Lactose intolerance

[lessofm3 0]

I was just wondering if anyone has experience lactose intolerance since they have had the surgery?

I am almost 4 months out from my surgery, and feel fine for the most part, however, I have noticed after I have lunch, which usuallly consists of string cheese, and cottage cheese, my stomach begins to rumble shortly after, and I am VERY gassy. Actually this just started probably last week, and it's after I have eaten any type of dairy products, so I'm thinking it does have something to do with lactose.

If this is lactose intolerance is this something that needs to be taken care of by my php or do I address this with the surgeon?

Also, I am about 3 pounds from entering onederland. These 3 pounds are very pesky!

I hope everyone is doing well in their journey!

[frenchvanilla 0]

Not sure becuase since i have been banded i am gassy all the time! doesnt matter what i eat! LOL

[ParrotheadCathy 0]

Actually, a large percentage of adults have at least some degree of lactose intolerance! You might buy some LactAid and see if taking that solves the problem. If not, then it's not lactose intolerance. Sounds like an easy rule-out to me, and LactAid is more than likely even available in a store brand version that would be fairly cheap.

[HappyHomeCC 2]

I was reading an article recently about food allergies and weight issues, how we crave the food we are actually allergic to... it could be that since you have probably eliminated many foods from your diet your are hearing your body on this food??? I have always wanted to do the allergy testing so I called my insurance the other day and they cover the testing and visits but injections at 90% So I am going to see if that helps me out..... My luck is that I am allergic to wheat and things that are in most foods.... I know that since I cut most of the caffeine ( I am drinking Decaf so it has a small amount) My breasts don't hurt anymore. so there is something to be said about all that.

My thinking is if I find out what the allergies are then cut out or really restrict those foods the weight loss should be even easier and then to maintain later. just being aware will be helpful.

[JoanieP 2]

Funny you should mention it...my sister had her banding done almost 2 yrs ago and about 6 mos. ago started having some severe stomach aches. Her dr said she was lactose intolerant..bigtime...she can't have any dairy products now. We wondered why all of a sudden and her dr said it was probably due to the pouch she now has.

Of course her fave food is....icecream...haha! Poor thing. I do notice some stomach pains on occasion when I eat icecream, but nothing terrible.

Plus it does run in our family.

[ParrotheadCathy 0]

food allergies are pretty obvious usually. An allergy to, say, strawberries or whatever can and often does result in anaphalactic shock. I've been through immunotherapy for environmental allergies (yes, it works!) but I'm not so sure it works for food allergies. But even if it does, the reality is that immunotherapy requires a HUGE commitment on your part. I had to get shots (three injections per visit) once a week for almost 2 years, then every other week for another year, then once a month for YEARS. I was being immunized against cats, dogs, birds, dust mites, several common molds, dust, oak, elm, ragweed ... Interestingly, they would not inject me for cats and dogs in the same arm?!?!? I thought that was funny.

Intolerance, like lactose , is a little harder because that cannot be treated like an allergy. Lactose intolerance is the result of maturing. As you grow older, your body actually loses the ability to produce the enzyme needed to process lactose, which is a milk sugar. The loss of this ability varies from person to person. LactAid is an oral replacement for that enzyme.

And that's what I know about allergies. I'd be interested to know if immunotherapy actually applies to foods, though!

[HappyHomeCC 2]

food allergies are pretty obvious usually. An allergy to, say, strawberries or whatever can and often does result in anaphalactic shock. I've been through immunotherapy for environmental allergies (yes, it works!) but I'm not so sure it works for food allergies. But even if it does, the reality is that immunotherapy requires a HUGE commitment on your part. I had to get shots (three injections per visit) once a week for almost 2 years, then every other week for another year, then once a month for YEARS. I was being immunized against cats, dogs, birds, dust mites, several common molds, dust, oak, elm, ragweed ... Interestingly, they would not inject me for cats and dogs in the same arm?!?!? I thought that was funny.

Intolerance, like lactose , is a little harder because that cannot be treated like an allergy. Lactose intolerance is the result of maturing. As you grow older, your body actually loses the ability to produce the enzyme needed to process lactose, which is a milk sugar. The loss of this ability varies from person to person. LactAid is an oral replacement for that enzyme.

And that's what I know about allergies. I'd be interested to know if immunotherapy actually applies to foods, though!

I am not interested in therapy, just an awareness of what doesn't agree with me... sometimes I am aware and some times i am not. Some foods if you are allergic to them will produce more mucus in your body. or discomfort it doesn't have to be a severe allergy. I was lacto vegan for a few years and felt very good, I was healthy. After marrying a carnivore that went out the window LOL.

my chiropractor also uses applied kinesiology to find allergies to foods and meds.

Edited October 9, 2009 by HappyHomeCC

[Banded 7/27/09 0]

I know what your experiencing.....I love dairy products, including milk and from day one.....it's not been my friend. It actually feels a little burny and bloaty then gassy for me. Lactaid has been my new best friend and I can have cheese, yogurt, and muscle milk light now. Good luck!!

