Re: lactose intolerance, was Clarification

[Guest guest]

> It just gets frustrating, which is why I call it CD. People hear

" intolerant " and they think it's like lactose intolerance, which is

really no big deal. (snip)

>

> Becki

>

We'll have to disagree on lactose intolerance being " really no big

deal. " My son had sudden onset complete lactose intolerance at 12

months of age and it made him extremely ill. For 3+ years, long before

celiac became a factor, we were reading every label because he would

react to even tiny amounts of untreated milk products, and milk is in

more foods than you would think. He wasn't able to use lactase

supplements until he was 3 (because of the artificial sweetners in

them) and we had to be incredibly careful with his diet. Now he can

use lactase, so we can prevent the worst reactions, but he still has

minor ones sometimes that are pretty bad.

In short, while I don't think lactose intolerance damages the villi,

the reactions can be severe enough to cause dehydration, horrible pain

and cramping. It is as limiting to diet and lifestyle as CD.

[Guest guest]

I didn't mean to offend you. My son is allergic to milk, and has been since he was born. My point on that was simply that, compared to the difficulty of all the adjustments that need to be made for celiac, lactose intolerance is not difficult. The only thing we found to be really tough was the cheese issue. There isn't a cheese substitute that truly is milk-free that will melt, and doesn't smell and taste like feet. But, other than that, the gluten hides itself in a lot more places. We also dealt with the egg allergy for a while with our daughter, and that was a walk in the park compared to gluten. In both cases, the effects of them were much shorter lived.

People can buy lactose free ice-cream and milk, and if it is truly a lactose intolerance, and not an allergy, then they can usually use those. There are those wonderful little pills for the 50 year old who gets gassy after having 6 slices of pizza (hey, don't gorge, buddy!). We don't have that for celiac.

Again, I would never want to minimize the struggle of a truly cassein or lactose intolerance child; but there is a big difference between an adult who gets a little gas, and a child who becomes very ill from it. People tend to think of their uncle with gas when I say intolerance, and not the kids vomiting.

Becki

Re: lactose intolerance, was Clarification

> It just gets frustrating, which is why I call it CD. People hear"intolerant" and they think it's like lactose intolerance, which isreally no big deal. (snip)> > Becki> We'll have to disagree on lactose intolerance being "really no bigdeal." My son had sudden onset complete lactose intolerance at 12months of age and it made him extremely ill. For 3+ years, long beforeceliac became a factor, we were reading every label because he wouldreact to even tiny amounts of untreated milk products, and milk is inmore foods than you would think. He wasn't able to use lactasesupplements until he was 3 (because of the artificial sweetners inthem) and we had to be incredibly careful with his diet. Now he canuse lactase, so we can prevent the worst reactions, but he still hasminor ones sometimes that are pretty bad.In short, while I don't think lactose intolerance damages the villi,the reactions can be severe enough to cause dehydration, horrible painand cramping. It is as limiting to diet and lifestyle as CD.

[Guest guest]

My reply to you was not about being offended, because I can't be

bothered with that. I was trying to explain to people who do not have

first hand experience of living with complete lactose intolerance that:

It is as limiting to diet and lifestyle as CD.

Quite frankly, going GF was not all that difficult *for us* after

dealing with my son's other diet issues. Maybe *your* experience is

different, but belittling the problems that others endure does not

help anyone. If the community of people who live with food

intolerances work together, perhaps we can create an environment were

each person's needs are safely met, and that means treating each

problem as equally significant.

Maureen

> > It just gets frustrating, which is why I call it CD. People hear

> " intolerant " and they think it's like lactose intolerance, which is

> really no big deal. (snip)

> >

> > Becki

> >

>

> We'll have to disagree on lactose intolerance being " really no big

> deal. " My son had sudden onset complete lactose intolerance at 12

> months of age and it made him extremely ill. For 3+ years, long before

> celiac became a factor, we were reading every label because he would

> react to even tiny amounts of untreated milk products, and milk is in

> more foods than you would think. He wasn't able to use lactase

> supplements until he was 3 (because of the artificial sweetners in

> them) and we had to be incredibly careful with his diet. Now he can

> use lactase, so we can prevent the worst reactions, but he still has

> minor ones sometimes that are pretty bad.

>

> In short, while I don't think lactose intolerance damages the villi,

> the reactions can be severe enough to cause dehydration, horrible pain

> and cramping. It is as limiting to diet and lifestyle as CD.

>