Lactose intolerance or Milk Allergy?

[Mum to F&A]

Took LO to the doctor last week as tried weaning him onto some formula and he came up in hives.
Dr prescribed SMA Lactose-free. Tried that yesterday and he came up in hives again. 

LO then had an extremely restless night up a few times and once for 2hours! I'm convinced it's the milk and want to take LO back to Dr but OH insists I haven't given him enough to be certain he was reacting to the milk and to give him more today??

I'm just sooo frustrated. It took a lot for me to work up to giving LO formula in the first place. And then I started to get excited because thinking about a little freedom again, and not having to express.

Doctor also suggested stopping all milk/dairy until a yr and BF instead. Althought he did insist that LO wouldn't react to the SMA.

Anyone else have similar experience/advice?

[~ Vik ~]

Sounds very much like a milk allergy to me - my ds also breaks out into hives on contact with milk.

With a milk allergy he WILL react to lactose free formulas. A milk allergy is an immune reaction to the proteins in the milk - all lactose free formulas do is remove the milk sugar (lactose), but the proteins are still intact. To switch to formula you would either need to go to a soy formula (but you also have to watch for reactions here as soy is a common allergen as well) or a hypoallergenic formula like nutramigen or neocate (which are much less palatable and may take some time to wean onto).

You are right that you do not need to give him more time on the milk - in fact, repeated exposure to an allergen can be dangerous! I'm assuming that nothing else new has been introduced at the same time? No new food, skin cream, laundry detergent? If that is true, then I would discontinue the formula immediately.

I'm convinced it's the milk and want to take LO back to Dr but OH insists I haven't given him enough to be certain he was reacting to the milk and to give him more today??

I would ask if he would recommend a child who reacted to a peanut butter sandwich with hives and stomach cramps be given a bit more peanut butter just to make sure? My ds had one exposure to skim milk powder (in rice cereal) and broke out in hives and was diagnosed with a dairy allergy. Repeated exposures aren't necessary.

I have to head out for work but I couldn't read this and not post. I will pop back on tonight with some more information and links for you. Let me know how today goes!
And big (((hugs))), a dairy allergy is a painbut is totally manageable  

[Mum to F&A]

Hi, thank you for replying.

He had the milk after his dinner, so I know there was nothing else he was reacting to. I also didn't give him very much dairy in his diet as always suspected since he first rejected a yogurt that he may be sensitive! Although he does seem to be a bit partial to choccie biscuits and has never reacted to them!

I'm not going to try him on the milk again will book an appointmet at the surgery if I can tommorow. I've spoken to an Aunt and she's just mentioned to me that all four of her children reacted to milk and youngest (5) is just growing out of it now!

I'm getting mixed advice. Have been told to reintroduce dairy every 6 weeks?

[lilisuze]

its a difficult one, a lot of health professionals are keen on keeping trialling every 6-8 weeks to see if they have grown out of the problem in that time. More often than not, children become able to tolerate milk products as they get bigger. My DS is 16 months old now and we have done numerous milk trials, only to end up with an unhappy baby and back on soy within a couple of days.

OMG how our baby changed when he went onto soy, STTN, stopped puking etc, it was like we had a different child.

It took me a long time to convince DH this could be the problem (but eventually got persuaded when i showed him information about MPI and kept a disary of all the problems with DS during the day.

But it took longer to convince the health visitor not to keep making him try milk. If a baby gets an MPI decision made, I think its best to hold off until baby is over a year old and do one trial, if not 6 monthly trials are the most common after that.

Keep coming here if you need any more advice on MPI, its more common than you think, and theres lots of people here who have experience.

Hugs

Lili xx

[deb]

Every 6 WEEKS?!?!?

My friend whose LO has a number of food allergies, some severe, is only allowed to have carefully monitored "challenges" on trouble foods once a year. As PP mentioned, in an allergy, repeated exposure to an allergen can be dangerous; it can make the reactions WORSE, as well as causing gut damage if that's part of the reaction.

