can you go through dairy withdrawl??

[ryeslady]

I stopped eating dairy last Thursday (it's been 6 days today) except for bread which I didn't realize had milk in it until a few days after I went dairy free. Sunday I had a few stomach pains/cramps, Monday I woke up with bad pains feeling sooo hungry and had more throughout the day, this morning I woke up with pains and almost vomited and have had pains nonstop since this afternoon. I really feel like it's related to not eating dairy. What I mean is, I feel like eating dairy would make my stomach feel better, like when you're sick and only certain things sound good (or at least not nauseating) to eat. Is this possible? Anyone else feel like this after going dairy free? thanks for your help.

[deb]

One possibility, especially if you don't consume much other sugar (milk contains lactose) or starches, is that the lactose may have been feeding yeast in your body/gut. Symptoms of yeast die-off can make you feel almost as though you have the flu.

Make sure you're drinking lots of water, but definitely have a look at the rest of your diet. Have you started eating more of anything around the same time you stopped with the dairy?

Also, many food-allergic people have discovered thru experiences like this that the foods they most crave are foods they themselves are allergic to. You may need some time to de-tox the dairy!

[ryeslady]

First of all, thanks for your help.

I know I'm getting plenty of sugar because I've been eating way too much of it. Besides chocolate there's not much dairy free food that I enjoy, so I've had my fair share of oreos and brownies the past couple of days. My diet has completely changed this past week. Mostly I eat these microwave Thai meals, spaghetti with tomato sauce or chili, beef, carrots, and potatoes. Of course I've had other foods too, but that's what I've eaten the most of.

The pain comes and goes. I'll have to start paying better attention to when I have it to see if it's something I'm eating, but none of these things ever gave me problems before.

[deb]

If you're replacing the milk with Oreos, that could well be part of the culprit; I have intestinal issues for a couple DAYS after I get hold of those! (I have a friend with a dairy-allergic DD so when they visit we have them in the house... )

I would recommend trying HARD HARD HARD to replace the sugary stuff with veggies, raw if possible, use dressing if it helps, and going cold turkey for mayeb 2-3 days. Also, adding a probiotic to your diet is REALLY helpful; if you're completely dairy-free, though, check to make sure the probiotics aren't dairy-derived, since the easiest way to cultivate them is in..... YOGURT! There are some dairy-free ones, though; look for Culturelle, which makes some that isn't dairy origin. Also, if you're able to tolerate it, raw sauerkraut and kimchee (and other cultured veggies) are good sources of probiotics in non-dairy sources; I can get it near me at Whole Foods, and the kimchee they carry there is particularly yummy! Spicy, but YUMMY!

As an aside, I find that while our family has a hard time with most dairy, unable to digest it (so for us it's an intolerance but not an allergy), yogurt is the one dairy food we can all eat with no ill effects. Apparently the culturing not only pre-digests some of the lactose, but the casein as well.

[deb]

Oh, another possibly unrelated question: what's your caffeine intake like? If I drink too much coffee (I'm halfway off Diet Coke now at least ) I find I get a sensation like that in my stomach, like something creamy-dairy or starchy will help to soothe it. What it REALLY is is the beginning of my old ulcers coming back, as far as I can make out, which is why food helps it for a while. Ditto too much citrus, tomato, or alcohol.

[ryeslady]

I'm trying hard to eat healthy, what makes it hard is that I don't enjoy foods without dairy, I'm just eating because I need to eat. It's kind of depressing, really. I don't like raw veggies, but as for the dressing is there something other than ranch that's good on veggies? I also can't eat saurkrat or kimchee.  I'm not really a picky eater, just a picky dairy free eater. I've tried to stay away from all obvious caffiene since I went dairy free. I figure if DS is having tummy problems I don't want to drink anyhting that's going to keep him awake!

Maybe it's the alchohol... no, I'm just kidding.  Really though, I wonder if it has to do with the tomato. I have had more tomato than usual with the tomato sauce and chili. I had some today for lunch so I'll wait and see what happens tonight. The pain is always high, so I shouldn't have to wait too long I would think.

As for the Oreos I never knew anyone who was bothered by them before. And before this I always ate them in moderation so maybe that's why they never bothered me. What is it about them do you think that upsets your (and maybe mine too) stomach?