FINALLY a diagnosis of lactose allergy

[NattyandThomas]

hi my name is natalie and my thomas is 5months old

for the last 3 months he has had terrible diareeh (soaking through nappies, staining clothes bedding etc)
even though it is in the family my gp was reluctant to accept it may be a lactose allergy.
after several stool samples and a visit to a dietiction we were finally allowed to put him on soya milk.

does anyone else have this problem? i really dont understand what it all means, am i supposed to avoid dairy altoghter?
its really expensive can i have it prescibed?

any tips would be most appreciated

love to all

natty
xxxx

[MrsApronstrings]

My eldest dd has been diagnosed lactose intolerant (and 2 other of my children also have lactose issues)

Fitrstly I would say how well you have done to get yourself a diagnosos at this stage - dd1 pooped about 8 - 10 times a day when she was small, and we were fobbed off , told she had toddler diarrhoea until she was about 5 years old when dh got cross with the gp and said this isn't normal get me a referral. At such a young age I would stay clear of dairy for a good while yet, you can always check with the dietician at the hosptial if you are in doubt. When you start weaning there are plenty of non dairy foods to include in his diet. Traditional weaning foods like baby rice can be mixed with the soya milk he is used to. He is only 5 months, so by modern advice young for weaning yet - I would certainly take your time. If he is like my dd as he gets older any dairy will very quickly result in highly explosive diarrhoea and tummy pain.

you may find when he is older he can tolerate dairy in small amounts - in the last year or so this is true of my dd - but she is 10 now - so it may well be a long way off!

[Rav]

Hi Natalie

My 7 month old daughter is also lactose intolerant. As her diagnosis is Galactosaemia, we are members of their support group and have regular info about what foods she is able to have. Also, if you go to tesco, asda, sainsburys website they will have extensive food lists outlining foods which do not contain lactose. Some other things to avoid other than the obvious milk, milk powder etc are - whey, casein, butter, cream, animal fat (it may be butter and therefore not suitable), ghee, cheese, cheese powder, yoghurt and some sweetners and flavourings (label rading for those!) I know your little boy is a bit young yet, but a lot of medication in tablet form contains lactose.
My daughter is allowed other dairy products such as egg.
We have her soya milk on prescription (SMA Wysoy).
If there is any specific food you are unsure about please add another message and I'll get back to you.
Please don't worry yourself about it though as I'm sure your little one will be fine. There are a lot worse things out there and at least you know about it now and are able to deal with it.

[upandaway]

Well done to you natty!
I agree with apronstrings, it take ages and much persistance to get that diagnosis in the first place so hats off to you.

[NattyandThomas]

thank you for ur messages.

i must say i am suprised at the amount of baby food jars that have milk in them!
i have already started weaning as i think the 6 months stuff is bollocks, and now the diareeh has been resolved its as good a time as any. taking it slowly though, one new thing a week.

he is on cow and gate soya, because i didnt want to switch brands.

thanks again guys

natty

xxx