Hi - I am also new!

[Crimson]

Hi Everyone

I have spent a good portion of this evening roaming around the forums, reading what I can about dairy free etc....

I think that I have an intolerance to dairy prodcts - but lik so many people I am not sure. :(

I used to think that it was just a case of not eating cheese and chocolate together (or at least within about 4/5 hours of eachother), but I still felt very bloated, and had bad stomach upsets etc. after I stopped mixing these two, so I came to the conclusion that it must be dairy products. On top of the gastronomical problems, I also suffer hugely from tiredness and very very dry skin, sort of excema-ish - could this be related??

I recently moved to the coast, and when I did, I made a concious effort to stop eating cheese totally - prob one of the hardest things I have ever done as cheese is one of my favourite foods (I think that this is a theme that runs with many people)

Anyway, I stopped eating it completely (except for a minor indescretion at a Pizza Hut - which I paid for heavily that night and the following morning :( ) and I feel better than I have done.....but I do still have some of the same problems.

Now I am slightly stuck on where to go. I haven't stopped eating Yorkshire Pudding for example, which my mum does with normal milk, or started on any Free From....type products, but am now wondering whether trying to move to "dairy free" completely may make me feel better??

I am lucky in the respect that I cannot stand cream, butter, milk etc. as products in their own right - but I am just trying to find those cheese substitues (Cheezly being first on my list) so I can maybe eat a sandwich again :)

Hopefully, maybe some of you have had the same symptoms as me, and could recommend what I should do now.

Thanks for your time - and I love your forum - it is really imformative! Hope you all have a great New Year!

Katie x

[lyndamc]

I've only recently become totally dairy free, it's something i played around with for a while and over the last few months i've come to realise it's something i have to do. I have suffered with ezcema all my life, but in the last ten years or so i have been suffering from a red blotchy face, it's not ezcema as such, there is no rash, but the blotches are itchy and hot.
If i avoid dairy products (and a few other things i'm intolerant to) my skin is normal. The problem with dairy products is that they're everywhere, most processed food has dairy without you realising.
Yorkshire Pudding worked for me with rice milk and the hubby and kids didn't notice!! Although as time has gone on i have realised that i'm intolerant to eggs so no more yorkshires for me!!
I have also lost a stone in weight in a month which i didn't need to do, i can now turn around in size ten clothes, so be carefull. I seem to be always hungry, i would kill right now for a pizza! My new years resolution is t be more organised food wise and start cooking proper meals every day!
I hope you find a cheese substitute, i haven't yet, nothing comes anywhere close!
I do feel better in myself, so stick with it!
I'm off to crack open a bottle of wine and start my second box of after eights! HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL

Lynda

[matt]

the main way to see if you have a problem with dairy food is to tottally exclude them from your diet. that's everything not just most....i know it's hard but do that and maintain it for a couple of weeks and you should see an improvement. then keep with it for a month or so before trying to reintroduce milk in some sort into your diet.

what should happen is that the symptoms go away then come back when you reintroduce. if this does not happen then you don't have a problem with milk.

the site will have lots of advice and help and the rest of us will be more than happy to answer any questions you might have. good luck

[kirstyh]

Hi Katie

I also suffered from very dry skin and tiredness, which I found out are a symptom of thyroid deficiency. The excema though is unlikely to be caused by that as I still have excema while on thyroid medication. Like Matt says the only way of finding out if you have a dairy problem is to exclude it from your diet completely.

[Pam]

Hi Crimson

You need to go through total exclusion I'm afraid, so that you can see if there is any real improvement. This will involve becoming a serial label reader in the supermarket and shopping trips will take twice the time until you get used to it.

Yorkshire pudding can be made with soya milk or rice milk (but doesn't work with oat milk for some reason). Make sure you get some dairy free spread in, instead of normal butter/margarine, but other than that you should be able to stick to a more or less dairy free lifestyle on your normal diet. Just watch out for hidden milk in convenience foods and processed meats.

I also lost a lot of weight when I first went dairy free (put it all back on when I discovered a liking for dark chocolate after all) and I think part of this was a general change to healthier food - more fruit and veg and drinking more water as I didn't like tea with soya milk.

A total exclusion of at least 3 weeks is recommended to enable you to see a difference. After that time you can re-introduce things to see if you have a reaction.

If you have any questions, just ask - someone here is bound to know the answer.

[Copper]

Hi Crimson (katie) - I live in Canford Heath :)

I have been lactose intolerant on and off since birth. I have been intolerant for about 3 years now so I guess it is here to stay. The problem with lactose intolerance is that everybody is different. My mother is intolerant too but she does not worry about reading labels and as long as she sticks to latose reduced milk and soya dream instead of cream she is fine. I have to read every label and by eating biscuits, cakes etc with no milk product at all I can still have a little lactose reduced milk in my coffee. Just spreading one roll with ordinary margarine is enough to tip me over the edge.

The biggest problem for us all is adjusting to life without cheese and eating dark chocolate. For those of us with lactose intolerance finding just how much we can tolerate is tricky.

You should also try not to use too many soya based products as dairy replacements as you might then become allergic to soya.

If you need any help with shops that sell food we can eat just ask as I live in the same area as you.

[matt]

obviously i'll help with shops aswell as i'm just down the road at fordingbridge. the free from sections at bournemouth castle lane tesco and sainsbury's aren't too bad.

good health food shop in centre of christchurch. there's more so see how you get on.

[ellsie]

You can have pizza if it is freshly made and they put on other toppings but no cheese. Explain why and check the dough base ingredients first. We have a Domino's pizza franchise and I eat lots of pizza. I am not lactose intolerant like most of the others. I have a milk allergy probably due to the protein of milk and not the sugar leading to anaphalactic shock if I consume any thing. If I have skin contact my skin is very itchy and sore and I also have eczema and other allergies.

I know pizza without cheese is odd but it's better than no pizza at all!:D

[Simmo]

Hi All,

I am also 'new' to dairy free. I have suffered from very dry, flaky skin for years with intense itching and also stomach problems with extreme acid build up. It has taken years of trial and error through my GP but eventually he sent me to an allergy clinic who in turn sent me to a dietician. He placed me on an oligo-antigenic diet which is essentailly an exclusion diet. The only thing that you can eat are foods that have been clinically proven to be low allergens to most people. You then gradually re-introduce foods and if you react then you have some kind of a problem.

Since removing dairy from my diet the stomach problems have completely gone and I no longer have to take anti acid tablets. The skin condition improved but not to the extent that I had hoped. Further investiagtion showed that I have a Dust Allergy. It may be worth while exploring all avenues before completely deciding on a complete change of diet.

I hope that this may help someone because if, like me, you can reduce your symptons by even 10% you will be so much happier.

Take care

Simon
Problems with Dairy, Egg, MSG, Wheat and Yeast - But still happy :lol2: