Old dog, new tricks

[Catt]

The last few days I have experienced severe abdominal pains. Tuesday & Wednesday had me pretty incapacitated. 

 

My oldest granddaughter Emma was telling me it sounds to her like I'm lactose intolerant. I said nah I've never had an issue with dairy products. She says l can become lactose intolerant at any point, so I called a friend who' is a doctor. Apparently one can become lactose intolerant at any time in they're life & I did.

 

Now comes the new tricks for this old dog, a total change in my diet. This will be interesting to say the least.

 

Any of y'all deal with this issue?

[Mobasser]

Catt, my wife has a sister in Arizona. Her husband is lactose intolerant. I think he's 69 years old. He had to change up some things in his diet. I know one thing was buying Keto bread. I'll try to find out the rest, but I don't think it was too bad for him.

[12poundbass]

Not lactose intolerance but a little over 10 years ago I started getting cramps, gas, followed by a dash to the bathroom after eating certain foods. I was finally diagnosed with IBS. I learned my trigger foods were eggs, garlic, and spicy foods. IBS medication isn’t the best for you long term so I started taking peppermint pills which has helped quite a bit.
 

I love eggs but I rarely eat them. Sometimes I keep them but more times than not I only borrow them for an hour or so. 😂

 

Garlic in moderation is no big deal. 
 

Spicy foods 9.9 times out of 10 are no big deal anymore.

 

I do find it strange that after 20-30 years of eating these foods you develop issues with them or develop things like IBS or lactose intolerance, but the human body is a very complex machine.

 

 

[DaubsNU1]

Twelve years ago my wife was hospitalized with gastrointestinal issues. Ulcerative colitis. She went gluten free and dairy free. I thought, what the heck, I can give up gluten.

 

Had no idea the change this would make in my life. I always seemed to have an upset gut, loose stools, pooped a lot during the day, sometimes four or five times a day. And when I had to go...I had to go RIGHT NOW!

 

I feel so much better, my bowel movements are regular and not diarrhea like. I still eat dairy, and wife does a little here and there.

 

We have since cut out pretty much all processed foods, vegetable oils, chips, sugars, candy, etc. I feel great. 

[Bankbeater]

My daughter became lactose intolerant a couple of years ago.  She has to take medicine before she eats anything with dairy in it.

[senile1]

The following verges on TMI but I thought it might be helpful to some.

 

From approximately 2008 to 2014, I began experiencing issues with my digestive tract with extreme pain that would double me over for 4 to 8 hours at a time.  It occurred about every 5 or 6 months.  I had a number of colonoscopies and endoscopies and the doctors could find nothing.  They diagnosed me with IBS, but they really didn't help me.  I pretty much had to figure it out on my own.  I discovered through trial and error that I was having tremendous gas pains but nothing would come out either through burping, flatulence, or bowel movement.  The gases were trapped in my digestive tract.  Also, when this would occur I would have a lack of motility.  Nothing would move.  I would have loose bowels like diarrhea but nothing would come out.  As a short term fix, I learned how I was feeling the hours before this would occur and I would take a laxative to clear myself out, thus avoiding the trapped gas.  

 

Long term, I have experimented with a number of diets and it seems that the removal of chips, most pasta, sugary items like cookies and cakes, and most processed foods has helped a great deal.  Also, avoiding overeating, even at holidays, has helped as well.  I have also looked into and experimented with the FODMAP diet.  (An explanation for this is too long for this post.  Do a search  if you want to know what it is.)  That has helped too.

 

Since making these changes, I have had only one or two episodes since 2014, and I was able to head those off at the pass, so to speak.  I still have digestive tract issues but the pain is much less acute and more along the lines of normal IBS than it was before.

[Mobasser]

Catt, I called my brother in law. Basically, he has to be careful with milk, cheeses, ice cream and dairy products. He can have some, but he's cut way back on these things. He said it wasn't that hard. Good luck with it Catt.

[Jig Man]

Late in life I have found that milk and ice cream make me cough so I have basically quit them.

[GreenPig]

  Lactose intolerant since birth, which from some of the stories I've heard, made me a joy of a baby to listen to. I stay away from most milk products, but have figured out that I can eat Whey Protein, Papa Johns pizza and Haagen Daz ice cream with no ill effects.

[Kev-mo]

Lots of bugs going around. Could just be a random stomach bug or maybe norovirus. See how you feel in a few days, stay extra hydrated.

