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Weaning

Weaning and secondary/acquired lactose intolerance

7 replies

JolieColombe · 27/04/2016 14:43

Hi,

I was planning to start weaning DD2 who's nearly 6 months, when the whole family was laid low by a tummy bug brought home from nursery by DD1 (well I would teach her to share!). Thankfully DD2 took it lightly - no vomiting, but she did have the runs for a few days. I though it was clearing up when boom, revolting nappies back in production. Took her to the docs as it had been over a week of this, and while she's quite healthy (no dehydration etc.), he thinks it's likely she now has secondary/acquired lactose intolerance caused by the diarrhoea from the bug, which will stop when her gut lining recovers. He recommended to keep breastfeeding (she's currently EBF), but couldn't really tell me how long this is likely to last, and was a bit non-committal wrt starting her on solids.

So my questions is, has anyone else had this with a baby of this age? Am I looking a weeks more of these stinky runny nappies? (Please say no, we're already out of space in the landfill bin.) Did you start with solids anyway or wait until it was over? I don't want to irritate the lining of her gut any more that it has been already, but on the other hand, she's really ready for solids, positively champing at the bit! (Not to mention at me - ouch!) And if this is likely to linger on, I don't want to delay the introduction of solids too long.

I'm seeing the HV tomorrow to check DD2 is still putting weight on okay, and will ask her too, but I was hoping to get advice from anyone who's actually experienced this.

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AndTakeYourPenguinWithYou · 29/04/2016 11:17

he thinks it's likely she now has secondary/acquired lactose intolerance caused by the diarrhoea from the bug, which will stop when her gut lining recovers. He recommended to keep breastfeeding (she's currently EBF), but couldn't really tell me how long this is likely to last, and was a bit non-committal wrt starting her on solids.

I'm sorry this is nonsense. Your doctor thinks she is now lactose intolerant, but advises that her main food should continue to be breastmilk: which is higher in lactose than cows milk/formula?

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JolieColombe · 29/04/2016 14:59

Both he and the HV said that breast milk will help the gut lining to heal.

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AndTakeYourPenguinWithYou · 29/04/2016 15:06

If you are lactose intolerant you can't tolerate lactose.It makes you sick and gives shocking bowel pains and bad diarrhea and gas. Breastmilk is full of lactose.
It's like saying you're intolerant to sugar and recommending a diet of candy floss and sweets.
How will the gut lining heal by constantly giving it what it won't tolerate?

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JolieColombe · 29/04/2016 15:48

I didn't really want to get into a debate about BFing, but okay. Anderson (cited in various places including Kellymom) states (in relation to secondary lactose intolerance) that:

If your doctor does diagnose 'lactose intolerance', continuing to breastfeed will not harm your baby as long as she is otherwise well and growing normally.

and

Authorities only recommend the use of lactose-free artificial baby milk if the baby is artificially-fed and is very malnourished and/or losing weight. However, human milk remains the best food and will assist with gut healing.

In the case of primary (true) lactose intolerance, I assume your concerns would be valid.

DD2 is not in pain, that I can tell, she's just having frequent and vile dirty nappies after behaving like a BF textbook for the first few months of her life, so I know this isn't normal for her.

My question was, has anyone else had this with their DC at this stage, i.e. about to introduce solids, and would they recommend continuing or holding off?

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brightgreenllama · 10/06/2016 10:45

The exact same thing happened to us. My DD had a bit of an upset tummy with a cold and the runny poos carried on (this was pre-weaning). I discussed it with my HV who suggested I cut dairy from my own diet, which I did. The runny poos cleared up. It took a little while (a month?) before I was able to reintroduce all dairy to my diet, I found milk was the biggest trigger, whereas cheese didn't seem to have much effect. Since we started weaning and DD started eating solids in any volume, I have been cautious in introducing dairy. She does seem to be fine with cheese but reacted to yoghurt and milk. I gave lactose free milk and coconut yoghurt mixed with fruit puree as an alternative. We have actually just reintroduced proper yoghurt and it seems to be going ok! I don't see any reason why you shouldn't introduce solids but you might want to get the nasty poos under control first and go slow in introducing dairy.

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brightgreenllama · 10/06/2016 11:00

Just realised this is a bit of an old thread - oops Blush hope you got sorted anyway OP!

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JolieColombe · 12/06/2016 06:25

Thanks yes, now onto solids with a vengeance, and the nappies are now revolting for quite normal reasons Wink

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