Might be lactose intolerant...?

[wildr0se2]

So for a couple days, I had gone back to a vegetarian diet. Dairy, eggs, butter, etc but no meat. Well, I underestimated my body, because most times I ate dairy, my IBS would flare up, and I also take MiraLAX daily for the IBS. I stopped eating dairy 3-5 days ago, and my stomach is so much calmer. I know MiraLAX can definitely play a role, and to be fair, I wasn't eating healthy foods, but it's so interesting to see my stomach calm down. Not seeking medical advice, by the way, but I am wondering if I should ask my doctor to test me for lactose intolerance? What was transitioning to veganism like for you guys, or vice versa if anyone was vegan and now vegetarian or etc?

 

[4silva]

IMO--you're lucky
I've loved cheese my whole life, my number one food choice. I've felt it was wrong even when I was a kid playing in my uncles dairy farm. I've always held firm to the belief that everyone should be left to their own lives, but, cheese was everywhere....
Since making the choice to quit dairy I have gone back, willfully binging with the idea I'd feel sick after not having it for so long. That never happened. The last time I did that however, I did find arthritis flare up pretty badly
Best thing is avoid it altogether

I now find olives, vegan mayo and nooch, soy yogurt, french fried onions, and maybe a bit more salt, to be good substitutes
Look up tofu feta, or cashew cheeses. I like to cube firm tofu and marinate in olive oil and olive brine

 

[LoreD]

Dairy can cause a lot of problems. I remember watching a documentary on the MS diet. It was a pretty rigid diet that drastically slowed, and in some cases eliminated, the progression of Multiple Sclerosis. It banned meat, gluten, legumes, and dairy. Dairy was described as "absolute poison" for people with MS.

Dairy is very damaging to the body. When you had the flareup, your body was telling you something.

 

[Emma JC]

if you don't intend to eat it again then finding out the answer may be unnecessary?

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com

 

[Lou]

why not test. the info may not help but it could help.

I remember reading about a study that showed that a lot of people think they have lactose intolerance but don't.
and also that a lot of people who don't think they are have lactose maldigestion. And to further confuse things there is colonic adaption and IBS which has overlapping symptoms.

So I would get the test.

Regardless of the results you should cut out dairy. Dairy is not essential. Just be sure to get adequate calcium.
Not only is a diary free diet good for your health it's really good for the health of the planet. And it is really really good for cows.

During the 20th century I ate cheese. I wasn' t addicted to it even tho I know people who are. I just liked it. On my personal voyage to becoming vegan, dairy was the first thing I cut out. you can make an argument that the dairy industry is the cruelest industry. It's also pretty easy to eliminate from your diet because of soy milk and margarine.

 

[4silva]

why not test. the info may not help but it could help.

I remember reading about a study that showed that a lot of people think they have lactose intolerance but don't.
and also that a lot of people who don't think they are have lactose maldigestion. And to further confuse things there is colonic adaption and IBS which has overlapping symptoms.

So I would get the test.

For what purpose though?
Ive asked for the C-reactive protein test at my physical and my Dr says just eat a non inflammatory plant diet. It' not covered by ins and is pricey

 

[LoreD]

I don't think that testing needs to be done in this case. If there is a bad reaction to a product, then people shouldn't eat it. We learned about my daughter's dairy allergy when a neighbor gave her a glass of milk. Her face swelled up like a soccer ball, and her eyes swelled shut. I didn't need to go to an allergist to know not to repeat the experiment.

 

[alleycat]

I never realized for a long time part of my journey to being vegan was self medicating, yes I have a lot of issues which will not be cured but a vegan life style has eased the symptoms a lot. Listen to your body, let it guide you. If you have a strong craving for dairy maybe think which nutrient you might need and boost that through a plant alternative.

 

[ewomack]

(I feel the need to say that I'm not a medical professional, so treat this all as anecdotal)
Dairy hit me hard a while back as well. It was a similar situation to yours, @wildr0se2. I was bloated horribly. I could literally feel my bloated intestines by rubbing my torso. It was painful and nothing seemed to help. A doctor thought I had symptoms of something worse so I went through a battery of tests, all of which turned out normal. After that, he told me to "cut dairy." I did and all of my symptoms vanished within a week. It felt miraculous. I have avoided dairy since and the nastiness hasn't returned. I know dairy was an issue because I can get some semblance of the same symptoms if I inadvertently consume dairy (which sadly happens now and again). So I became dairy free against my will, but it seems to have had other benefits. I keep reading that human beings aren't really supposed to consume dairy as adults, but we just keep on consuming it out of habit and taste.