[BASS302]

@Catt,

I am severely lactose intolerant.  I need to take "Lactaid" before I eat any dairy products.  At restaurants I need to ask if the item contains dairy.  "Lactaid" is a product that contains lactase enzyme that allows a person to digest lactose.  There are generic brands available.  If you are lactose intolerant, you'll need to determine how many "pills" you'll need to take (trial and error).  The enzyme will NOT help if you have developed an allergy to dairy or have some other digestive issue.  My lactose intolerance started in my teens and has gotten worse as I grow older.

 

Lactose-free milk is available at some grocery stores.  Maybe try a small glass of lactose-free milk and see if that causes abdominal distress.  If you drink the lactose-free milk and have abdominal problems, then you probably are not lactose intolerant and there is something else happening.

[casts_by_fly]

About 15 years ago we started with a new personal trainer and one of the things we did was an elimination diet. For a full month we eliminated all of the things that are possible irritants to the body - gluten, dairy, alcohol, processed ingredients, etc.  After a month when they have all fully processed, you introduce them one at a time back into your diet (I started with alcohol). If you are intolerant or even mildly irritated by the thing then after 30 days the first time you have it will be eye opening. I learned that heavy dairy (heavy crème, crème brûlée, raw creamy cheese, and similar) all irritate me. Hard cheese and whole milk not as much. Gluten isn’t a problem but heavy creamy pasta is. Once you know, you can adapt and make choices. I don’t eat crème brûlée anymore even when I used to love it and make it at home. I’ll use a little half and half in my coffee as that’s my one concession. I don’t do Alfredo sauce ever. Make sure you’re keeping up on your fiber as I’ve found that to help me. 

[Catt]

You guys are awesome!

 

I wasn't aware one could become lactose intolerant, I thought you were born with it. Some lactose free foods are ok but others are down right nasty.

 

Still got a lot to learn 😉

[Mobasser]

Catt, I'd compare this to my pre diabetic diagnosis. It's two different things, but both are about will power and changing your diet. Im doing it successfully, and I'm sure you can too.          A lot of the reason people struggle so much with things like this is they can't say no, and are unwilling to make a change for the better. This is what my doctor's told me.

[Catt]

@Mobasser

 

“I have not yet begun to fight"

[Tackleholic]

On 2/1/2025 at 8:04 AM, Catt said:

The last few days I have experienced severe abdominal pains. Tuesday & Wednesday had me pretty incapacitated. 

 

My oldest granddaughter Emma was telling me it sounds to her like I'm lactose intolerant. I said nah I've never had an issue with dairy products. She says l can become lactose intolerant at any point, so I called a friend who' is a doctor. Apparently one can become lactose intolerant at any time in they're life & I did.

 

Now comes the new tricks for this old dog, a total change in my diet. This will be interesting to say the least.

 

Any of y'all deal with this issue?

I've lived with lactose intolerance for longer than I can remember;  it's getting worse as I age.  The gas and bloating has to find an exit point and can be quite embarrassing when it does.  I live alone with my dog, and she has learned to deal with it.

[WRB]

Lot of lactose free or low lactose dairy type foods. Being gluten free is more difficult but doable.

What I experience when traveling aboard is their food doesn’t affect me negatively like our local food does, especially regarding gluten impacting my arthritis.

Horizon lactose free milk is good and fruit gelato in lieu of ice cream. My problem with gluten is my love of good bread and pasta being pre diabetic and don’t like our domestic gluten free products.

Eggs are lactose free and most meats and vegetables so that makes up most of our diet.

Catt I know you will adjust and get back to everything you like to do soon.

Tom

[TnRiver46]

I ❤️ milk 

[Catt]

18 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

I ❤️ milk 

 

So do I 😥

 

Between the wife & I we drank a gallon every 3 days. I might drink 1 or 2 soft drinks a month & maybe a 1/2 gallon of sweet tea a month. 

[Mobasser]

I usually drink a glass of milk every day. I drink 2 percent milk.

[TnRiver46]

27 minutes ago, Catt said:

 

So do I 😥

 

Between the wife & I we drank a gallon every 3 days. I might drink 1 or 2 soft drinks a month & maybe a 1/2 gallon of sweet tea a month. 

I never keep it at home because I would drink it all and have to go buy more . Hopefully you don’t end up missing it too much in the long run. My wife’s family runs a dairy farm, I don’t know if she could carry on after a lactose intolerant diagnosis. Ironically her brother is lactose intolerant but I think he eats dairy anyway and takes medicine for it 

[SC53]

@Catt have you ever had a colonoscopy and been diagnosed with diverticula?

I had a bout last year of diverticulitis and the symptoms were similar. Ended up going to the ER where it was diagnosed and treated with antibiotics. You need to be careful with it as it can turn into a bad infection quickly.

 

[Catt]

To add to the excitement I go food poisoning from a local restaurant!

 

Talk about ruining a fishing trip 😒