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Couldn't quite decide where to put this, so decided to start a thread for it.
The consultant dietican has said that my symptoms match those of lactose intolerance, so it looks like I'm here to stay.
I'm due to have blood tests and skin pricks over summer :unsure: Plus sprirometry tests...
Am having to change 3 out of 4 of my medicines now.
May have to do some reintroduction as well, have been told that if I increase my dose of inhalers that I may be allowed to consume lactose, but I need to discuss this further...
Is quite nice to know that they do seem to think that this is the problem, rather than me wondering whether it was just in my head!!But at the same time, it also confirms my fears....
There isn't actually much point to this post, but I thought people might be interested in my current situation!! Sorry if you're not:D
Copper
13-06-2005, 08:40 PM
Well if I had to choose between more inhalers or a lactose free diet I know what I would choose. A lactose free diet is not that bad you get used to it eventually.
Hmm what do I miss most? A nice bit of strong cheddar and decent chocolate. I don't miss them as much as I used to I must admit. What do I still struggle with? Eating out.
My husband has just said "we can't go away this summer as we can't afford it and anyway you can't eat anything." :crying:
The impression I got was that it was just a case of taking an extra puff of my inhaler for a while and eating dairy at the same time to see if the extra medication would allow me to eat dairy...I've taken daily inhalers for about 12 years now, its not a huge issue for me anymore, just annoying!
I most miss icecream, when we got out most desserts are ice cream, and people sit around me eating it, and I just have to sit there it does get me down eventually :(
But its a small price to pay for my health really!!
As I said I'm quite glad that I've had some form of confirmation, and I was very fortunate, in the fact that this has been relatively simple to have confirmed...
I hope you manage to get a holiday.
paranoidangel
13-06-2005, 08:56 PM
Well I managed to go to Australia and found things to eat. It sounds like an excuse to me for dad to buy more toys :) Apparently, Canada is good for that sort of thing - I have a friend who has just come back from there and whose dad is vegan.
I don't like cheese but I found I quite liked Tescos pretend cheddar when I tried it. But I can usually eat a little bit of cheese, it's when I try to eat a whole sandwich worth I can't stomach it. I tried a cheese and tomato sandwich at lunch today and found that Tescos pretend cheddar tastes enough like the real thing that I can't eat a whole sandwich of that either.
rebecca c
13-06-2005, 09:18 PM
I dont think its a pointless thread but then some of my symptoms are similar to yours.
My chest consultant didnt say anything about testing me for lactose intolerence but he gave me some tablets with lactose in (of course). They help my chest but make my face and tummy worse in the short term. I dont know what they will do long term, I will have to experiment including the lactase.
He did say its not in my head they are real symptoms and was going to book me in for the skin prick - but I've heard nothing.
I'm now feeling just as Ok without the tablets - did they pick me up, was I getting better anyway (maybe as I stopped inhaler with soya in) or am I in a remission??
Only time will tell. I would just like to know because I'm suh a control freak and I would feel like I could take my own illness seriously instead of just pushing myself through it every time. One of my friends says I should come to terms with never knowing.:unsure:
Claire I think upping the inhalers so you can have lactose is fine but do you have other symptoms and how does that help your nose. I always found nose sprays completely useless or aggravating of the problem.
PA is there a reason that you dont use your lactase every day?
Copper if we go self catering I have less problems getting through the holiday.
Claire I think upping the inhalers so you can have lactose is fine but do you have other symptoms and how does that help your nose. I always found nose sprays completely useless or aggravating of the problem.
I don't know, thats what the consultant says apparently and I think its meant to be a test to see how my body copes, I'm not really sure to be honest... Will keep you all updated on the progress. I'm getting to keep the same active ingredient of inhaler, but having to move from an accuhaler to an Evohaler.
My skin pricks and blood tests are being booked shortly, I think the blood tests are for general allergies, as I've got hayfever.
