Silly question?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Helen Milne on February 6, 2012 at 21:36

No.  Lactose is a sugar not a protein.  I'm afraid lactose-free milk and cheese are not suitable for CMPI.

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Permalink Reply by Gemma Fell on February 7, 2012 at 9:41

Thank you!

So is lactose intolorence less comon in babies? Georgie has improved no end since i cut out diary so do i assume she has cmpi?

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Permalink Reply by Jenny Rawling on February 7, 2012 at 9:51

Primary lactose intolerance (where a baby can't make the enzyme lactase) is extremely rare and those babies are very ill from birth. Secondary lactose intolerance, when the lining of the gut is damaged meaning lactase production is temporarily reduced, is common. Examples of the sort of thing that might cause a secondary lactose intolerance include other untreated food intolerances including CMPI or gut viruses. This is why some babies who are actually CMPI will improve a bit on lactose free milk and it often also has the CMP broken down to some extent. It also explains why a lot of babies who actually have other gut conditions will be positive on the stool test for lactose intolerance (and why this test is not very useful!). Secondary lactose intolerance doesn't need any treatment other than addressing the underlying cause.

If Georgie has made significant improvements dairy-free then it's very likely she is CMPI.

Jen x

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Permalink Reply by Gemma Fell on February 7, 2012 at 10:02

Ah i see! I had some lactose free milk in coffee yesterday and she had a bad day. That is good in a way though because i have been diary free for 9 days and it confirms what i thought about her having cmpi. Thanks. xx

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Permalink Reply by Verity on February 7, 2012 at 10:44

Sorry to intrud but Jen or anyone do you know how you would find outing it is primary or secondary lactose intolerance? When Finley was about 6 weeks his stool test come back as lactose intolerance. Im unsure whether he lacks the lactase or if it was caused by him having cows milk which was inflaming his gut.

Xx

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Permalink Reply by Jenny Rawling on February 7, 2012 at 12:58

It won't be primary - that's very rare and those babies would be terribly sick from birth because they can't tolerate any lactose. Some babies take a little while for their lactase production to get up to speed (may be one of the things that contributes to colic) or production is temporarily upset because the gut is damaged by something. It's the proteins in dairy that refluxers struggle with.

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Permalink Reply by Verity on February 7, 2012 at 13:06

Thanks Jen. No doctors have ever explained it to me, so thanks a lot x

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Permalink Reply by Jenny B on February 7, 2012 at 12:47

Could you see a result so soon? We're 6 days into dairy free and apart from sleeping slightly (and I mean slightly) better at night I see no difference!  
How soon could you see a difference?

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Permalink Reply by Jenny Rawling on February 7, 2012 at 13:01

HI Jenny. It sadly tends to take longer to see results from withdrawing dairy than a relapse if you slip up or challenge with it!

In our case it took about 2 weeks to see results from going dairy free, it can be quicker than that or take longer (why they suggest you trial it for at least a month). If you are breastfeeding it takes a few days to clear your system and your milk, a few days to clear LO's system, then some unspecified time to heal any gut damage, depending on the extent of it.

We saw the results of any slip-up within about 12 hours and lasting about 24 hours.

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Permalink Reply by Jenny B on February 7, 2012 at 13:14

Thank you, I lost a little bit of hope reading this post for a minute, ha ha! I won't lose hope now till the 4 weeks are up. Thanks Jenny :) 

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Permalink Reply by Gemma Fell on February 9, 2012 at 7:59

Jenny B, We saw an improvement in Georgie within 24 hours of going diary free- to be honest i was thinking that it was just too easy but she has continued to improve....We do have the odd bad day.We have gone from having a little baby who couldn't/wouldn't sleep in the day (from birth) screamed in pain constantly, sicked up every feed, fed every hour...etc etc. To having the most contented little bundle who is always smiling! I hope this gives you hope rather than makes you lose hope!! xxx

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Permalink Reply by Jenny B on February 9, 2012 at 8:04

I do believe life can get better than this if we can pinpoint the problem. It's pun pointing the problem that has been and is a long process. We're not seeing an improvement as quick as you did that's for sure, but hopefully that doesn't mean we're on the wrong road :)  

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