cows milk intolerance-any suggestions please

[motherearth]

Hi, sorry if its a long one but here goes.ds1 aged 3 has sufferred constantly with repeated tonsillitis, runny eyes, chesty coughs, terrible glue ear and mild exzema since birth.He never goes more than 2 weeks without being on antibiotics or calpol. He is consequently a little underweight (26 lbs ) and always tired.He slleps 12 hours at night and i wake him up after 3 hours in the afternoon still.He is scheduled for grommetts tonsils and adenoids later this year.I really feel for him because he is always so pale and run down.A couple of people mentioned switching to goats milk but i never tried it until last week.All i can say is that our son has literally changed overnight.He lokks healthly and has rosy cheeks for the first time i can remember.He is eating normally and i cant ever remember him not (excuse the phrase ) being covered in snot ! Even his hearing has improved.Has anyone else had a sililar experience as i know I`m not imagining it.Also how far do i go now with avoiding cows milk ?
Thanks

[motherearth]

Sorry about all the spelling mistakes

[ladyoracle]

Hey ME, not imagined at all, what you describe is very common. Glad to hear your son is so much better. IMO it would be a good idea to keep him off cows milk (and all derivatives) for about a year, but would reccommend you speak to gp about this, you may even qualify for a referral to a dietitian or allergy clinic. There are loads of dairy free recipes out there, or you can sub goats milk all the time. Allergyuk.org have great fact sheets about what to avoid. Well done for sorting it out yourself!

[bresha]

IV just found out my 11mth old is lactose intolerant. She kept getting ill all the time. it took me ages to work out what was wrong and when I did I went to the gp for advice about it but he sent me away saying I was just overreacting and that if she did have a intolerance we would of know from very early on and not to cut out cows milk. I then found out that my dps mother is intolerant to cow’s milk. So I went back and screamed at the gp to give me an appointment at the allergy clinic and to talk to a dietarian. IV now cut it out totally, she is so much happier it’s like having a different baby. I am going to keep her off it for a good long time and then slowly introduce very small amounts in her lunch so I can monitor her reactions and know exactly the level she can tolerate because every one is different

[spidermama]

Exactly the same thing happened with my ds too. Be warned though. Goat milk is easier to digest, but very often kids build up an intolerance to this too over time and the symptoms return.

I've been adapting my cooking to be less reliant on cheese and milk. \link{http://www.wheatanddairyfree.com/This is a good source of info.} There are also lots of cooking books which are dairy free.

Isn't it amazing how common this is? I also find it extraordinary how bad GPs are at diagnosing it despite this.

Good luck motherearth. Isn't it such a relief to find out what the problem has been?

[spidermama]

\link{http://www.wheatanddairyfree.com/\Link again.}

[motherearth]

Hi and thanks everyone.
Ladyoracle-thanks for the website-its great as my dd2 has a severe peanut allergy and it also give all the up to date warnings for this.
Bresha-is lactose in goats milk ? Sorry to sound daft but dont really know anything yet except that ds1 is so fabulous off cows and on goats milk.
Spidermama-thanks for the link as that is just exactly what i need to adapt my cooking a little.
BTW i kept my ds1 dairy free entirely until he was 18 months old and breast fed until aged 2 as i thought i was reducing the risk of allergies have a dd2 with such a severe nut allergy.Have i done entirely the wrong thing and actually caused this intolerance ??

[leogaela]

This is interesting! DS (15 months) has been suffering from colds, fever, coughs and bronchitis since about 10/11 months. At 7 months he started at a nursery and at 9 months I stopped breastfeeding. We thought that the the exposure to so many new viruses at the nursery was the problem but it has been continuous and he should have improved by now. We suspect a dairy intolerance which his doctor dismisses, for several weeks now he has been taking Ventalin and cortisone which we are not happy about. We have decided to cut out his dairy products. He loves to have a huge bottle of milk in the morning and evening, we have started replacing it with a baby soya milk. Is goats milk a better alternative than soya milk? Is it OK to give goats milk to a 15mnth old?

[tatt]

Soya is a common allergen and has been linked to peanut allergy (although it may be coincidence). Personally I'd try goats milk (formula called nanny) first although it doesn't help for lactose intolerance and as the proteins are quite similar won't help all those with cows milk intolerance. If you can get hold of it Pepti Junior is worth trying. Gps can prescribe it but you may have to exert a lot of pressure.

Most children grow out of problems with milk by age 3. If its lactose intolerance it may be temporary. If its permanent lactose intolerance its possible to buy lactase enzyme (from a few good health food stores or via the internet) and that may allow some dairy produce to be eaten. We find lactase invaluable.