Dairy Allergy & Violent Extreme Behaviour

[Woodhen]

Hi All
I have a son who is seriously allergic to peanuts and cows milk intolerant. He has gone to school and to say his behaviour is horrendous would be an understatement - today drawing blood on three of his classmates. We have an app with the head on wed and suspect they will call in educational phsyche person (not sure of name!)
I am wondering if it has something to do with a dairy allergy, he is drinking massive amounts of goats milk (which doesnt give him the eczema rashes like cows) at school plus cheese for snacks. Whereas at home he only had one cup before bed and generally no cheese for snacks - does anyone else have any experience of this? Thankyou

if he has a allergy why is he having dairy products?
also i,m guessing the behaviour is not down to the cheese etc maybe something else?

I would be surprised if the allergy causes behavioural issues. But if he's allergic to dairy, or lactose intolerant, and he's still having cheese/goats milk (same sugars, proteins), then he could feel poorly which never helps behaviour.

Why on earth haven't you restricted his diet? You also need to be clearer whether it is lactose or cows milk protein which is the issue, and whether it's an allergy or intolerance. Then you can specifically eliminate the problem.

Have you got letters from his consultant you can refer back to, to clarify the exact nature of his allergies/intolerances? Then people here can help with exactly what to cut out. I'm assuming you see a nutritionist as well via your consultant, who can help.

Not sure, but when DS had hayfever badly this summer his behaviour at school was awful for 2 weeks. When school agreed to give the antihistamine at lunch too (prescibed by GP) he was fine almost immediatly. Allergy does cause jitterness in DS but if your avoiding allergens I wonder if it could be something else??

How old is your DS btw???

goat's milk has proteins very similar to that in cow's milk so that could be the problem

When DS was at his most sensitive to milk he used to get very bloated, and that made him very passive. When he became a bit older and could put his feelings in words, if he had milk he complained it was "painful".

DS responded to that but not moving but I guess that if he was in pain, it could have been easily going the other way.

Fortunately, now he is older, he is better, and milk with moderation doesn't cause so much of a problem. But I agree, you shouldn't be giving him something you know is not good for him, or allow the school to do that in your behalf, talk to the kitchen staff or send him with packed lunches.

Ahh my rambling slightly manic post didnt really explain anything!!! So from the start!
DS is 4, he was an awful baby, crying, colic, wind etc and being my first child and not knowing any better I didnt argue when health visitors and docs told me it was normal.

He had bad eczema that we couldnt control, when he was 18 months another doctor told me to start eliminating food to see if he was intolerant to anything - and we discovered it was cows milk protein at the time he appeared to be able to tolerate goats milk (eczema cleared up immediatly). We thought he had grown out of it because the eczema has never returned and we have no adverse effects with yoghurts or even the odd glass of cows milk - up until he started school!!
He is drinking far more milk than before (at school as I am sending in the goats milk for snack when the other children have milk) and because he is now having packed lunches prob has far more cheese. After having a look around the internet im wondering if his behaviour is down to the dairy increase - prob clutching at straws but not sure what to do tbh!

Btw his peanut allergy was diagnosed after refusing to leave the surgery until he was referred - they refuse to look at his intolerance to milk as it seems to be manageable.

Also I should prob stress that this behaviour is completely out of character - hes not like it at home was not like it at nursery - hes always been challenging at times but never ever behaviour this extreme :(

I will be watching this with interest, my ds (also 4) is having a hard timne adjusting to school, his behaviour is figgity and he has been described as 'angry all the time' on Thursday he bit another child (although I must point out it was provoked and the other child also had to stay in at break time and make a sorry card for my ds as well)

I know that he has some kind of intollerance to cows milk, I thought it was the protein but recently he seemed well on lactofree milk (and cheese and yoghurt). Since starting school I've sent him with a beaker of lacto free milk to have a break time and he has been having school lunches 3 times a week. I haven't given school any specific instructions because he isn't allergic only to avoid drinks of milk and yoghurt, I've generally been thinking cooked dairy is better as the heat breaks down some of the sugars. Anyway this is way more milk than he would usually have and he has been asking some days for milk after school and it has occured to me he's been drinking almost a pint a day.

