Another Dairyfree Virgin

[Elaine]

Just had my York Test results back. I was Wheat +1 (which I was expecting), and Milk +2, which was a total shock. I guess I have been eating more dairy foods since I had my daughter 2 years ago. I'm always finishing up her meals which usually consist of full fat milk, eggs, cheese, etc. Hasn't done my weight much good either ... So I'm taking the York Test results seriously and totally excluding wheat, milk, eggs and nuts from my diet until at least Christmas, when I shall either implode or feel so fantastic and full of energy and slim (please!) that I shall carry on because I want to. Also currently trying to get pregnant so I'm a bit unsure about being dairy free and healthy. Whilst pregnant the first time I craved milk, so what on earth is that telling me about my body knowing what's good for me? Any advice about being pregnant and dairy free would be appreciated. Only other thing is very, very excited to realise I can still eat Frys Peppermint Creams and plain chocolate. Suddenly life is worth living again ......

[goose]

Hello elaine and welcome to the site. i too am on a dairy free diet, and glad to be able still to eat some chocolate. it is hard to begin with.
Ive only been on this diet for the past 2 months and most of my eating habbits revolved around dairy. but now i cant touch the stuff due to ibs.

Cant help on the pregnancy as aint beeen in that situation before but im sure everyone else may help you. welcome anyway and im sure youll meet everyone else when they log on later.:hug:

[Copper]

Welcome to the site Elaine. I was not dairy free when I was pregnant so I can't help with that question.

I guess you could try drinking soya milk with added calcium - an acquired taste which I do not intend to acquire :)

I do drink Tropicana orange juice with added calcium.

[Nic]

Hallo and welcome!

On being pregnant and non-dairy, I would have thought that you have to make sure you're getting a balanced diet - maybe one of those pregnancy multi vitamins (NOT the normal ones) would be some help? But I would really suggest getting your GP to get you an appointment with a dietician ASAP.

Nic

[matt]

welcome to the site.
i'd back up the see your doctor idea.
what symtoms did you have that made you go get tested?

the main thing you're going to miss out on it the calcium and a few calories both of which you'll need when you get pregnant.
not to rain on the parade but don't expect miracle between now and xmas. you should see an improvement but it might take a bit longer to really see the benefits.

i'm sure well be able to help as much as possible. go outand find a good health food shop. where about in devon are you?

[Pam]

Welcome to the site.

The vegan society can probably reassure you about being pregnant and dairy free, they used to have some fact sheets about pregnancy and breastfeeding on their web site but I haven't visited for a long time. As Matt said, a health food shop can probably help you with some supplements if you feel that your diet is not as good as you would like.

To help you with any milk cravings, Alpro chocolate milk shake and their custard type desserts are very good when you are needing something sweet and milky.

Regarding the York Tests, what does +1 and +2 mean? Which is worst?

[Elaine]

Thanks for all the replies. Reading what other people have written, I now realise that expecting results in a month is a bit pie in the sky. I actually feel a bit better after only a few days, but this may be the placebo effect. Who knows ... I've bought some Alpro soya milk which is not too bad on cereal and hideous in porridge. The bit I'm worried about is that these milk replacements have calcium 'added' to them, rather than it being there naturally - so I don't know how effective it is. I'm eating plenty of green vegetables too.
I got the York Test done because I've had IBS for about 20 years. It's not often severe - mostly just indigestion, lethargy, tiredness, tummy aches, occasional nausea, visual disturbance migraines. With relatively mild IBS I've found that I've just got used to the symptoms and accepted feeling lethargic and bloated and uncomfortable almost all the time. Which isn't good. But I'm going to be 40 next year and I decided it was about time I threw some money at the problem and saw what happened ....:rolleyes:

[Elaine]

And in answer to your questions! The York Test intolerance results for foods to avoid are graded 1-4, with 4 being the most severe reaction. And I live in sunny Tiverton ...

[matt]

added calcium probably better and easier to absorb than the calcium in milk. it has been said that drinking milk actually causes you to loose calcium as it is acidic and your body takes soem calcium from bones to neutralise it.

make an appointment with the doctor and see how sympathetic they are. find the local health food shop and see how helpfull they are.
feel free to pick our brains, someone will have an answer to any question.:)

[Pam]

You're the same age as me Elaine, I'm 40 next year too and really ought to get a grip on my life. At the moment I'm torn between hiding away for the next year or having a complete change of image/lifestyle. I think eitherway I have some sort of mid life crisis approaching. It's silly how a number is so scary! I hope you continue to feel better on your new diet anyway, I should make more effort to reduce my wheat intake as I'm sure it does me no good (I think it must be an age thing, I never used to be affected by it).

By the way, I prefer my porridge made with rice milk, it adds a nice flavour and is a little sweeter than soya. I use the provamel one as that is all that Morrisons offer but I also like the vanilla rice dream (but it's no good for other stuff).

[ellsie]

Hi Elaine! I have had 3 dairy free pregnancies and I don't much like soya so I cheated and had a calcium supplement. I think you need double the amount of calcium, from memory, when you are pregnant or feeding but double check. Good luck with your pregnancy:D

[Elaine]

Can anyone explain to me WHY it takes so long to start noticing postive changes once you've given up the things you're intolerant to? My IBS symptoms seem to come on pretty quickly after eating the 'wrong' things - so why don't I feel immediately better if I stop eating them. I think I may feel stronger about giving up so many things if I could understand when and why the positive effects might start!

I had my first meal out yesterday and made the mistake of assuming that 'herb and tomato risotto' would be dairy-free. It arrived with a huge pile of grated cheese on top .... That will teach me to ask before I order ...:rolleyes:

[Pam]

The meal must have been a real disappointment but you really can't assume anything these days.

Regarding the time dairy takes to wear off - think of it like a hair dye - it takes minutes to take effect but takes weeks to wear off and occasionally the damage it does can be permanent. Be really careful and check all packaging just in case you are still consuming milk without knowing it (eg boiled ham, butter basted chicken/turkey etc.)

[Copper]

It took me about a couple of weeks to feel better but I am still not 100& as I have other intolerances. I just need to get the tests done and find out what all of my intolernaces are!

[matt]

as has been said sometimes permenant damage has been caused by the sensitivity so the best you can hope for is removal of the acute severe problems, but you do need to give it time and see what happens. could be you are senstive to something else aswell, though hopefully not.

keep eye on the hidden ingredients.;)

[PinkyPrincess]

I got my York test results at the end of July and have been on the wagon since the beginning of August. I have found that I react a lot worse now than I did previously when one of the intolerance foods creeps into my food. I will always know I've had something, then go check and usually find the culprit.
Matt's right in that you *may* be being a little optimistic about the length of time it will take to get 'back to normal'. If you've suffered from IBS for that long hopefully by now you're beginning to feel positive effects?
Personally my cow's milk was a +4 so I'm not going to re-introduce that at all. I can happily live without it. Feel better for it in fact. But the others I could do with having again because it makes it so hard in shops and restaurants.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Pinks