/ intolerances as well as many diseases can be related to a malfunctioning immune system.

 

What I'm wondering has the OP explored other possible causes of his systems as he/she may have a wheat or gluten intolerance as there's a lot of gluten around here in Germany.

 

I agree about stress factor. Most of us write it off as something abstract, when in contrary it can be more harmful and trigger some or the other health disorders.

 

Highly recommend this Nat Geo Documentary: Stress: Portrait of a Killer

 

 

[chaos_amoeba 2,724]

@Gill from oz, thank you

 

You are definitely right about the price of GF products Took some ready made GF stuff on a camping trip (because it's not the sort of thing you find in every campsite shop and mountain hut). And the eating out thing, it is really difficult. This year on our wedding anniversary, we only treated ourselves to Dr Who on iplayer, which is naturally gluten free...

 

As for the stress connection - it shouldn't be overlooked for any problem. Sometimes physical issues occur even if you feel ok mentally - it can be the way a problem is expressed. My brother and I both have stress related eczema, fgs. I get it only on my hands and ignore it unless preparing lemons, but my bro had it from head to foot at one time...

[anupam_pv 74]

Lactose intolerant?

 

Really? I always thought lactose was

pretty open-minded.

[NinjaMaus 158]

Oh wow sorry guys I honestly wasn't trying to insult you! I meant that for me giving up ice cream or cheese would be one of the worst things ever, that I was the one with the first world problems. I do understand that food allergies of all kinds are definitely not fun and can be very difficult to live with and I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

 

Sorry for the misunderstanding.

[Guest]

I am surprised that nobody has mentioned this before but if you are really just lactose intolerant then you can get lactase (enzyme replacement) tablets (they were prescribed for my wife but you can buy them from various places such as Holland & Barrett in the UK). These are not intended as a fix-all but can certainly help in cases where normal dairy products can not be avoided.

 

Another reason I think Germany may be more aware of this condition is that there are a wide range of lactose free products here while the range is far more limited in the UK (but getting better).

[Tap 8,460]

I would advise people to have this checked out. My daughter and I thought we were lactose intolerant, but after some tests we found that we're both fine with lactose, but highly intolerant of fructose which is a bit more difficult to deal with.

 

I eat a fairly simple diet now, but my stomach problems have gradually disappeared, no more cramps, looking at very inopportune times for a loo and being afraid to stand up in case I let off like a trumpet (sorry about this, but we need to know what we're talking about).

 

Fructose, in it's many forms, is in most foods that we eat, especially processed foods, so it generally means a complete change of diet. No starches, e.g., pasta, rice, potatoes or bread (especially "vollkorn" as that produces fructose when you eat it). Very little fruit, although berries are okay, raw vegetables, honey and most other sweetners.

 

It's worth having yourself tested, life is much easier for us now than it was 2 years ago.

[chaos_amoeba 2,724]

@ninjamaus, oh dear, that was unlucky! Prime example of how we can misinterpret in this text format. I'm sorry I snapped at you Glad you Didn't mean what I thought, though :)

[chaos_amoeba 2,724]

OLd_Erdinger is right about lactase tablets Useful! And perhaps about awareness too: we were recently excited to find lots of lactose free cheese options in Rewe - brilliant for when my MIL visits as she can't get this in the UK easily. Although, we were on holiday in Berchtesgaden at the time and I've not yet checked Rewe Berlin - Kaisers has one or two lactose free cheeses, Reichelt and Lidl seem to have none, so there could be less up here. Some beats none though!

 

Tap makes a good point too: my best friend was having debilitating episodes and sickness and/or diarrhoea every two or three days, for ages, and couldn't get anywhere with doctors. She eventually paid for the York test (which I don't necessarily recommend until you've exhausted other options, as it is so comprehensive that you're bound to get a reaction to Something). She got a long list of foods she was reacting too (some were false positives, some were temporary as she'd developed mild leaky gut through untreated intolerances) but four things, lactose, casein, egg white and egg yolk had a massive positive score. Cutting these out she's fine again Made such a huge difference to her life! On one hand, these results came in the week before her wedding and meant she couldn'teat her own wedding dinner On the other, this meant she wasn't sick on her wedding day/night... which was a relief!

[ordinary skilled person 1]

I was diagnosed lactose intolerant following the breath test. In fact, I suggested the Doctor to test whether I am lactose intolerant following stomach complaint. Since then, I have cut down dairy products. Still I continued to have stomach problems. I started gluten free diet (without consulting the Doctor) and now I am fine. As mentioned by someone above, this means, we cannot outside.

 

I know that I should be tested by Doctor for Gluten intolerance or would endoscopy be a good idea? What tests one would suggest?

 

Is it possible to go back to lactose/gluten tolerant?

 

Thanks

[Guest]

Btw: I bought some normal Irish Land Cheddar Cheese (in a block) the other day (just normal stuff for myself) and I surprised when I saw that it had 'Lactose Free' on the front label.

[AmandaUCSC 1,152]

 

 

When the Body Says No: Exploring the Stress-Disease Connection is a book I recently read about the correlation of stress and disease.

 

Stress can affect the functioning of the immune system. Food allergies/ intolerances as well as many diseases can be related to a malfunctioning immune system.

 

What I'm wondering has the OP explored other possible causes of his systems as he/she may have a wheat or gluten intolerance as there's a lot of wheat around here in Germany.

 

Wheat intolerance has similar symptoms as lactose intolerance.

 

Oh, I don't doubt that there *could* be a connection, it just isn't always the case (or even necessarily the primary cause of most intolerances or allergies). But as someone who's had problems since forever, I do know it's not *just* stress that causes it. I guess part of it is personal and something a doctor can't diagnose you with: if you feel like you've been under a lot of stress lately then indeed that could be causing it. The OP didn't seem particularly stressed (ok this is online so who really knows), however, except for having discovered a potential lactose intolerance.

[AmandaUCSC 1,152]

 

I would advise people to have this checked out. My daughter and I thought we were lactose intolerant, but after some tests we found that we're both fine with lactose, but highly intolerant of fructose which is a bit more difficult to deal with.

 

I eat a fairly simple diet now, but my stomach problems have gradually disappeared, no more cramps, looking at very inopportune times for a loo and being afraid to stand up in case I let off like a trumpet (sorry about this, but we need to know what we're talking about).

 

Fructose, in it's many forms, is in most foods that we eat, especially processed foods, so it generally means a complete change of diet. No starches, e.g., pasta, rice, potatoes or bread (especially "vollkorn" as that produces fructose when you eat it). Very little fruit, although berries are okay, raw vegetables, honey and most other sweetners.

 

It's worth having yourself tested, life is much easier for us now than it was 2 years ago.

 

Very interesting. Did you go to your regular doctor for the tests or a specialist clinic? How does that sort of stuff work in Germany?