My symptoms have mainly been the mucus on my chest etc... I use tablets and spray for my hayfever currently, and am going to be on liquid and spray. The other spray I used to have made me sneeze loads, and then a dr ages ago put me on a different one and gave me nose drops for a while which seem to have allowed me to use the spray..
I only got the information this afternoon, and need to speak to the GP face to face really to sort it out long term. Will provide information as I receive it myself!!
The general consenus seemed to be that they couldn't tell me 100% that I was lactose intolerant, but display symptoms for it and should be treated as such.
beware the take more medication and you'll be able to eat milk approach. you'll slowly need more and more......the body gets used to the level of medication. eventually you'll be on incredibly high doses...
as regards the spirograph test what do they do see how pretty a picture you make!!!!:bleh:
Have you thought about trying lactase tablets? I'm sure that they would be less harmful than upping your inhaler usage. You could restrict your milk intake but the lactase tablets would allow you to treat yourself when necessary. I would have thought that taking more and more inhaler would be less desirable really.
Yeah, I think the upping the inhaler was only a short term thing, to see how I would react, to a small amount of dairy. Its not the greatest thing in the world to do something that will produce extra mucus on an asthmatics chest, so I assume that the increase in inhaler would be a short term thing to see whether I could cope at all.
They said I was to stay dairy free for the long term, but that they wanted to see what reaction I had to lactose as well...
Matt, the test is for lung function- sounds particularly fun :)
The prescription for the new inhalers and other medication should be here in a few days, and then I should be truly dairy free!
Tests aren't being done until the end of July, so I won't know much more before then really.
Can I get lactase tablets on prescription? and how effective are they?
ellsie
14-06-2005, 11:27 AM
Remember to check your new inhaler for milk products as I had a nasty experience when mine was changed to one with milk protein in it by mistake.Spirometry is fine so good luck with it all:)
As far as I know the new inhaler has no inactive ingredients, so should be free of any milk products. If not I'll just contact the Dr and ask for a different one, its not too much of a problem.
I've never had skin prick tests or blood tests- apparently I've got to go to the hospital for those :unsure:
It's worth asking if you can get lactase tablets on prescription, they can only say no.
Hopefully I should be seeing the GP shortly, and will discuss things properly over summer, when I've got a bit more time... Bumps start tomorrow, so don't have time to go to the Doctor here as well.
Copper
14-06-2005, 06:25 PM
Oh dear it is hard being a student :D
paranoidangel
14-06-2005, 09:16 PM
PA is there a reason that you dont use your lactase every day?
Well some of the stuff I ate was fine already. Apart from that it's a pain. It's not so bad for meals but if you just want a quick snack (ie square of chocolate) that stops it being a quick snack. Which might be a good thing, mind you :)
Oh dear it is hard being a student :D
Yes it is actually!! I'd gladly have swapped you pretty much all of my year here- apart from these 2 weeks which are designed for lazing about!!
My Doctor here doesn't know anything about my problems, and so I can't really be bothered trying to explain it to them at the moment, as you rarely see the same doctor twice so its a bit of a pain trying to get to know a doctor, and my doctor at home is rather useless!!
Ok! The truth is: I'm quite lazy and can't be bothered to go and try and convince the doctor here that what I've been told by another GP and the information they got from the consultant dietcian is right- can you blame me??
Well some of the stuff I ate was fine already. Apart from that it's a pain. It's not so bad for meals but if you just want a quick snack (ie square of chocolate) that stops it being a quick snack. Which might be a good thing, mind you :)
who are you trying to kid? a square of choc.....most other people refer to it as a bar not a square.:lol2:
Matt, we're not all so greedy, some of us can show some self-restraint!! Although a square of chocolate isn't really much, need more than that!
My prescription should be arriving today, so I'll be able to start on my new medications shortly!!
and here we see the difference between the word can and do ie show restraint. you can show it you just don't !!!!
just kidding as i'm envious......just remembering eating large bars.....:drool:
Well my new medicines arrived yesterday, its all a bit new to me!! Got to learn how to take different inhalers, and a lot of loratadine hayfever syrup :unsure: It's all a bit confusing to me- I'd used the other inhalers for so long, its quite strange to have to use some new ones...
rebecca c
16-06-2005, 06:50 PM
loratadine was something the dermatologist suggested for me Claire-I take it the syrup is dairy free?