The LO is now 7 and is now able to have dairy and eggs but only a certain amount and only cooked (like baked in cake, for example) for a certain amount of time, as the cooking alters the proteins to some degree. She hasn't yet asked about cultured dairy products; culturing (like yogurt and kefir) also alters the casein but I'm not sure if it would be enough for an actual allergy - we're intolerant of dairy but CAN eat yogurt, so in time it might be worth looking into. She still has an epi-pen for contact with nuts, and still can't eat sesame seeds either, but she's gradually outgrowing the egg and dairy, or so it would seem.

You really need to get to a proper allergist. Breaking out in hives is NOT an intolerance; getting a tummy-ache and gas and diarrhea is more a sign of that, but hives are ALLERGIC.

[Mum to F&A]

Well, went to pharmacy to returned the unopened and unused milk as they gave me a ridiculously large amount and they just destroyed it! 

Have managed to get LO another appointment with Dr's tommorow albeit at 6pm but we'l have to have a V. late bedtime!

Will let you know what they advise tommorow...gotta run LO destroying mobile phone!

[~ Vik ~]

Have been told to reintroduce dairy every 6 weeks?

Every 6 WEEKS?!?!?

I'm with Deb on that one!  When D had his first reaction to milk we took him to the ER and the paediatrician there told us no dairy, not even trace or "may contain" until at least 1 year old.  Even then, he said we needed to discuss dairy reintroduction with our family doctor, him, or an allergist (we have since had an allergy test done and he still shows a strong milk allergy). 

There's a definite difference between an allergy and an intolerance to food.  With an allergy, your immune system reacts to a particular food as if it was a harmful substance.  Any subsequent exposures to the food can trigger a faster, more intense immune reaction.  Unlike a food allergy, a food intolerance generally doesn't involve the immune system. While a food intolerance can make you miserable, food allergies are generally more dangerous.  Food allergies are the most common cause of life-threatening allergic reactions.
(More info on this available at http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/food-allergy/AN01109 if you're interested)

I'm so happy that you've managed to get an appointment with the doctor tomorrow.  Please let us know how it goes!   And I hope you managed to save your mobile!

[Mum to F&A]

I saved my mobile thanks, He's definately getting more crafty! 

Thank you for the link Vikki, definately a help. I would lean towards it being a milk intolerance as supposed to an allergy as he's been able to manage bread, Organix biccies and generally butter and cream in cooking since six months.

The reactions seem to come from milk in it's rawest form and if he has a lot. I have noticed that he seems to have a restless night sleeping afterwards.

I got a different Doctor for the appointment today as I wasn't very impressed with the other one. I managed to get the Dr who deals primarily with children so hopefully she'll make a bit more sense.

Also been spking to OH and because LO's been sleeping much better at night and stopped feeding he's dropped a daytime feed, so may try and keep the BF up when I go back to work next month!

He'l be one in April so not long to go! 

[~ Vik ~]

so may try and keep the BF up when I go back to work next month!

Wahoo!! If you need ideas or support with that, let us know on the bfing board.  Plenty of moms have btdt with bfing and working so you'll get loads of tips!

Glad the link was useful, and good luck with the new doctor!

[*Jo*]

oh that makes me so mad about Dr's!!! i was also told that ANY reaction of any kind we need to leave another trial for 6 months to allow the stomach to settle back down and not react so drastically again, why risk it, its only 6 more months they have to go without it.

stupid drs.....what with their stupid "food trials" and "let them cry it out" rubbish.....*grumble mumble blah blah grrr....*

as you were

[Mashi]

Have been told to reintroduce dairy every 6 weeks?

Every 6 WEEKS?!?!?

I'm with Deb on that one! 

