Questions about lactose intolerance

jsusann

My daughter has struggled with sleeping pretty much since day 1. She hasn't had any type of stool issues but she has an issue staying asleep. She wakes up very uncomfortable, cranky and wants me to hold her upright. The dr. has had me give her Mylanta. I found it worked sometimes but not all the time. She is now almost 14 months old and things have actually gotten worse. She is up now almost 5 times a night, visibly exhausted but so uncomfortable and unhappy that she can't sleep. Finally the other day I made a decision to cut out all of her dairy products for one day. I gave her lactose free milk and other non-dairy items to keep her calcium intake up. I noticed a marked difference in the way she slept that night. She woke up twice but went right back to sleep w/o a pacifier or rocking. I was astounded. My questions are for anyone who has had this issue in their children. Is it normal to not have any other symptoms other than the gassy night episodes? Could this have been the issue since she was born? Has anyone seen this intolerance get worse as the child gets older? I would have thought if she had this issue as a newborn, it would be resolving itself more now that she is walking. Her well baby appt. for 16 months is coming up in a couple of months and I'm trying to decide if I should take her into the pedi before then to discuss. The pedi has known all along of her sleeping issues. I'm still trying to come to the solid conclusion that the dairy is the issue. Any info you lovely ladies can share would be greatly appreciated. : ))

femmegem

DS doesn't have any food sensitivities, but I am incredibly lactose intolerant. And I can tell you it's only gotten worse as I've gotten older. Part of that is because dairy also triggers my migraines, so I don't consume it at all (not on purpose, anyway) and thus my body just doesn't produce any lactase anymore to digest the lactose. It's gotten quite bad in the past few years.

I'm not sure about just gassiness as a symptom without the loose stools, but if going off dairy seems to help, why not keep it up and see if she continues to sleep well?

SumnerBride

I think if I were going to do lactose free, I'd make an appt to see my pedi first to talk about it.  But, I suppose that could be a factor in the sleep.  My younger DD is 16 months and doesn't STTN.  I think she's cutting molars now actually.  Is your DD teething at all, and maybe that interrupts sleep?

REOM

Both my DDs have problems with dairy. My pedi isn't concerned at all with their lack of dairy. There are plenty of other sources of calcium and Vit D.

It is a huge inconvenience, but cutting out dairy has been the best thing for us. Both girls started STTN once they were completely dairy free.

I say if it is helping your DD- go for it!

MediaBride

I totally agree with PPs.  It most definitely could be the dairy.  I have issues with dairy.  I've found in my family, it seems to affect us in waves.  It was really bad when I was a child, then I seemed to outgrow it, then it came back as a teenager, again, it went away, now I don't know b/c I haven't had dairy in almost a year.

 DS2 is SUPER SUPER sensitive to dairy.  We had to supplement w/formula in the hospital and he was a mess.  I made them switch to soy and he got better.  Went home, back to 100% nursing, he was a mess.  I cut out ALL dairy, he got better.  Now I am 100% dairy-free, but I can tell if I've accidentally had something with dairy in it just by how he acts.  For example, DH made chicken noodle soup a while ago.  He used ONE cube of boullion.  I ate the soup and I fed DS2 some of the soft carrots and broth.  He loved it.  We were up ALL.  NIGHT.  LONG.  Crying, gassy, just miserable (him, not me  I could not figure out what it was.  Didn't even THINK about the soup.  Finally, I happened to look at the ingredients on the bouillion and guess what?  MILK.  

My point is that if she is really sensitive to milk, and she gets better when you take it away, it probably is a dairy sensitivity!  I would still make an appt with your pedi so he/she knows what you are doing, but I would absolutely stick with the no dairy and see what happens.  It seems hard at first, but there are SO many alternatives.  Cheese is the only thing that I can't seem to find a suitable replacement for, but it's a small price to pay for all of us being happy!