Yeah the syrup is dairy free- all my medication now is, so I should technically be totally dairy free now, will see what difference it makes to me..
I've got a nice selection of medicines, but the syrup is supposedly peach flavoured and its pretty nasty tasting stuff! :(
Well I had my allergy skin prick tests today (my arm itches a lot now :( ) Unfortunatly they forgot to tell me not to take my antihistamines before hand, so the results are a bit out, but I was definatley allergic to dust mites, and some sort of mould. There was a slight reaction to milk, which is a bit of a worry, and I think I might have to eat dairy in the next couple of days, as I'm going back to be retested on Tuesday :unsure: so that should show more conclusively whether I'm allergic to milk or intolerant to it (not that it makes a huge difference to me either way as I'll continue to be dairy free!!)
The good news is that my lung function is above what it should be- so my asthma is being very well controlled :)
Copper
29-07-2005, 12:31 PM
So not all bad news then. I guess you have got rid of the chest infection too.
Yeah chest infection I think has gone away. I don't really know, but I feel better so thats enough for me really. The other good thing is that I was told it was going to be a blood test, but it was skin prick tests, so I've still got all of my blood right where it should be!!
rebecca c
29-07-2005, 06:41 PM
I'm glad your getting some help Claire, do you feel ill at all after the tests? did they think you should have some milk in you system for the tests? Sorry so many questions but I'm hoping when I go to Guy's allergy clinic they offer me some tests and I want to be forarmed.
Nope, apart from the itching I felt fine! They weren't too sure whether I should have milk in my system or not. But I think (I will check probably today) I'm going to be eating dairy before the tests are repeated, if I do and I get a more positive reaction to the allergen then I'll let you know- as this will imply that you do need milk in your system to get a result. I think they also want to see what happens to me when I have dairy, I'm not particularly looking forwards to it, but if I'm extremely lucky the fact that I've been off dairy for a while might allow me to reintroduce some of it (wishful thinking I know...). I had a small reaction to the milk test, but they're not sure whether the fact I didn't have milk in my system had affected it or not....
I had some fairly basic skin prick tests done- primarily because my original doctor didn't ever bother to find out what things were causing my hayfever.
I hope this helps. Tests will be repeated on Tuesday, so I should be able to let you know the complete results that afternoon.
Copper
30-07-2005, 12:55 PM
Good luck with the re-testing. I hope the introduction of dairy into your diet does not make you feel too ill.
Hi there.
Good luck and hope all goes well.
Lan. :)
good luck.
i think the eating / drinking the allergen only applies to the blood tests as they try to detect the anti bodies to the guilty products ie if you aren't eating them then there are none false negative. whereas if you are allergic then it shouldn't matter. skin should react to the allergen.
I had a small reaction to the allergen, but as its all a bit of an unknown area to the Doctor and nurse so they're trying various things. I think the doctor also wants to see what happens when I have dairy. I had cornflakes and milk this morning (I've missed the taste of milk, I'd forgotten how nice it tasted!) and I'm still feeling okish, my stomachs feeling a bit weird, but hopefully nothing too nasty will happen. At least the doctors handy if I become very unwell....
Well I coped OK with the reintroduction of dairy, but refuse to eat anymore dairy as I spent the whole day feeling pretty rough and letheragic, which I know isn't too bad, but I'd rather avoid the culprit anyway.
The good news is that I'm not allergic to dairy. The tests were clear (I was allergic to less things today, than last time, which confused the doctor and nurse....)
