View Full Version : Dairy products and constipation
Hi :)
Not a very pleasant starting topic, but wondering if anyone else out there has had kids/themselves with this problem.
My 3.5yr old suffers severe constipation and we have been recommended to try a dairy free diet to see if this helps.
He has very poor dietary intake - milk drinks, chocolate mousse, broccoli, potato, yoghurt, cucumber, cream cheese, rice crispies, bread, but the paed thinks dairy could be the cause as other reasons, eg coeliac and hirschsprungs have been ruled out.
Any help/advice would be gratefully received,
thanks
Claire
pinkfairy
09-11-2005, 10:06 PM
Hi Claire
I have been diagnosed as LI after suffering 4 years of constipation and other symptoms. My first consultant sent me for all sorts of unpleasent tests with no results. In the end she said it was IBS. It wasn't until I bumped into an old friend who had been having simular problems did I find out that at least 30% of LI people suffer from constipation instead of diarrhoea. Not many people seem to know about this fact. I have just bought a book called tony's lactose free cook book. It is not only a cook book, but it contains all the latest research about LI. It is well worth getting. You can buy it and view it on www.welstonpress.com (http://www.welstonpress.com). Anyway surprise surprise my test came back positive for LI. My children also suffer with LI. I am sure if you keep your little boy on a dairy free diet you will notice a remarkable change in behaviour. I did with my kids. They were both really hyperactive but now on a dairy free diet they both consentrate really well and are making good progress at school. Good luck. Its hard work trying to get children to eat a different diet. I found getting them to help with making the food helps. At least then they will try it.
Jane
Jane, thanks so much for replying so quickly, Is the test for LI non-invasive/quick, eg a blood test? Just wondering if that might be worth doing. I've got no experience in LI, but i can give the dietitian a call tomorrow to find out the whole food list.
Interesting about behaviour too, my son is slightly on the lethargic side as he has lower energy due to his poor food intake, but hopefully it could all be linked. I'll take a look at the cookbook too and see if that could be good.
Thanks again for taking the time :)
Hi Claire, welcome to the site. My little girl suffered terribly with constipation as a toddler, so much so that we had to use enemas to get her going. This became much less of a problem when she went milk free, though I believe she has a problem with milk protein rather than lactose. It was a dose of lactulose that actually helped me to identify her problem with milk - she went bananas and was climbing the walls in agony after just one spoonful.
You have nothing to lose by trying a dairy free diet for a few weeks. Alpro do some nice custard style desserts including a chocolate one, they also do Yofu dairy free yoghurt which is very good and cartons of milk shake (200ml size in 3 flavours or 1L size in thick creamy chocolate). For cream cheese the best option is Tofutti spread which comes in a few different flavours and is a bit like philadelphia - you can get it in health food shops. Use an alternative milk (soya, rice, oat etc) and dairy free margarine (Pure, vitalite, stork - block not tub) and watch out for hidden milk in processed foods.
If you are going to restrict his diet I would recommend that you ask the doctor for a referral to see a dietician, he is already on a very limited range of foods so you need to get advice to be sure that he is getting all the nutrients he needs. My daughter was also quite faddy and ended up being prescribed baby formula until she was 5 years old to ensure that she took in the required nutrients.
Pam, thanks for the reply. I'm diving off to the supermarket later to check out Alpro's full range. Tofutti spread could be worth a go too.
Luckily (?!!!) we're under a dietitian anyway so i'll give her a call today and see what she says. My main problem is trying to get any food into him at all, but baby formula could also be a thing to try.
My son was on lactulose for a couple of years to try to help the constipation, and is now on senna and docusate, but unfortunately these don't do the trick and we're up to full dose. Coupled with the fact that its also now behavioural so we're off to see someone about that.
Good to hear that it has helped your little girl - the enemas are no fun at all :(
thanks again Claire
pinkfairy
10-11-2005, 10:30 AM
Hi Claire
The test we had was genetic DNA testing. This was done from a swab from the mouth, in a clinic in cardiff. Its all new research at the clinic and they are proving loads of new theories about LI and other related symptoms. Where are you based? Another thing to watch out for is the senna. I was told to take senna to cure constipation. It didn't seem to have much effect. Then when I was diagnosed with LI, I noticed lactose in the senna. Be careful with all medications!!! At the clinic they are also testing food and drinks for lactose contents, their results will be published on the same web site as the book. This will be really interesting. The same consultant is also on the thread about a interesting newspaper articleon LI.
Although my children are hyperactive, they don't suffer with constipation. I suffer with constipation and it does make you feel really really tired. This is one of the LI symptoms related to eating a lactose filled diet. I am sure once your son is dairy free you will see a new happy child. I know I did.
Jane
Hi there
My little girl was severely constipated too. It was awful. But once I took her off all dairy she progressed quite quickly, but the hard part is getting her to drink, shes just never thirsty. So little sips regularly and I buy all sorts of different flavours for her to try too.
And she has an apple every day, so that helps too.
Yvie, thankyou - my son is thirsty and drinks plenty of apple juice, but is never hungry, its one thing or another isn't it! Good news that she is much better, my son is 3.5yrs and its hard telling him no, did you cut out everything at once, how did your little girl take it?
Jane - thankyou, i had a good look at the website with the cookbook and several other with research from Cardiff and it sounds very interesting, we're down in Surrey, so a little way a way.
I didn't know about lactose in senna, unbelievable.