After all of this time, no doctor has recommended that I get tested for lactose intolerance. I've never been tested. I tell them my story and they say that's all they need to hear. A few have suggested that if I wanted to be absolutely sure, I could go back to my old diet for a few weeks and see if the symptoms return. I think I know enough from my occasional accidental incidents, so I haven't tried it. I don't want to even chance experiencing that again.

It's pretty easy to avoid dairy once one gets used to it, but it's a personal choice. It has worked out well for me.

 

[LoreD]

I've watched all of the videos for various Over The Counter medications to treat stomach and intestinal ailments. Spicy food makes you nauseous; take this medication. My only thought was that if spicy food makes you nauseous; stop eating it. Your body will tell you if there is a problem. If you eat something and there are painful side effects; don't eat it.

 

[LoreD]

I'm not giving medical advice, but I would like to talk about a method that worked for me. I had been having some manageable GI issues, but they were uncomfortable and a little embarrassing. My stomach would make these gurgling noises late evening and overnight. I would wake up with a bad taste in my mouth. Every couple of weeks I would get the runs, and clean up used a lot of TP. I just dealt with it, and thought this was the price of getting old.

I watched a video of a Japanese method of dealing with intestinal problems. The premise is that the "bad bacteria" builds up in your mouth overnight. The GI problems are caused by us swallowing the bad bacteria and introducing it into our GI tract. Since we have "good bacteria" in our mouth, we don't want to use mouthwash that kills all our bacteria.

The method is that right after you get up use a tongue scraper to remove that white film off the tongue, rinse mouth, and brush teeth. Drink a large glass of water and don't eat anything for 45 minutes.

It has pretty much solved all of those problems, and I feel a lot better overall.

You could try it. It could help, and it certainly couldn't hurt you.

 

[4silva]

I'm not giving medical advice, but I would like to talk about a method that worked for me. I had been having some manageable GI issues, but they were uncomfortable and a little embarrassing. My stomach would make these gurgling noises late evening and overnight. I would wake up with a bad taste in my mouth. Every couple of weeks I would get the runs, and clean up used a lot of TP. I just dealt with it, and thought this was the price of getting old.

I watched a video of a Japanese method of dealing with intestinal problems. The premise is that the "bad bacteria" builds up in your mouth overnight. The GI problems are caused by us swallowing the bad bacteria and introducing it into our GI tract. Since we have "good bacteria" in our mouth, we don't want to use mouthwash that kills all our bacteria.

The method is that right after you get up use a tongue scraper to remove that white film off the tongue, rinse mouth, and brush teeth. Drink a large glass of water and don't eat anything for 45 minutes.

It has pretty much solved all of those problems, and I feel a lot better overall.

You could try it. It could help, and it certainly couldn't hurt you.

Bidets are wonderful! I went from one that was a bar under the back of the toilet seat to one that was integrated with the seat.
The only time I had a white film in my mouth was when I didn't rinse after using my maintenance asthma inhalor. It was thrush. I think I called my doctor and was told to gargle & rinse with salt water, and always rinse after that inhalor

 

[LoreD]

Bidets are wonderful! I went from one that was a bar under the back of the toilet seat to one that was integrated with the seat.
The only time I had a white film in my mouth was when I didn't rinse after using my maintenance asthma inhalor. It was thrush. I think I called my doctor and was told to gargle & rinse with salt water, and always rinse after that inhalor

It isn't thrush. Bacteria can build up on the tongue and it is recommended that people scrape the white film off the tongue twice per day.

Tongue scraping helps reduce tongue coating, improves bad breath, enhances taste, lowers oral bacteria, and supports overall oral hygiene, according to evidence from Healthline, WebMD, UCLA Health, and Acibadem.​

Does Tongue Scraping Actually Work, and Should I Be Doing It?

Even if you’re an oral hygiene all-star, you might be leaving bad bacteria behind if you aren’t brushing or scraping your tongue. Here’s why and how to add it to your routine.

health.clevelandclinic.org

Should you try tongue scraping?

Tongue scraping is not a necessary part of good oral hygiene, but it may help with bad breath and the overall health of your mouth.

www.uclahealth.org