[Amanda_1981]

I'm pretty sure.. almost positive that I have some sort of lactose intolerance issue going on. Firstly, I hardly ever drink milk.. only have it in my cereal once in awhile. Well, a few days ago I decided to have a large chocolate milk at tim horton's, and well... let's just say I made it to the bathroom just in time! I didn't think much of it though, thought maybe I just had one of those 24 bugs or something. Well today at lunch, I ordered a large chocolate milk and I again, barely made it to the washroom. I was so scared that I was going to have an 'accident' and that I wouldn't make it to the washroom in time. So I called my mom when I got home, asking her what she thinks and she told me that both times I had chocolate milk, so maybe I'm lactose intolerant? This isn't the first time I've had a bad reaction with milk.. I just rarely drink it so I keep forgetting, but I've never been actually tested to see if I'm lactose intolerant.. but I always thought you had to be born with it, and that it didn't just develop at any age? How does one go about testing to see if they have it and if I do have it, do I also have to avoid other dairy products ie// cheese, and yogurt?

I guess it's a good think I don't really like milk very much!

[purple_fins]

Oh you poor thing!! I sure can relate to running to the powder room!!!

One can develop Lactose intolerance at any age... it's kind of like when people eat strawberries all their life and then one day they break out in hives..... it just happens.

I became lactose intolerant about 10 years ago-- and I LOVE milk and ice cream and cheese. but there is good news-- "lactaid milk" (if you crave some sometime) and "dairy digestive pills"-- which allow one to consume certain amounts of dairy and NOT get sick!

There are differing degrees of intolerance-- I am VERY sensitive. Can only consume small amount WITH a digestive pill and only ONE time per day. Some people like a sister of mine-- she just gets bubbles and bloating in her stomach.

There aren't any tests that I know of per say-- there is the elimination process-- in which you take certain things out of diet-- like dairy-- for 7 days then gradually introduce differing things to see how sensitive your system is to different types of dairy. I found an old book, coincidentally, at a used book store all about Lactose Intolerance--- I suggest either talking to your doctor or looking for a book on it or search the net.

Things to watch for besides milk-- ice cream(especially if low fat or skim-- the fat helps enable to digest lactose for those of us that are intolerant-- so the less fat the more upset stomach), cheeses (best to have aged cheese-- the lactose breaks down with aging), whip cream, caramel(yep it's made with milk) and get this -- some that are VERY sensitive can't digest popcorn!! that's how I am...... hope you aren't that sensitive.

well-- sheesh-- looks like a wrote a book!

good luck with this!!
you can PM me if you want to talk more about it.

fins

[ErinBear]

Yes, it is possible for lactose intolerance to develop at any age. I am in my mid-40s, and just started having trouble with it a few years ago. Up until then, as far as I know (!) I was okay. I have different symptoms than you do. For me, I just get bloating, gas, and cramping, but it's still unpleasant. So I avoid milk and dairy products, and I find I feel much better.

Take care,
ErinBear

hi, amanda,

i developed lactose intolerance around the age of fifty. my MD said you can develop it later in life and that it's fairly common. some people are aided by lactose digestive pills but they don't work for everyone (like me). the diagnosis is by trial and error. keep a food diary. to make sure it's not something more serious, you might talk to your MD about having a colonoscopy.

[Rhapsody]

Yes, being lactose intolerant can happen at any age.... I developed this problem later in life in my early forties.

[sunrise]

Amanda, I've had lactose intolerance since I was about 12 and it has gotten worse as I've aged. I have never been diagnosed and haven't felt the need to. I have all the symptoms and I can solve the problem by just not drinking/eating milk and certain other dairy products. The milk products that one is most sensitive to can vary for different people, so you will figure that out by trial and error. I haven't had a glass of milk for over 20 years and do not miss it. It never tasted good to me anyway. Other foods I cannot eat: cream (al fredo sauces are deadly!), soft cheeses including ricotta and cream cheese (am fine with hard, aged cheeses like cheddar), mass market yogurt (I can't eat the cheap brands as they have powdered milk added to them to thicken the texture but I can eat the more "natural" or authentic ones that don't contain milk powder), ice cream to some extent (I eat little bits of it now and again).

I have never tried the lactaid pills as it is not too hard to have a balanced diet by avoiding the dairy products that upset my stomach. And since I don't like the taste of milk, that makes it even easier.

Popcorn: I have never heard of that! Plain popcorn has no dairy in it. Maybe the person sensitive to popcorn was putting some kind of topping on it or eating that packaged microwave stuff with the flavorings? I can see that might possibly contain some lactose. Or maybe the popcorn sensitivity was unrelated to the lactose intolerance. I wonder if the person was also sensitive to fresh corn?

[deliquesce]

yeah, i developed it when i was around 20. most people develop it around 18-20, but as it gets worse with age, a lot of people don't notice until they're in their 40s/50s etc.

i love milk, so i just switched to a lactose free type. it's brilliant - i can still have all the milky, milky coffee that i like .

the only way to get a proper 'diagnosis' is to take a sample from your stomach(? or other digestive bit) lining via a gastroscopy/colonoscopy. this happened for me, but it was part of a larger workup and finding out i was lactose intolerant was just a funny side-finding.

my doc did say that if i was already drinking a lot of (normal) milk, to maybe try to keep drinking at least one cup a day. so when i go out i still buy a normal cappucino, for example. apparently if you cut out all the dairy in your diet, then your body stops produce what little lactase it already does, and then your intolerance gets worse. i can still eat cheese, about 1 cup of milk, ice cream etc. but a huge milkshake would get me feeling pretty poorly.

[Perna]

It's a spectrum. You are actually lactase insufficient. You need that enzyme (made/delivered in your small intestine) to digest dairy. Some people still make some but not enough and others make less/none, etc. Just go to your drugstore or even supermarket and get some Lactaid http://www.lactaid.com/ I buy their milk too so I can have cereal and milk in my coffee, etc. Sometimes you don't need anything extra, if you space when you eat dairy (or some people can eat some things, like cheese or yogurt, but not others like milk). I was okay unless I had cereal multiple days in a row. And, watch out, chocolate has lactose in it so remember to take a tablet before you eat chocolate or you'll get the stomach ache. Read ingredients because lactose is in a lot of things (I found out the hard way a couple Easters ago when I was given a chocolate bunny with caramel inside; caramel is LOADED with lactose!) But look at your vitamins and any calcium supplements you take, etc. because lots of them have lactose so need to be taken with the enzyme pill, at the same time (doesn't have to be taken early or with food or anything silly; it's not medicine but just the enzyme that isn't produced enough). I had to change my thyroid pill brand because one of the additional fillers in the one I was taking is lactose and it was giving me the problems you describe :-)

[Amanda_1981]

Thanks everyone for your replies and the tips! I've narrowed it down to just large amounts of regular milk that upsets my stomach and bowels. I've switched to soy milk (I actually like the taste of the soy milk a lot better than the regular milk) and have noticed a huge difference. Yogurt and cheese don't seem to bother me.. I haven't had ice cream in over a year or so, so not sure about that but I seem to recall having some issues with ice cream in the past, but I can't quite remember exactly so I may have to do some trial and error with it someday.

It's funny, I never knew a person could develop lactose intolerance or a sensitivity to milk at any age.. I thought one had to be born with it. I guess you just never know eh?