I have recently started to believe milk and milk products could be making me poorly, by this I mean tummy ache, vomiting, diarrhea, and general not feeling tip-top.
So, I'm coming to face the realisation that maybe I'll have to cut it out of my diet. This is a really bizarre thought as milk has always been a part of my daily life, I don't think I've ever had a day without eating something dairy.
Plus, on top this is Switzerland, most of the food is creamy, or cheesy!
Will I ever survive, or should I start looking to relocate to asia?
Before ruling out milk products altogether, I'd make sure it's a lactic problem and not a gluten problem or even something else. Good luck finding a solution. It's not fun having those symptoms.
I suggest seeing a doctor and getting a proper checkup before self-diagnosis and diet change.
There are other underlying medical conditions which have dairy intolerance as a second symptom. If it's lactose intolerance, you can get enzymes that will help digestions, if it's something more sinister, better to get it checked out quickly...
I understand that the symptoms of lactose intolerance are very similar to those of IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). See your doctor to get the correct diagnosis as the treatments are not the same, and you might find that it is not necessary to eliminate diary from your diet while here in dairy-utopia!
Will consider going to the doctors. Not really a big fan of doctors and hospitals though. Thought I should cut it out for at least a few days and see what happens if I get better great if not, try another plan of action.
I know milk isn't particularly good for you, but I just can't imagine living without, I'd never be able to enjoy a cuppa tea in the same way!
My son had a temporary lactose intolerance brought on by a bout of food poisoning (well temporary I say but it lasted a couple of years).
During this time, it was very clear when he had inadvertently eaten something with lactose in (often it crops up in the most unusual of products). He would immediately get a runny tummy.
So yes, in my experience if it is a lactose intolerance, then your symptoms would clear up in a few days .. but I still would not do anything more than cutting dairy for a few days and then going to your doctor to discuss the whole problem and what, if anything, the couple of days without dairy has demonstrated.
My son's lactose intolerance was 6 years ago - just before the common brand of lactose free milk was developed so it was a hard slog. He had a second bout a couple of years ago and things were much easier to control .. particularly the lactose free milk which is now readily available in supermarkets. Armed with that, the lactose free yoghurt spin offs, soya products and plant based margarines, life was really very straight forward. We just had to be careful when eating out and also avoid anything like baked products which I had not baked myself.
I am now lactose intolerant. I use lactose free milk for my coffee and cooking. I am able to eat cheese but I don't over do it. Ice cream gives me trouble everytimes.
Try to switch to lactose free before and you'll see.
Like the above posts that have suggested, you should see a doctor.
The secondary effect to gluten intolerance is lactose intolerance. You could actually be a celiac. And if you are, you could probably go back to dairy products once diagnosed.
Another reason for seeing the doctor would be to determine how best to replace the calcium that you are eliminating if you actually do need to avoid dairy products. This would be especially important if you are a woman as calcium deficiency can lead to osteoporosis.
If I drink milk, then, I occupy aaaa ummhumm toilet for a while.
But smaller amount of milk product or by-product doesn't cause me trouble.
No milk, I mean pure drinking milk, for ages.
What I also can tell, I drank milk at school when I was small. It was like 250ml a day, however, I don't remember having this upset tummy, diarrhea etc. But later when I was 20s, I noticed this problem so I stopped drinking milk. I don't have problem life without milk, I drink tea anyhow without milk and no coffee etc.
Happyday how did you realise milk was a problem? Is it also other milk products?
What started off as what I thought was a bug, stopped after I stopped having any desire for milk or dairy (usually I drink milk everyday and some other milk product...) then I went out yesterday feeling better and had a hot chocolate and *boom* it came back again this horrible cramping and running to the toilet. I will probably see the doctor at some point, I just want to try it out myself. I need to look into more wholesome food options. I eat a balanced diet so I don't have too much worry about bone problems, plus I'm sure I've drank enough milk in my lifetime to account for the calcium for the rest of my years! (ps I'm in my 20s)
This is a good basic explanation of the various causes of the lactose intolerance and certainly what you explain sounds similar to what we have experienced .. you feel fine then an inadvertent consumption of something with lactose in sends you running for the toilet.
