Why can't I drink Lactaid milk?

August 10, 2008 9:41 PM

I am lactose intolerant. Dairy, especially yogurt, ice cream and milk give me horrendous gas, and sometimes diarrhea. Cheese usually isn't as bad. But why, oh why can't I drink the Lactaid 100% lactose free milk? What else could the problem be, other than the lactose in dairy?
posted by linuxgrl to Food & Drink (13 answers total)

Casein allergy?
posted by sindas at 9:48 PM on August 10, 2008 [1 favorite]

Hmm... Not your answer but you may be interested to know that yogurt is often very low in lactose because the cultures digest the lactose as part of the process of turning milk into yogurt. So while ice cream messes me up, yogurt never does. Aged cheeses are really low in lactose (like nearly zero) and ripened cheeses like cheddar are also pretty low too.

So the fact that you are saying yogurt causes issues and cheese isn't as bad makes me think you have a really bad cause of lactose intolerance or are miss diagnosed. (or eating the wrong types of yogurt)
posted by magikker at 9:58 PM on August 10, 2008

Could be an allergy not necessarily related to lactose, as sindas suggests. Ask your doctor.
posted by ErWenn at 10:07 PM on August 10, 2008

Yeah, sounds to me more like an casein allergy (which is what I have). You'll just have to avoid the stuff, if so...

Does goat milk or goat cheese bother you?
posted by sergent at 10:08 PM on August 10, 2008

You're not lactose intolerant if lactose-free milk causes exactly the same symptoms. You're probably not allergic to casein as it's a main component of cheese (it's basically the solid stuff in milk, the curds). You probably are, however, allergic to proteins in the whey (the liquid). This is apparently less common but still totally possible and lactose free milk would contain whatever you're reacting too.

You can either see an allergist to try and work out some kind of desensitisation or treatment or you could just stop eating anything that contains whey. In the end this is pretty much the same diet as lactose intolerance - as lactose is found in whey - but with the proviso that you can't eat lactose-removed liquid milk products either (so a bit more strict).
posted by shelleycat at 10:58 PM on August 10, 2008

Response by poster: "Does goat milk or goat cheese bother you?"

I can't remember... I know I bought some goat milk once and tried it but it was a long time ago. I'll buy another carton and let you know how it goes :)
posted by linuxgrl at 11:42 PM on August 10, 2008

Keep in mind that milk allergies often cross react between species, particularly cow, goat and sheep. I was reading this website this afternoon (before I saw your post actually) and while it's pretty ugly the info is decent.
posted by shelleycat at 1:45 AM on August 11, 2008

Some info that really helped my friend (in the event that, like her, you need to go with only drinking non-dairy milk): all the different brands of soy milk are incredibly different. She tried only one brand and thought she hated soy milk. It took her more than a year to try the others and she did find one brand she loves (which happens to be the brand I like least! -- the moral is to try every kind you can get your hands on, including the various flavors).
posted by allterrainbrain at 4:03 AM on August 11, 2008

There are injections which supposedly help with hayfever. Why isn't there something similar for casein allergies? (I have the same problem as the OP.)
posted by Estragon at 6:27 AM on August 11, 2008

You may have what I have.

I'm missing a series of enzymes that break down milk fat and certain other things. I'm only able to drink skim milk, and only small amounts of cheese, ice cream, or yogurt. If I indulge, then I have your reaction. Whole milk I simply vomit up soon after drinking it.

Red meat and most pork also sits like lead, so I avoid them.

This is something that runs in my family- both my sister and I have it, all my cousins, my son.
posted by FunkyHelix at 6:38 AM on August 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: "Red meat and most pork also sits like lead, so I avoid them."

YES!!! Me too! I get the strangest "full" feeling when I eat most meat, even chicken. I had no idea that the two could be related.
posted by linuxgrl at 7:06 AM on August 11, 2008

Print this out and take it to your doctor. He/She can test you for confirmation.
posted by FunkyHelix at 7:31 AM on August 11, 2008

I thought I was lactose intolerant for a couple years. Later I thought it was irritable bowel. All things dairy made me sad. Looking back it was stress. Lots of stress. But dairy was the trigger. I altered my diet during those years. Have you always been sensitive to dairy or is it a recent development?
posted by SMELLSLIKEFUN at 5:09 PM on August 11, 2008