New to all this

[cat46]

Hi,

My little boy will be 3 in June and since he went on to cows milk at the age of 1 has had a lot of "issues" with his bowels. My GP eventually referred him to a paediatric clinic this time last year for what I thought was a food allergy test. The paediatric clinic thought he was constipated which was making him have no control over his bowels and basically poo all the time. I mentioned food allergy and they said it couldn't be that as formula is very similar to cows milk. Anyway a year later, they've told me he's no longer constipated and told me to go ahead with potty training. I came out of the clinic crying as we are still at the same place we were this time last year. Anyway, I went back to my GP and asked again about milk allergy and they have agreed that a dairy free trial may be useful to elliminate that before going back to Paediatrics. Sorry I'm rambling but I guess the long and the short of it is I just don't have a clue what I'm doing. It sounded simple but having been shopping with 3 children for specific dairy free items, I've come home very stressed and I guess a bit confused.
I googled dairy free and it came up with this site. I've never posted on a forum before but thought I'd give it a go.
I've bought Soya milk, dairy free butter and soya yogurts as these are the things I think my son will miss most. What else should I be doing? I probably sound really stupid, but if it doesn't say "contains milk" under the allergy information, am I safe to buy it?
Also, is a dairy free item the same as a lactose free item? Sorry if I sound a bit silly, I suppose I should have asked the GP about all this but it wasn't until I went shopping that I discovered I had no idea what I was doing.
If you've got to the bottom of this, thanks for reading and any help would be greatly appreciated.
Cat

[jill]

Hi Cat and welcome to the forum. As you have discovered alot of the medical profession are not very understanding and helpful when you believe your son has a problem related to food. Alot of us have been in a similar situation I have also come out of seeing my GP in tears so do not think you are alone, don't ever feel that you are being silly in what you are writing, you will get lots of advice from this forum.

Firstly your son may be intolerant rather than having an allergy which may contribute to his poos. It is difficult at first getting used to what he can and can't have, It looks like you have discovered a few items. There are also Rice and Oat milks available, and soya milk also comes in various tastes depending on the make so don't be surprised if your son doesn't take to it at first. Soya Milk can be found in longlife cartons and in the chilled section. You can also get Chocolate Milk that is dairy free and places like Holland & Barrett or your local health food store also sell smaller cartons of it with a straw.

There is a Dairy Free Icecream available called Swedish Glace. Most large supermarkets sell it. It comes in a black hexagonal box. It comes in vanilla and some flavoured varieties. again try Holland & Barrett.

Being Dairy Free also doesn't mean that your son has to go with out chocolate. You can get dark or white chocolate buttons, and I haven't seen them for a while but you used to be able to get whizzers mini eggs and smarties.

Milk has some alternative names such as whey, caesin, do a search of the forum and there will be a list of alterative names - sorry i'm no good at doing links. It depends on how much you want to remove milk products from his diet. Maybe just replacing a few items such as his milk and yogurts may produce the desired effect in giving him better bowels rather than removing everything. Milk products can be hidden in lots of things even cooked meat. I'm afraid it is trial and error finding if he can tolerate some or no milk. It will get easier for you i'm sure.

Another thing to be aware of is his calcium intake. Some dairy free products do have added calcium but he may need to have a supplement.

Hope this helps a little. Keep us posted on how you get on.

[Copper]

Welcome to the site.

I know how frustrated and cross you feel with the lack of understanding from the hospital.

Going dairy free does get easier so don't panic. First of all do not rely on the allergy boxes on food packets as sometimes they are wrong. What you need to do is check the ingredient lists for the alternative names for dairy. Go to this page on this site and print the list of alternative names and take it with you when you go shopping.

http://www.dairyfreeuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=738

Most of the names are obvious so it is not as bad as it looks. If something contains dairy then don't buy it and that should cover lactose too. There are some foods which do not contain dairy but have lactose, grrrr.

As Jill has said there are plenty of alterantive milks out there so you should be able to find one that your son likes. I would buy a "milk" with added calcium.

The only spreads that do not contain dairy are Vitalite and Pure. If you bake your own cakes you can use Stork block margarine (in gold foil wrapper) as that is dairy free.

As well as Swedish Glace ice cream there is an iced dessert called Freedom (looks like ice cream and tastes delicious). This comes in three flavours and is in a tall round cardboard tub.

The Freefrom section in Tesco, Asda and Sainsburys have dairy free chocolate. There are other dairy free chocolates which we can tell you about if you would like to know about more.

Biscuits. The last time I looked Tesco cheap digestives and bourbons were dairy free. Party rings were also dairy free. Do check in case they have changed things since I last looked.

Crisps. Most flavoured crisps contain lactose as it helps to stick the flavouring to the crisps. Kettle balsamic vinegar crisps are dairy free and very nice. If you buy plain crisps do check that they have not added dairy/lactose.

Some breads contain dairy so again check the labels. Some cooked meats contain lactose so be careful.

I think that covers the basics. If you need help with alternatives to his usual foods please ask and we will do our best to find some alternatives.

[cat46]

Hi,

Thanks for both of your replies. They have been very helpful. I have written down all the things to avoid and some of the brands you mentioned so I can take it with me when I go shopping next. I think I'll leave the kids at home next time just so I can have a proper read of the ingredients without having to have one eye on the 3 of them at the same time. I was surprised to hear that even crisps could have dairy in them.