I've spoken to the dietitian today and she's sending through some diet sheets so we'll see how we go, i'm also going to send in some Soy Milk to playschool and see if he'll have that whilst he's there - fingers crossed.
A huge big thankyou to everyone who has replied, it is such a great help and relief to hear that it has helped you.
I'll let you know how we go, it's going to be a battle over the next few weeks,
Claire
pinkfairy
11-11-2005, 06:27 PM
Be careful with carton and so called fresh fruit juices. My consultant has advised me to stay clear of them. Some tests on fruit juices have shown they contain lactose. Apparently they use it a a preservative. Stick to home juicing to be sure your lactose free. Also alpro sell flavoured milk in small cartons its ideal for the kids for school. It comes in strawberry and chocolate flavour. They also have 2 new soya drinks found in the chiller display next to the milk. They are exotic fruits and orchard fruits. My kids love them too. hope this helps.
Jane
Hello again
Yes I did cut out everything, but she was allergic to milk from birth and it was 13 months before she was diagnosed, so not as hard to stop everything. Then found she was not tolerating soya milk either!
She is or was milk protein allergic so was eventually able to have goats milk but since having a packet of orange poppets given to her in my absence a couple of weeks ago she cannot tolerate goats now either. Just waiting for a consultants appointment. She is 8 now so not much hope of her growing out of it especially after the poppet saga!
Today I found that caramel as an ingredient sometimes has milk protein in it, and I had no idea! Sometimes she is sick or ill and I have no idea why! but there are a lot of hidden ingredients still to watch out for, so if in doubt always call the manufacturer and question them fully. And I always only give her a tiny bit of something new and build up slowly, just in case.
I wonder has anyone had allergy testing done in a health food shop? the prick test? and whether it was any help?
Good luck, it will get easier......apparently!!!! lol
Jane - I'm off to Tesco now and will scour (sic?) the shelves!!
Yvie - bet you are cursing those orange poppets, what a pain. Funnily enough i was talking to another mum today who had been for food intolerance/allergy testing and i'm wondering whether to try it for my son, i only see her on a friday, but if i do go ahead then i'll let you know how i go.
Thanks, have a good weekend,
Claire
oh another thing I was aware my daughter was low in iron from birth, so a couple of years ago we both started taking spatone iron. It was after that I noticed how much more she was eating, and she just looked generally better. It was also the first winter she had no colds! I have seen write ups re the link between iron deficiency and milk allergy and am still conviced it helped. Ive just put her back on it again. My friends son had behavour probs and eating was a nightmare and now he eats like a horse and is a different child.
sounds very holier than thou and it isn't because i take suppliments but try to get the iron from food etc. watercress great source of iron and calcium and vit c....
spinach obviously good for iron
and red meat.
better to get it from food than suppliments if possible.
don't take calcium rich stuff at same time as iron as can inhibit the absorbing of the iron. why this doesn't affect watercress i don't know.:)
Yes she does have a very good,if sparse, diet, all fresh, we rarely eat processed foods, although like most children green vegetables are hard to get down her, and theres only so much red meat you can eat in a week!! But I found out that both mine and her iron levels were desperately low at her birth and nothing was ever done about it. All my daughters and myself have low iron levels. However we only take spa tone and not iron tablets, as it is a much gentler way to take it, and only now and then when we recognise the signs or when the gp does a blood test and it comes back low. But again I and my daughters (the eldest is 28 then 25 youngest 8) have found that tiredness and lethargy and violent headaches were all apparently due to low iron levels.
Just as a catch up, Haylie has seen her consultant today and he is arranging a sweat test as her symptoms are a sign of cystic fibrosis. He noticed her fingers are a particular shape and that along with the mucus, asthma and milk intolerance are a sign.
I am devastated that even if there is the slightest chance of this they havent checked before, as she has had these symptoms since birth. This was a new consultant, as her usual one has retired.
So now we wait for the appointment and the results. Fingers crossed for us please, she needs all the help she can get. This HAS to be a negative result. Please God I have never wanted her to be milk allergic so much.....just that, milk allergic.
Yvie
good luck and try to not worry too much.....easier said than done.
I can only begin to imagine how worried you are. I really hope the CF test comes back negative - keep us informed won't you? How long will the results take to come through? I am hopeful that because nothing has been suggested before now, that this is just one consultant having a stab in the dark, surely they would have noticed before now.
I will be thinking about you and Haylie and hoping that you get a negative result.
Copper
30-11-2005, 04:00 PM
I really hope that Haylie is not CF. My ex hairdresser had a baby that was always sickly and eventually at 6 months the baby was diagnosed as CF.
We also had a very nice lad at college with CF. He is currently at a very good uni studying English. He says that he has always known about his CF and accepts his life as it is. I feel really sorry for his parents as they have 2 children with CF.
How many weeks will you be left to worry before you get the results?
Hi I have a eleven month old baby who has the opposite problem if he has anything with slight diary in it he bowles go the other way he was that bad we used to have nine nappies on an average day since having no diary his problems have been so much better and he is happier in himself.
mummysboy
22-12-2005, 11:15 PM
her consultant today and he is arranging a sweat test as her symptoms are a sign of cystic fibrosis. He noticed her fingers are a particular shape and that along with the mucus, asthma and milk intolerance
Hi All
I'm new to this site today as my 1yr old son is dairy intolerant & was looking for info. I've quoted some of your message Yvie as this all sounds a bit close to home & what my son has been experiencing since 6weeks old. What do they look for when it comes to the shape of fingers & CF? I'm really worried now.
I hope all is ok for your daughter.
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