Lactose intolerance or milk protein allergy???

[Fightingbeing40]

I have an 8 yr old who has had cramping/diahorrea/vomiting/sweating mainly at nights intermittently over the last 2 years. Attended paediatric consultant with him over a year ago due to this and he was tested for coeliac(which was negative) and we were subsequently discharged as the symptoms had settled at that time. A few months later they returned and we eventually worked out that milk was predominantly causing his issues and switched to lactose free and he has been totally free from all the symptoms he was having daily, although has vomited when I inadvertently gave him hot chocolate made with water which had dried milk in😬.
I have taken him back to Gp as I feel it’s important that we get a definite diagnosis but I feel a bit fobbed off as he thinks milk protein allergy and has referred us to a dietician.
Any thoughts? I would have thought that a milk allergy would have presented before age 6 and I’m not sure a dietician will be a good help unless we know what his allergy is.
Apologies for the long post, anyone have experience?

[Ickyockycocky]

He appears to have a lactose problem, which means he’s not producing any or sufficient lactase enzyme.

He just needs to stick to lactose free dairy. He doesn’t need a diagnosis, as you appear to know what the problem is. It’s fairly common and not serious.

[Twinkletoes2018]

My daughter has cows milk protein allergy but has had it since birth we are just about to start the milk ladder. I would expect that a dietician would say to go dairy free and then after a period- a year for us to allow the gut to recover you can try reintroduction. I do believe that you can become dairy intolerant at any age even as an adult I'm not sure what the trigger is for it occurring late on though maybe something simple like a stomach bug changing the gut sensitivity I'm not certain on that tho just my theory

[Fightingbeing40]

Thanks I was pretty sure it was lactose too, but I suppose a definite diagnosis would have left no room for eye-rolling type responses at school/after school when I put it on forms but it hadn’t been officially ‘tested’ for, although he is old enough to recognise and refuse normal milk.
Dietician will certainly be helpful anyway as he doesn’t eat cheese/yogurt and probably needs some supplements .

[psicat]

Ask for a blood test, that will confirm if it's an allergy or an intolerance. It can make a difference as to what he can eat

[sentenceinterrupted]

An allergy is a reaction to the protein in the milk; changing the lactose (sugar) content wouldn’t help him at all if it was an allergy ... sounds like you know it’s a lactose intolerance, though.

[Petalflowers]

My son got diagnosed with a milk,protein allergy aged 12,and we have subsequently discovered that dh also suffers from it. He probably always had it, but we weren’t aware. We had him tested at a private allergy clinic.

His symptoms were different to ayoirs in that he was ‘clogged up’, ie slightly constipated, blocked up nose etc. He didn’t suffer from stomach ache, he also use to make an odd throaty sound which we didn’t realise was also linked until he had milk after cutting it out. We were recommended he had goats milk, as the protein is a lot smaller then with cows milk. Bizarrely, he’s fine with hard cheeses and butter, as they contain little or no milk,protein.

I think,your son sounds more lactose intolerant then protein.

[DairyisClosed]

It cannot be a milk protein allergy if he is fine with lactose free milk can it?

[UnderTheSleepingBaby]

Lactose free milk would not have helped if it was a cows milk protein allergy, as the protein is still present. Not sure what the Dr was on, but (from experience) a lot of Drs know nothing about cmp allergy.
You have found your answer and found your solution so just tell the necessary people that he's lactose intolerant and leave out the part about not having an official diagnosis.
There is a lactose ladder (unless pure milk is the only issue) that you could use to work out what he can and can't tolerate

[Petalflowers]

Forgot to mention, we have never had an official GPS diagnosis and it’s never been a problem. We just fill in ‘milk intolerance’ on any dietary sections of medical forms and it’s never been questioned.

[seven201]

My nearly two year old has cmpa. It does sound like your dc is lactose intolerant if he's fine on lactose free. My dd's never been tested, there's no need really. She has seen a dietician but she wasn't any help really.