Just to clarify something on this - if your doctor is suspecting a lactose intolerance, then 6 weeks is normal for a challenge, many even say every 2-3 weeks.  True lactose intolerance in babies and children is VERY rare, most instances of it are temporary from a bout of a tummy bug while the digestive system gets back up to speed and functions at 100% again, and so most doctors will say to challenge every 2-3 weeks, and normally that is about all that it takes.  Milk intolerance/allergy is different to lactose intolerance, and yes, challenging every 6 weeks for a milk protein issue is not a good idea.  (milk intolerance or allergy is a reaction to the protein in the milk, lactose is the sugar in the milk).   If your doctor initially prescribed lactose free milk then it does seem like s/he was going down that road, and so a 6 week challenge makes sense and is not bad advice.  I would have a very open discussion with your doctor and specifically ask if he thinks this is milk protein intolerance or lactose intolerance.   

Well, went to pharmacy to returned the unopened and unused milk as they gave me a ridiculously large amount and they just destroyed it!  Shocked

This is for safety reasons!  There is no way to be 100% sure that you have not lifted the seal on that container and sealed it back up, or that you have not in any other way tried to contaminate the milk powder!  I know it is frustrating and such a waste, especially when YOU know you are an honest person and haven't done anything! I was fortunate to inherit a box load of eczema creams for DS when the local chemist filled a friend's prescription wrong, when she found out they were going to destroy it, she shipped it to me here in Germany where I would have paid big bucks for it!!

oh that makes me so mad about Dr's!!! i was also told that ANY reaction of any kind we need to leave another trial for 6 months to allow the stomach to settle back down and not react so drastically again, why risk it, its only 6 more months they have to go without it.

leaving it 6 months sounds like perfectly reasonable, healthy, good advice to me!  some doctors are more conservative than that, our paed was strict that a failed milk trial at 12 months meant dairy free until 24 months.  elimination diets and food challenges are pretty much the only way to manage a food intolerance or allergy, and allowing a child's sensitive digestive system to settle down and heal from damage is crucial!

[Mum to F&A]

well I was hoping to be further along in dicovering what LO has, but the Dr cancelled my appointment and I have not been able to get another so far. Also we've had a horredous weekend - LO took a tumble down the stairs. He's fine but we spent the entire day up A & E on Sunday.

Now this was interesting - we mentioned LO's problem with milk and they were stumped!  We gave them a lost of food he could eat and they came back with soup that he reacted to!  Good job I tested him with a little before giving it to him. 


 I'm going to take him along to the walk-in I think and see if I can get him seen there. Will let you know how it's gets on and what they think it is.

[Mum to F&A]

So I got to see a really good doctor today.

She thinks LO was reacting to something that had been added to the formula and has recommended trying a different brand. She's also said to use soya milk or goats milk in cooking and try him with that although she was reluctant that he solely has them and advised continuing BF? She said her LO wouldn't take a bottle and she had to carry on BFing! So refreshing to meet a DR that actually advised me to continue! LOL

Once he's a year old she recommended introducing cow's milk again and seeing how he reacts to it, and trying him with a little in cooking as well. But basically she said they don't truly understand why LO's are increasingly reacting but is hopeful he will grow out of it!

LO has dropped down to morning a night feeds today for the first time so will see how we get on with that.!

[deb]

Do be cautious in giving soy; many people, especially babies, who have dairy allergies/intolerances also have soy allergies and intolerances. Just keep your eyes open for any reactions so you're not caught off-guard is all.

There are lots of theories as to why more and more people are milk-intolerant; here in the States especially there's the problem of what cows are fed, which often is.... SOY!!! (and corn) Cows are made to digest GRASS, but when they're fed what they can't digest, they are often medicated to keep them "healthy" while they eat the wrong foods. Also, there are proponents of raw milk who maintain that pasteurization kills off natural enzymes that come in cows' milk that makes it easier to digest. (I'd LOVE to find raw milk and give it a go on my whole family but it's simply not legal in Maryland, where I live. )

Just noticed you're in Banbury. I've been there a couple times for short visits, but not since before I had kids - I'll have to look you up if I ever get back!

[~ Vik ~]

So happy you got to see a good doctor!