Author Topic: Need help with possible milk allergy  (Read 1500 times)

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Offline mama T

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Need help with possible milk allergy
« on: December 05, 2009, 21:56:49 pm »
Hi, so I have been trying to sort out my DS sleep for a while now.  He was OK when he was younger but since turning a year he has been having periods of about 2 hours during the night when he would wake up crying and be really hard to settle.  generally up for about 2 hours and only settles after he has passed gas (and alot of it!).  I tried slowing down his feed, making sure he was burped after his bedtime milk and so on but nothing seems to make a difference. It is not an every night thing but pretty regular.  I am now wondering if he is reacting to the cows milk he is on.  Last night I tried giving him rice milk before bed instead of cows milk (he only drank a few ounces, not too keen on the taste) but he was much better, no gas and only woke a couple of short times). 

Is it possible it could be a mild lactose thing that is worse at night cause he's not moving around.  Its usually about 4 hours after he finishes his bottle - is that too late to be a reaction?

Might just try lactose free milk to (maybe that would taste more like normal milk), does anyone know?

Any thoughts would be appreciated. 

scarlettsmom

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Re: Need help with possible milk allergy
« Reply #1 on: December 06, 2009, 14:58:22 pm »
Hi there.  (((hugs)))  sorry bub is having a challenging time. 

It *could* be a reaction to cow's milk.  How old is he?  Are there any other symptoms/issues (i.e., weird poops, excema, rashes/irritations?)  How long has he been on cow's milk and have you introduced slowly or switched everything over at once? Has this impacted his appetite to other foods? Also , does he have any other food allergies/intolerances?

It could just be his gut is getting used to the new proteins, or there could be something bigger there going on.  Lactose free won't do a lot if there is an allergy/intolerance to the milk protein, which is what a true milk allergy is.

I have to run, but let me know the answers to the above and we can chat more.  You may want to hold off on it completely right now, give him the rice milk (beware that rice milk can sometimes cause constipation though) and put a call into your ped for some true medical input as well.

 :-*


scarlettsmom

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Re: Need help with possible milk allergy
« Reply #2 on: December 06, 2009, 15:00:35 pm »
oh and ps - yes, these things can be worse at night because LO is not running around, and laying down.  That's what happened to my DD2 - nights were much worse and that's one the reasons her GI gave us.

Curious - was LO BF or FF?  The reason I ask is since most formulas are milk based it might give us more of an idea of any issues (there's no way my DD2 would have tolerated regular formula as her milk allergy was so severe....)

xo

Offline mama T

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Re: Need help with possible milk allergy
« Reply #3 on: December 06, 2009, 16:43:26 pm »
Hi, he is 13 months old and switched to cows milk just before a year.  I did it over the course of about 2 weeks gradually mixing the formula milk with cows milk.  He was BF till 5 months then FF.  He has no other food allergies and no other symptoms on the milk front.  Although his poops are very soft.  I always thought that was more due to the amount of fruit he eats.  He eats really well usually and is generally a happy energetic kid.  My guess is if he's reacting to the milk its more a little intolerance rather than a full allergy but I'm just guessing. The last 2 nights we've used rice milk before bed and he's slept much better.  I don't want to take him off milk completely in case its just a case of him getting used to it so am keeping that during the day - does that make sense?

We have a peds appointment on Tuesday so will see what he says then.
He has always had a little bit of a gassy tummy, was the same when he was BF - we used gripe water most nights to help.  So could he just be sensitive to these things and taking a little longer to settle in?

Offline Mashi

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Re: Need help with possible milk allergy
« Reply #4 on: December 06, 2009, 17:09:13 pm »
It often does take a while for LOs to get used to cow's milk when they transition from formula.  We were told to be watching for gas, some tummy pains and diarrhea - which was hard for us as those are the symptoms of milk allergy and DS had been diagnosed at 4 mos and on hypoallergenic formula!  So, hard to know if it was still an allergy or just the normal transition!

Intolerance is not allergy, they are both different, and lactose intolerance is different than milk allergy.  Intolerance is more of a digestive problem where the bowel has trouble in breaking down the proteins and continual exposure to the food causes intestinal damage.  Allergy is an immune system reaction where the body thinks that food is a foreign/harmful substance and triggers a reaction against it.  The difference is negligible as symptoms can be the same and treatment is the same - no milk or milk products - so the terminology tends to be used interchangeably.

Milk allergy/intolerance is a reaction to the milk proteins. Can't have any milk period - in the case of formula for LOs it needs to be a hypoallergenic formula, where the proteins are predigested and broken down. Lactose intolerance is different. Lactose intolerance is when the digestive system lacks lactase which is the enzyme that breaks down the sugar in milk (lactose).  You can treat milk with lactase drops or take lactase tablets to prevent problems digesting the milk and thus still have the milk.  True lactose intolerance is very rare in LOs but they can develop a temporary bout of it after a D&V bug very easily and it is quite common. 

I would be very shocked if your LO developed a milk allergy or lactose intolerance at this age, although really, anything is possible with food intolerances and allergies!  It could be him getting used to the cows milk, it could be the lactose in the milk or it could be a late-onset milk allergy.  But, it could also be something else he has been eating in the day (foods like brocolli, cauliflower, cabbage, beans, etc all make my LO gassy in his sleep!) Or is it possible that he is waking due to a routine issue and because he is awake he is more aware of the passing gas and it is making him uncomfortable? My LO trumps all night long in his sleep and doesn't really notice but in the day when he is awake and needs to he is quite bothered by it...and I am sure that it is just that his system is relaxed at night and doing it's thing, kwim?