First milk, now CHEESE!!

[LycraLovingLass]

I realised I was lactose intolerant last year, I did the blood sugar test which confirmed it and the GP was happy that was what I was having problems with.

To start with it was milk, cream, buttercream but only large amounts of cheese that I suffered with. A little bit of hard cheese I could get away with and yogurt is fine.

Since I have switched to lactose free milk and totally avoiding cream, I have noticed I am getting more sensitive to cheese. I can't have any now without getting gassy or loose stools.

If I start drinking milk again will it fix cheese for me? I can't give up cheese!!

I have ordered some lactose free cheese to try but the lactose free yogurt was vile and the milk has a funny taste so I am not holding out much hope.

I need cheese.

No. Once you have lost the enzyme to break down the lactose, it's gone.

You can't persuade it back with the very thing it can't break down.

It happens with age apparently.

Just buy lactose free cheese.

Unlikely. As people get older they often start producing less of enzyme need to break down lactose (sugar in mammal milk). I’m currently dairy free due to breastfeeding a baby who has CMPA and I have horrible feeling that I will end up lactose intolerant.

Is lactose free cheese any good? I am close to tears imagining a cheese free existence.

Isn't there something you can take to help with the lactose? I will stock up on that.

Cheese is life!!

I think maybe you need to realise that cheese really isn't worth crying over.

And this comes from someone who loves cheese and recently diagnosed with lactose intolerance.

How about cheese made from goats' milk? I think it has less lactose?

There are pills you can take if you know you can't avoid consuming some lactose products, my friend buys them online I believe. I like the lactofree cheese. I don't find the lactofree by arla brand milk to have a funny taste at all, but occasionally (three times in 17 years) I've had a carton which was corrupted. Still unsure whether it was the abusive ex who tampered with them though. It's soya milk I can't drink straight.

Is lactose free cheese any good? I am close to tears imagining a cheese free existence

Just buy lactase enzyme pills.

The older cheese is the less lactose, parmesan has hardly any i believe.

I found the asda lactose free yogurts very good they're proper greek ones, not sure about cheese I'm afraid

If you've got to quit try look at the benefits, the dairy industry is pretty nasty so could be making some positive changes

Arla lactose free cheese and milk just tends to taste a tiny little bit sweeter than normal milk.

Aged cheese is lactose free so vintage cheddar should be fine. You can also buy lactase tablets and take them when you eat younger cheeses. It works with varying degrees of success.

OP, this happened to me in my early 30s. After 2 hyperemisis pregnancies, I was able to tolerate hard cheese and live natural yoghurt again. No idea if this is coincidence or science, and I definitely do not recommend throwing up several times a day for 18 months to find out if it works for you.

I had to go dairy free a couple of years ago dur to breastfeeding a cow milk allergy baby, as a PP also experienced. Since then I've had the odd bit of cheese but to be honest I don't miss it much. I thought I would but dairyfree products are really good these days and vegan cheese comes in loads of different varieties so you can try all the brands and find what suits you.

Thanks everyone for the replies.

I have always been ok with Cheddar so long as I don't have a huge portion, I literally eat it every day. But I have noticed I am having symptoms afterwards now.

Ordered some of the Arla Lacto Free cheese to try, hope its nice.

The milk reminds me a bit of UHT milk, it has that funny taste. I use 'free from' almond milk for cereal and keep the lacto free for tea and coffee.

Will get some lactase too for pizza night. Not giving up pizza.

I can live without yogurt of I have too, wouldnt really bother me but can't even begin to live without cheese.

@LycraLovingLass like you, you can pry cheese from my cold dead hands. I love it too much. Other people have a sweet tooth. I have a cheese tooth or a meat tooth.

For some people with lactose intolerance raw milk cheeses seem to be fine due to less processing. I would search out some local dairies or organic stores for local raw cow milk or sheep milk cheeses to do some very tasty experiments. 🧀 :)

Also some people can have milk as long as it’s cooked. For instance, they can have it in cakes or omelettes but not straight as poured over a bowl of cereal.

So sorry for your loss

I think you can buy lactase as a tablet to take with an indigestible meal?

Babybell cheese is lactose free as well, better than nothing!

I randomly became lactose intolerant a few years ago, possibly linked to a nast stomach bug I had. I used to take lactase tablets whenever I wanted to eat or drink anything milky.

I tested every now and then by eating something milky and not taking the enzyme, and after about 2 years it turned out that I could tolerate lactose again - so there is hope for you !

Oh I am so glad some of you understand

I will look for some raw milk cheeses too.

I'm not sure Babybel is actually chesse, isnt it made out of plastic

Otherwise if the lactase tablets don't work I may become a recluse sitting in my house alone with a hugely bloated belly, leaking noxious gas!

Lactose free cheese is great, I have arla ( red packet, yellow is bland) . Also try soya yoghurts, Alpro are good, I find them much nicer than normal yoghurts.

Look on line as well, some hard cheeses are very low, almost no lactose. Also whilst I can’t tolerate sheep and cows milk or lactose from that, I can tolerate goats cheese in small doses, have you tried that?

The Arla lacto free cheese is lovely. Tastes just like cheddar but without the lactose.

I’m a vegan and really missed cheese at the beginning - I’ve found some really great vegan cheeses made from cashew - google things like the Tyne Cheese Company (I think that’s what it’s called) It might also be worth just going cold turkey on all cheese for a while then coming back to vegan cheeses - they’re much better when you’ve had a break from dairy. I used to absolutely adore cheese and dairy products, but the longer I’ve been off them completely, the more I actually can’t even stomach the smell of them now. I still miss eggs and fish as a vegan but I can confidently say I will never go back to eating dairy. So cold turkey might be the way to go for a while!

Cold turkey seems so intimidating, I am not even joking when I say I eat cheese daily.

What would I even eat.

I will have a think about it. I have never tried Vegan Cheese, I have heard it is awful so gave it a wide berth!

Otherwise if the lactase tablets don't work I may become a recluse sitting in my house alone with a hugely bloated belly, leaking noxious gas!

@LycraLovingLass this is a better fate than never eating cheese again in my opinion!!

Totally!