So it looks like I'm here to say :D
Copper
02-08-2005, 08:28 PM
So if you felt rough after your dairy binge and you are not allergic does this mean that maybe you are lactose intolerant?
good news that you're not allergic. i had a rich tea bicky yesterday. bit of migraine now and heightened stress levels. is it really worth the effort? prob not. why rock the boat.
good to hear you aren't allergic.
i had half a rich tea biscuit yesterday. bit of migraine and heightened stress today. is it really worth rocking the boat? probabaly not.
A nutritionist told me that milk makes most people lethargic and fuzzy headed - children do so much better at school if they avoid dairy (in her opinion). You probably noticed it even more because you had suddenly reintroduced it after a period of exclusion. Other problems with mucus etc might build up gradually so not be as noticeable at first. I am more a believer in what makes you feel better rather than believing what the doctors say where food sensitivities are concerned - if it makes you feel bad then don't eat it, you don't need a doctor to officially confirm that it is bad for you. It just annoys me that people are labelled as cranks when they say that certain foods don't agree with them - we don't exclude whole food groups from our diet just for attention do we? Life would be so much easier if we didn't have to read every label and check every recipe before we ate. At the end of the day, cow's milk is meant for calves, if we started bottling human milk to sell there would be an outcry but it would be far more natural.
Copper, yeah sorry I forgot to mention that bit. The doctor having spoken to the consultant dietican guy a while ago was told I was lactose intolerant. The milk test was run just to check that I wasn't having an allergic reaction to it. So the plan is don't eat dairy, although eating a bit won't do me too much harm (if I eat dairy by accident etc), but generally I shouldn't eat it.
Must investigate into lactase tablets as I don't want to be ill on holiday and they may be worth taking with me if they are effective for me...
Copper
03-08-2005, 11:39 AM
Both PA and I are almost 100% lactose intolerant ie it doesn't take much to tip us over the edge. We have both got different lactase tablets and they work for us. I use them as insurance really - so if I eat out I do my very best to eat dairy free but just in case that is not possible I still keep the dairy to a minimum and then have a lactase tablet or two. I have been fine so far.
Copper
03-08-2005, 11:47 AM
Now Matt let us look on the bright side here. You have had migraines without eating a rich tea biscuit. Stress levels up - well they would be as your brain is telling you that the biscuit will make you ill. Now you need to tell yourself that in fact you were fine. You should have a biscuit every day and see how you go. Just keep thinking in a positive way - this could lead on to real bread made by your own fair breadmaker :lol2:
I agree with Copper Matt, you need to think positively.
Copper it doesn't take much for me to feel ill, but at least I know now, that the worst thats likely to happen to me if I accidently eat dairy is stomach cramps and an upset stomach, which isn't hugely practical I know, but it could be a lot worse.
I'm going to do some searchs for restaurants and stuff in the area we are going to in America to see what they say I can and can't eat and work from that. I assume they will be very careful with these kind of things due to the attitude towards suing etc out there.
linny
03-08-2005, 03:29 PM
Hi everyone. I had the fright of my life on Saturday!! :o I got back from holiday and tried to log in to this site and all I got was the host page. We have tried and tried so many times but still the same host page. I was going to go through all the dairy free websites to see if I recognised any of your names. I thought I'd lost you all forever! I was nearly in tears!! :cry: I couldn't believe it when good old Dairyfree UK popped up on my screen today. Hope you're all well - you've made my day!:lol2: I have 449 new posts to read!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:jawdrop:
Copper
03-08-2005, 03:36 PM
Welcome back Linny - I hope that you had a good holiday despite the weather.
linny
03-08-2005, 03:53 PM
Had a great holiday thanks. We didn't seem to get so much rain as they did here. We did lots that we wanted to do and caravans in 90 deg are not much fun!
Hi all.
Matt glad to hear you tried a biscuit. Hope you enjoyed it. How did it go?
I saw an article in the local newspaper today regarding research done in Cardiff University, it states that worldwide 4000 million people are unable to digest milk fully. Just when you thought we were alone.
I will type the article up over the weekend and post it on the site for you all to read.
Glad you're not allergic Claire. Keep us informed of how it's going.