My GP has been good, as have the paediatrics at the hospital but I keep seeing different doctors making it more difficult. They have been really good with my son and I don't want to sound like they haven't but, milk intorelence has been dismissed several times. After speaking to my GP again, he says to try this dairy free trial and he's more than happy to follow things up, so I do feel a lot happier about that.

Today is proving rather difficult as although we did not buy the boys Easter eggs this year, a lot of our relatives have. I've been trying to keep them out of sight so as not to cause upset.

Hopefully things will get easier for me and for my son's tummy which of course is why I am doing this. No change as of yet but I have been told it can take several weeks to have an effect.

Thanks again
Cat

[Copper]

It can take a while for dairy to clear the system. You also have to be sure that you have not accidently given him any hidden dairy.

[cnc]

Hi,
Sorry for the slow response, how are you doing now? And how is your son feeling? I hope he's doing a bit better now away from dairy. Remember Mother knows best, so do what you think is right for your son :)

[kntjcq]

Cows milk allergy can be caused by lactose. I had colic as a baby and now im lactose intolerant as my regular medication contained lactose as a filler i now take liquid medication and avoid cows milk and i am much healtheir.

[Copper]

Lactose intolerance and dairy allergy are two different things.

Lactose intolerance is a lack of production of lactase enzyme in our bodies.

An allergy is potentially life threatening, unlike an intolerance, and is caused by our bodies seeing innocent proteins from dairy as enemies to be destroyed.

[gailjefferson]

You should ask your GP to take a blood test for various things. MY little boy (15 months) had a blood test for wheat, gluten & dairy and it came back with a posituve for the protein in cows milk. It is very specific and can be a great help.

I myself need help in locating a type of crisp which has the same texture as pom bears but are in the shape of the sun (for children) and i cannot remember the name but they would be great for you as they were made from potato and sun flower oil.

Hope someone posts a response.

Gail xx

[gsymum]

You should ask your GP to take a blood test for various things. MY little boy (15 months) had a blood test for wheat, gluten & dairy and it came back with a posituve for the protein in cows milk. It is very specific and can be a great help.

I myself need help in locating a type of crisp which has the same texture as pom bears but are in the shape of the sun (for children) and i cannot remember the name but they would be great for you as they were made from potato and sun flower oil.

Hope someone posts a response.

Gail xx


Hiya

My son had a lactose test but my doctor said it didn't test for the protein? Was this a different test? Should I be asking for another?

[gsymum]

Hi,

My little boy will be 3 in June and since he went on to cows milk at the age of 1 has had a lot of "issues" with his bowels. My GP eventually referred him to a paediatric clinic this time last year for what I thought was a food allergy test. The paediatric clinic thought he was constipated which was making him have no control over his bowels and basically poo all the time. I mentioned food allergy and they said it couldn't be that as formula is very similar to cows milk. Anyway a year later, they've told me he's no longer constipated and told me to go ahead with potty training. I came out of the clinic crying as we are still at the same place we were this time last year. Anyway, I went back to my GP and asked again about milk allergy and they have agreed that a dairy free trial may be useful to elliminate that before going back to Paediatrics. Sorry I'm rambling but I guess the long and the short of it is I just don't have a clue what I'm doing. It sounded simple but having been shopping with 3 children for specific dairy free items, I've come home very stressed and I guess a bit confused.
I googled dairy free and it came up with this site. I've never posted on a forum before but thought I'd give it a go.
I've bought Soya milk, dairy free butter and soya yogurts as these are the things I think my son will miss most. What else should I be doing? I probably sound really stupid, but if it doesn't say "contains milk" under the allergy information, am I safe to buy it?
Also, is a dairy free item the same as a lactose free item? Sorry if I sound a bit silly, I suppose I should have asked the GP about all this but it wasn't until I went shopping that I discovered I had no idea what I was doing.
If you've got to the bottom of this, thanks for reading and any help would be greatly appreciated.
Cat



Hi there Cat


It sounds like your as frustrated as I am!! My son is now 7 and I have been battling with the doctors since trying to potty train him. I have had to keep on at them saying could it be his diet? I feel for you. Hope everything is better.

Gsymum

[Copper]

Blood tests can be done for allergies. Experts in the London hospitals insist that apart from coeliac test (wheat and gluten ) and lactose test there is no reliable test for any intolerance.

The experts were on a radio show a few years ago and said they listen to patients and advise on elimination diets. In other words if you remove one suspect food from a diet and there is no benefit after a couple of months then you have not found the problem food. Keeping a food diary is a great help in trying to find the problem food. If you remove more than one food at a time and you feel better you have no idea which one was causing the problem.

It is harder to work out what is making you feel ill if you have multiple food intolerances. I know as I have acquired more and more but I have been on a diet and now I am lactose intolerant and still have problems with egg.

If you want to know more about my diet then see this thread

http://www.dairyfreeuk.com/forum/showthread.php?p=26955#post26955

[kntjcq]

Dear Gsymum,

My GP was sceptical but try this site for NHS

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/lactose-intolerance/Pages/Introduction.aspx

Jacquie x