I was just wondering if anyone has experience lactose intolerance since they have had the surgery?

I am almost 4 months out from my surgery, and feel fine for the most part, however, I have noticed after I have lunch, which usuallly consists of string cheese, and cottage cheese, my stomach begins to rumble shortly after, and I am VERY gassy. Actually this just started probably last week, and it's after I have eaten any type of dairy products, so I'm thinking it does have something to do with lactose.

If this is lactose intolerance is this something that needs to be taken care of by my php or do I address this with the surgeon?

Also, I am about 3 pounds from entering onederland. These 3 pounds are very pesky!

I hope everyone is doing well in their journey!

[chocolate_snaps 3]

I am lactose intolerant and it has not been easy. It isn't a milk allergy so you shouldn't need a Dr to treat it. But you should have to be careful with what you eat so as to minimize your reaction which varies person to person.

First I used Soy based products but found out quickly that I was also soy intolerant. The solution came in one word LACTAID. BUT I have found TONS of other lactose free Milk product lines.

As far as the queso goes, Cheddar is better because it is naturally lactose free. I too like cheese sticks as Snacks, I like either Sargento's reduced fat cheddar sticks or Weight Watchers' cheddar cheese sticks.

These are some ways to cope, but it started with me being watchful and mindful of how food effected my body.

[lessofm3 0]

Thanks everyone! The more I read I'm almost positive I've developed an inoterance to lactose. Last night for dinner, I didn't have an ounce of diary and for once I was comfortable. I guess it's off to the store for me for some lactaid.

Thanks again!

[RiceChex 0]

About 2 months after my surgery (11/06) I started haveing GI issues. approx 20 min after I ate, i would have severe pains, relieved by an immediate BM. After several tests, etc, it was determined that i was Lactose Intolerant. I started taking costco brand lactaid. works great. although, even if i dont eat any dairy/lactose foods, i occasionaly have these GI issues, which last for several hours. my GI Dr says it could be IBS Irritable Bowel Syndrome caused by the band. Does anyone else have anything similair to this??? thank

[JLCoppett 0]

Okay everyone, I guess this is weird but here goes. I am over a year post op, and the last two days everytime I eat any dairy products it comes back up. Since i have been on solid food, I have used cheese for a Protein source, and it's really weird that all of the sudden this starts happening. I got to wondering about Lactose Intolerance since a friend of mine with gastric bypass developed it after her surgery. I'm pretty sure that it is the lactose because I only get sick when I eat dairy products. I just thought I would check out the Lap band talk and see if others were having this problem, and now I know I am not alone. I have a call in to my nutritionist to see what she says. I doubt I will get a call till Monday. Thanks to all of you that are posting. It really helps others who may be going through the same thing.

[adagray 1]

I am pre-op, but was finding that the foods I've been eating are just not making me feel well. I've always suspected that I may have an intolerance to wheat, but not sure about anything else. So, I went on an 'exclusion diet' and removed all dairy, gluten (wheat, rye, barley, and oats), eggs, citrus, alcohol, and caffeine from my diet for two weeks. I chose these because after much reading on the internet, these seem to be the most common food intolerances. There are more complex exclusion diets, but this was hard enough to follow as it is. Luckily, I have a friend who has celiac disease (allergy to gluten) so she was able to help me understand what foods are gluten free and which ones aren't.

Anyway, after the two weeks of excluding this all from my diet, then I introduced one at a time (not faster than one every three days). So far what I've found is I have intolerance to onion (goes right through me - horrible cramps and diarrhea). Even though this wasn't something I had purposely excluded, it just so happened that I didn't have much onion in anything until the 10th day in. I had been feeling great, then bam, the onions made me feel awful. I didn't quite see the connection at first, but then it happened again the next time I prepared something w/a lot of onion.

The next thing I identified as a problem is dairy, but I seem to have a threshold w/it. A little dairy is fine. If I have more than a normal serving or multiple dairy items in one meal, I feel sick to my stomach, and get diarrhea again. Sorry, if TMI.

Finally, I just reintroduced wheat products today and haven't had any GI symptoms, but VERY noticeable lethargy/tiredness after eating. And, I didn't eat a lot of wheat. I had popcorn chicken (that has breading on it) and a cookie. Then, took a 2 hour nap. Interestingly, prior to the exclusion diet, I was feeling exhausted every afternoon and most days needed a nap. Since the exclusion of wheat, I had not needed naps anymore.

[adagray 1]

Sorry I've been using wheat and gluten interchangeably here. Really, it is two different intolerances. At this point, I don't know if I just have a problem w/wheat or w/anything that has gluten (wheat, rye, barley, oats). I need to take the wheat back out and try the others to make sure. But, from my research on the subject, it seems that it is actually more common to have an intolerance to the gluten than the wheat specifically. The good thing is that there are a ton of rice and corn based products that are naturally gluten-free and great alternative to traditional Pasta, crackers, Cereal, etc. Ultimately, w/the lapband, though, we shouldn't be eating a lot of any of these carbs so its really not that big of a deal.