Take care,
Lan. :D
yeah i know about the biscuit but the dilemma is that i ended up eating a bit less that day. i've actaually put a little weight on recently for the first time in 6 years! so is it really worht rocking th boat at this stage or just carrying on and trying to get my weight up....tough decision. as i'm sure that i'd be ableto put moreon eating madiera cake!!!:lol2:
Copper
04-08-2005, 09:22 AM
I am sure it is worth trying to eat a biscuit for a bit longer yet. If that is ok after a week maybe you could move up to something else - madeira cake perhaps :D If you can beat this wheat problem you could then have bread and that will help you put on some weight. Keep us posted on how things are going - we will try and give you some moral support.
Welcome back Linny, you're computer might have just been behind after the move....
Matt if you stay eating wheat, then you'll also have more money as then you can buy 'normal' breads etc...
Think I'm here to stay (I promise not to cause too much trouble :D ) May consider reintroducing dairy one day, but can't see it being for a while, and by that time I might just decide that I can't be bothered....
Hi Matt,
Well done. At least you tried. Cakes have never appealed to me. I'm more a crisp girl, but each to their own. It could be worth it if you could eat bread again, but it's your choice.
Let us know how it goes.
Kind Regards,
Lan. :bleh:
rebecca c
04-08-2005, 10:14 PM
Matt you shuld take a break from it if its doing your head in and try wheat again when you are more relaxed.
I got a copy of the referral letter from my consultant to the allergy clinic at Guy's. His gone to a lot of trouble to write up my problems accurately and sympathetically - I'm impressed and he only made one minor error but had listened really well to what I'd been trying to explain and got my point.:)
I expect my referral will take a while but I can live with that.
bit of dilema really as i'd like the easy life but the draw of steak and kidney pie, cakes and the like is strong!!!:drool:
cake or crisp??? why not both? leave out the bread thing.:lol2:
well i suppose we'll let you stay for now claire but you must behave and be house trained.B)
Claire,
The post a few pages back really struck me, as I used to get regular (a few times each winter) chest infections. It was quite nasty, having to sit up all night because I couldn't breathe lying down etc. But since I've been properly non-dairy (plus going to the gym a few times a week) I haven't had one. And that's without bothering to take my asthma puffers half the time.
I've read than dairy makes mucus thicker, and harder to clear out of your lungs, and I certainly think that its had a good effect on my breathing and colds etc. To be fair, actually doing some exercise and getting vaguely fit also helped, but I'm pretty sure that the non-dairy bit was also important.
Its not just me who has observed this, my husband has noticed that I now get less colds/chest infections than he does, rather than tons more. I try not to be too smug.;)
So even if your main symptom is stomach problems and it seems to be easing off (sorry if I'm wrong about this, got a big confused by all the posts) it may be worth avoiding dairy because of the breathing aspect. I certainly wouldn't want to go back to having tons of dairy even if my excema magically disappeared, because of that.
Nic
Thanks for that Nic, I did actually stop dairy because of my chest- there are posts somewhere on here about this, but I can't remember where!!
It was my main problem- my peak flow went up a huge amount when I cut out dairy, and my training times for various things went down as well, so thats actually what I noticed more, plus being able to breathe through my nose, and not having as many sinus problems etc.
The stomach thing actually developed after cutting out dairy, when I eat it now the immediate reaction is stomach problem, but I know the main problem is the mucus on my chest.
Nic, if you use your inhalers, check whether they have lactose in them or not. My old ones did, and my doctor wasn't sure what effect that would have on me, and changed them to ones that are lactose free. (I think this did make a difference and may explain my lower reaction to dairy this time as I've only ever had dairy when also taking lactose in my inhalers....)
I hope that all makes sense
well i suppose we'll let you stay for now claire but you must behave and be house trained.B)
Yeah yeah!! Matt, you should have realised by now that I'm not house trained, and don't behave unless I have to :P
And coming from you... I can't see if I've got to behave that much!