Make an appointment with the doctor .. I know you aren't fond of them but its important to ascertain if this is lactose intolerance and if so, what is causing it.
I went off of dairy for a number of years for similar reasons. Yogurt never caused problmes though. There's something about the cultures in yogurt that don't have the same effects.
Soy milk and rice milk are good substitutes and are readily available in stores, even here in Switzerland. The flavor is something of an acquired taste, though it doesn't take long.
I started having symptoms like this not long after arriving here as well - but it was a problem of my gallbladder going bad and reacting poorly to all of the fatty creamy stuff in general rather than lactose specifically.
So, I'll jump also and say "go see the doctor!" - lactose intolerance can be managed, but isn't likely a serious issue on it's own, many of the other problems that can cause lactose intolerance though are very serious.
I didn't go n see a doctor. I am fine with yogurt, butter, creamy stuffs, ice cream and milk added bread things. I don't know about cheese as I don't eat them.
But like I said earlier dairy or by-product doesn't cause me trouble. But then, I don't know the limit. I haven't checked that. 2 yogurt usually no problem after two anyway I cannot have anymore. And half pack of ice cream is ok. Then, I cannot have more than half(out of 500ml) of ice cream anyway.
I realised I have trouble with milk(it was early 20s). I drank a big ice milky coffee(I don't drink coffee but this ice coffee was with lots of milk so wasn't bitter), whenever I had that one, then, shortly after, my trips to toilet occured.
Hot chocolate as well causes me a trouble. Only tiny amount I can tolerate I think. Anyhow I don't drink milk or use. Only drank milk proactively when I was small. There are nice stuffs we can drink far from milk when we grow up. We are allowed to drink many other things that we were not allowed to drink as a kid. lol So milk wasn't the top of my drinking list.
But if you want to find out what exactly causing you a trouble then, it's better to go n see a doctor. But for me it was unnecessary to do so. Just stopped having pure drinking milk.
I'm glad you said that about yoghurt. I don't think I could live without yoghurt! Though I'm not going to eat anything dairy for a while.
Do you know of the brand Oatly - I used to drink it in the UK (oat milk) they don't do it here, wonder if anyone found it in Germany. It's the nicest not dairy milk I've ever tried. I've just e-mailed a supplier in Germany to see how far away the nearest supplier is.
I had exactly the same problem. A general low-ebb feeling. Worse with milk and cream but not so bad with cheese and yogurt. When I started getting hives I decided to take action. I tried a doctor and then dermatologist, but when they put me on Prednisolone (steriod with a medical note "do not stop taking without medical advice") this kind of scared me so I decided there had to be a more natural way. I decided to go on a detox diet and then add foods back in gradually to narrow it down. When I added Milk my symptoms returned. This was not a 3 day process. This was over a couple of months. I found the foods I craved the most were really bad for me.
Since coming to Switzerland and trying the raw milk that you can buy in the villiages (vending machine style where you must pastuerise yourself) I could have milk without the side effects (bit risky because I didn't boil it). Now is that weird? Well not so much.
As it turns out I have a reaction to the Milk Protein not the lactose. And when milk is homogenised the milk protein changes from its natural form to what I cannot handle. It is also called Casein and it is added to many processed products to add "Protein". So also watch out for things like crisps with a lot of flavouring. I love Burger Rings (Australian) but they are poison for me.
So by completely cutting milk out of my diet, which means hot chocolate is now with Water and Weetabix is now with Rice Milk (I know, but you get used to it), I am able to have small amounts of yogurt, cheese and chocolate without any adverse reaction whatsoever.
As for the calcium, well osteopersis runs in family (thanks mum) so I take calcium supplements (with Vit D and magnesium for absorbtion) regardless of the level of my dairy intake.
As a side note, I consider this reaction to dairy as an intolerance not an allergy. I have an allergy to shellfish and that has had be in the back of an ambulance and at the hospital ER more than once... and yes I carry an Epi Pen... if you don't need it to save your life then you don't have an allergy...
There are a couple of non dairy milk options at COOP. I have seen Soy, Rice and something that looks like grass or wheat... maybe someone that can read German can explain it better... it could be oats.