Lactaid and cheese

There are actually two components of milk that one can be allergic to - the protein (casein) or the sugar (lactose). My daughter was allergic to the protein at birth, and we (pediatrician & I) knew it was the protein not the sugar, b/c mother's milk is super high in lactose, albeit human lactose and not cow but still is lactose. All babies born into the world have lactase to break down lactose in mother's milk. But some of us must have stopped producing lactase. Wanting my kid to be normal and eat Goldfish, mac 'n cheese as other kids, I tested my daughter at 12 months with Lactaid milk. Diarrhea right away, just like with infant formula. Same thing at 18 months, and at two, I tested her with cheese and organic whole milk. Again, diarrhea. HOWEVER, the only thing she can eat is RAW CHEESE. I would test her on raw milk too if it was legal in my state, but it's not. So my conclusion is this: those who cannot tolerate dairy products or Lactaid may be allergic to casein or milk protein as well. From what I've read, cow milk proteins are very hard to digest, not truly meant for human consumption as much as for cows and calves not only drink the milk raw from mama-cow replete with enzymes but they have four stomachs to help them digest the milk, proteins and sugar and all. This is why some of us have better luck with raw milk (even without 4 stomachs) and why many of us eventually have problems with commercially sold milk from the supermarket that's pasteurized even if we didn't always have problems with it.

Like many of the others who have posted to this site, I have been dealing with what I thought was IBS for the past 3 years or so. I'm healthy and mid-30s and couldn't figure out what was causing it. Colonoscopy and other tests showed that all was normal. I don't drink caffeine, coffee or alcohol. Healthy as can be. Finally discovered it was a dairy intolerance. Coming off dairy solved the diarrhea issue but really limited my diet. Shortly after I discovered Lactaid Fast Act supplements and started to take them at meals when I had dairy.

For the first three weeks, the pills worked great. I loved them. I could eat like normal again without diarrhea. But after that time, I started to feel a sharp pain in my stomach when I take them...like someone slugged me in the stomach. It always comes within 5 minutes of taking a pill. Since then, it has gotten worse. Gas, bloating, and a constant pain (gnawing feeling) in my stomach that nearly has me doubled up. I've never had an ulcer, but from what I've read, that's what it feels like. I decided to stop using the pills.

I just discovered this site and was amazed to see that others have had the same. I should have checked for side effects before I took it! I've not had the vomiting that many of the others have had, but I won't be taking it any longer and risking that!

Hoping there is some alternative solution out there. Hard to imagine the rest of my life without cheese or dairy in anything (bread, dressing, etc.).

lactaid milk for a NON lactose intolerant person! eating regular dairy all day long, lots of normal cheese and ice cream daily... bought the lactaid for my cat..but ended up making COFFEE with it..latte style.. a full 8-10 ounces...
for a month now... and ended up with an ammonia smell to my urine and underarms..skin in general.. afraid of kidney problems as I also developed TERRY's NAILS..or "half and half nails" WHITE nails!!! the ammonia smell and the white nails indicate kidney troubles... my tests came back normal for kidney and liver... I attribute this to the lactaid so I hope this helps someone who may read this!!! these symptoms 100% coincide with the lactaid, NOTHING else is different in my diet..maybe my body got confused having lactase enzyme..AND normal dairy at same time.? maybe its not for people who are NOT lactose intolerant or for people who will ALSO include some regular dairy in their day... (without use of tablets) from what ive read here, you people are mistakenly believing you are intolerant... when all you need is probably PROBIOTICS after a course of antibiotics..which killed your healthy bacterias..and rendered you ineffective at digestion. That happened to me. takes months to re-establish the bacterias..and can even be a YEAR or two even, AFTER you took antibiotics that your digestion finally gave up..your antibiotic use didn't have to be "recent"
Thank you

i introduced my bf to lactaid about a month ago since we discovered he was lactose intolerant. i really thought it would help considering he still loved to eat cheese and other lactose containing foods. at first, the lactaid seemed to be helping but just last week he took 3 extra strength lactaid pills because we were having chicken cordon bleu for dinner, he woke up 1 hour later with severe stomach pains and he was vomiting over and over. this lasted about 1.5-2hrs. i'm not lactose intolerant and didn't see the connection to the lactaid pills. we thought it was just from chicken cordon bleu because he had it before without the lactaid pills and he got sick from it too. today he took 2 extra strength lactaid pills and again, about an hour later he was feeling ill and was vomiting and experiencing diarrhea. we can now conclude it was the lactaid pills causing him all this pain. i feel so guilty for introducing him to these pills because i thought they would work. never again would i want to see him go through that much pain.

My 2 1/2 year old has been on Lactaid milk now for over a year. Just after her 1st birthday she began this mysterious vomiting all the time.
She did test positive for the rotavirus right around her 1st birthday but the vomiting and loose stools continued for nearly a year afterwards. So after numerous tests including a horrible one to test how much reflux she had (which came out as minimal) her docs said she must be lactose intolerant. We put her on Lactaid but the vomiting continued. It did get better but it didn't totally go away until just after her 2nd birthday. Then more than 8 months later with no throw up she came down with what I think was the 24 hour flu because she couldn't keep anything down for a full day. Took her to the docs and they said just keep her on liquids as much as possible to keep her hydrated since she also hadn't had a wet diaper in more than 12 hours. The next day she was better and finally had a wet diaper but now she complains of a tummy ache all the time after she drinks her Lactaid. At first I thought maybe it's a comfort thing since I held her so much when she had the flu but now I'm not so sure. She has been complaining now for over two weeks. The only other thing that is new for her is we are trying to potty train. She has woken up with a dry diaper for over 6 month now so we thought she would be ready. However, she is very reluctant and holds her pee for a hours after she wakes up dry. I do notice that she also has quite a bit of gas when she is complaining of her tummy hurting and her stools are firmer than they used to be. I thought maybe it was because I would buy generic Lactaid like one person mentioned but she complains even with the good stuff and even the new Organic Lactaid. She doesn't eat much dairy products other than milk. She doesn't like yogurt and rarely eats cheese and we don't give her ice-cream. So not sure what is going on?? That's why I was searching on the net and found this site. Hope someone has some suggestions for us.

I, too, experienced the violent vomiting from taking a Lactase enzyme tablet (it was the store-brand generic version of Lactaid), after having taken it just fine for months.

My mom was visiting my husband and I and we all went to breakfast. I took a tablet right before I started drinking the large glass of milk I ordered (I'm weak when it comes to dairy, oddly enough). Within an hour I was home, vomiting, and dealing with abdominal pains and bloating. I continued to vomit for a couple of hours until finally, I was able to sleep.

A week later, I was eating with my husband at a restaurant for lunch, and because I had sour cream and cheese on my tacos, I took a tablet. About two hours later, I was calling him to take me home because I was sweating and it dawned on me what was going on. I felt exactly how I did the last time. By 8 that night, I was done vomiting.

I will be avoiding this product, generic or name-brand, for good now.