Claire,
Sorry to say stuff you knew. I also find that I get tummy upsets if I eat dairy now - never used to be a problem, but now its almost immediate and quite unpleasant. I suspect my body goes 'what the hell is this!', after so many years of not eating it.
On the puffers, I'll have a look at the labels and ask my GP next time I'm there. Thanks for the tip.
Nic
PS I spent years breathing through my mouth - never realised that most people could breathe through their noses - so that really rang bells.:)
rebecca c
05-08-2005, 11:34 AM
I'm finding my hay fever is blocking me up a bit again after retraining myself to breath through my nose so I'm going back to some of the excercises I developed and they are helping.
I got some loratadine syrup from the doctor - but didnt try it because it had some many things I react to in it especially the phenolics and some alcohol as well. Decided to try using histamine homeopathic remedy.
Nic no worries, its nice to know of other people who share similar problems. Waking up in the morning without a dry mouth is great!!
My hayfever is worse at home than anywhere else, which is causing me a bit of a problem, but it seems better than in previous years which is good. I might just try the nasal spray instead and see if that works by itself instead.
I found that I hardly get any colds since going dairy free. If I lapse though I usually get a stinker within 2 or 3 days. I was really poorly over christmas last year but put it down to all the dairy containing food and chocolates that I stuffed my face with at work. I should have learned by now!
Yes Pam you should have!!
I think when it gets closer to Christmas my Mum is going to ring round my relatives and warn them, because otherwise I'll end up with lots of chocolates for Christmas and be rather disappointed.
just get some leaflets or brochures from the dairy free choccy makers and leave them strategically around in the run up to xmas so that the relatives have the info they need! or get your mum to offer to buy for them. then all you'll have to do is extra exercise to work off all the extra weight!!!:lol2:
I found that dropping large hints about how wonderful Booja Booja are worked very well - my mother-in-law hunted all round Wimbledon and found me the largest box I've ever seen! The only problem is keeping them away from all the dairy-eaters, as they're *really* good...
Nicola
Another Booja Booja fan here. My favourites are the champagne ones or ginger wine (and I'm not usually a ginger fan).
Unfortunatly my relatives don't live anywhere near here, and I have to travel over Christmas so boxes of chocolates may not be very happy!! But I'm sure they could order online to have them delivered to me :D Ah well I'll just eat less chocolate- I'm stronger than the need for chocolate :unsure:
Pam, The health food shop in Cleckheaton has Green & Blacks ordinary dark chocolate on special offer- 2 bars for £1.99- thought this was good value!
you stronger than the need for chocolate? who you trying to kid?:D
Yes Claire, I saw them when I went in there on Saturday but I'm on a diet so I'm not eating chocolate at the moment, the lady at the shop normally gets Booja Booja in nearer to christmas too. We went to the farmers market/continental market in Cleckheaton and spent a fortune - sausages, cheese (for eldest son), sweets, cooked couscous (hubby says he wishes they did it in take aways around here - he had couscous and kofta for £3 and enjoyed it, my eldest had veggie couscous instead).
I'm stronger than the need for chocolate too at the moment, I've done really well at coming off it (makes it sound like a drug) and now that I haven't had it for a while I haven't really had any cravings but I know that if I started I probably wouldn't stop. I've lost around 10lb now - only another stone to lose.
Well done Pam!
I think I'll be stocking up on the chocolate truffles from the shop near me in Cambridge, they're very tasty to say the least!! Will see if I can persuade relatives to buy me chocolates from there, hotel chocolat or get me some Booja Booja ones.
I don't eat chocolate that often honestly!! Most of the time chocolate from Christmas is still lying around until Easter in our house!!
Matt, I'm a disciplined sportswomen, so I can control the need for chocolate..... Yeah ok I'm lying, but haven't had any chocolate today!!(Yet)
no choc by 4pm. i can only assume you are adopting traditional student lifestyle and didn't get up till 3.50pm!!:lol2:
Matt, you know me, I've never followed the traditional student lifestyle!! Still no real chocolate consumed yet today!!
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