I can't say why I think this is the answer - the GP says I can't get any kind of testing done and I think ds's symptoms are mild (he will most likely grow out of them, I was brought up on goats milk, my mum can't really justify why she just said it suited me better when I was little) After he bit the child on Thursday I have restricted ds's milk again, I've got him soya milk cartons to take to school, no cheese sandwiches, lacto free on his cereal, and soya yoghurts, limited amounts of things with dairy in too. Today he came home with a sticker for having a good day - his first ever he was so proud, I genuinely can't justify the milk thing but I know when I cut it back he eats more... if you have a gut feeling about it restrict it and keep a note of how things pan out, for ds I see a change in him within a couple of days (and I am also trying to account for tiredness and adjusting to school as well) I think he generally feels weller and therefore eats more and we get less bad behaviour because he isn't hungry and he sleeps better

woodhen how id your ds doing?
my ds is on soya milk for break now and is much better - I'm also giving him fish oils (willing to try anything to help!)

My doc has said she doesnt think the milk is a prob but I have cut out the cheese snacks and sandwiches. We have also switched to soya milk so I will see what happens - have an appointment with the head later :(
Will let you know!

nottirednow I think I agree with you (but not sure I explained it very well in my post!) I don't think its the intollerance that causes the behaviour like I've heard additives do but I do believe too much dairy makes him feel unwell and therefore leads to the rattiness and short tempter - he also sleeps worse at night, has a reduced appetite overall and runny poo, not a great combination for listening and behaving at school. I completely agree he should know how to behave but even I'm getting tired of time out, honestly less milk and I have a more agreeable child overall (another sticker from school today )

woodhen hope meeting with head went ok x

Went well actually - thankyou. No real suggestions but I now bring him home for lunch everyday which seems to help calm him down ready for the afternoon. I have also booked an app with a kiniseologist after a few people recommended it so will see if that helps at all!
nottirednow hes not allowed anything that may send him into a frenzy!!! Someone once gave him party rings at a party, it was an experience!!!

Low iron levely can cause bad behaviour apparently?

I have heard that dairy intollerance affects iron absorption

oooh maybe I will look at the iron in his diet and I suppose that could explain the dark circles around his eyes, thankyou

Gosh so much of this sounds like my 5 year old i had to respond! Similar story generally fine b4 school but we had some behaviour issues that we'd asked for help for from age 2 years but was always told we were doing everything correctly and it was just his age - treated very much like a neurotic mother. His eating had gone from eating everything to eating nothing by time he was 22 months.

He was diagnosed lactose intolerant at around 3 years. (had been on soy formula age 6-12 months)

In the last 6 months an iron deficiency was diagnosed, he responded well to treatment but deteriorated again when we stopped treatment so there is some sort of absorbancy problem.

He has just started school and behaviour problems have started in playground, being aggressive towards other children, concentration problems, fidgetty, can't choose what task he wants to do, gets very tense and angry over things he shouldn't be getting so angry over. He's a bright wee boy (school's words) and although doing very well with his work school feel he should be achieving more based on their initial assessments. i would say in last 2 months he's gradually deteriorated, and he's struggling making friends. We saw our paediatrician this week who has referred us to Child and Adolescent Mental Health services to see if he is on Autistic Continuum (ie Aspergers). I do see alot of his behaviours can fit this diagnosis, but language wise he is very good and socially he's never had a problem until the last couple of months which is weird. However he has been eating more dairy since starting school, sore tummies have increased again and twice in 2 months he's been terribly sick with sore tummies. Now the sickness could just be bugs as loads going round school, but it's hard to then be sure whether its that or a build up of the dairy (only a small amount of cheese and petit filous) and if it's the dairy, making him feel unwell then it makes everything else deteriorate.

I'm all for labelling if it's done correctly as a child can then be helped, but i would hate for him to be diagnosed due to a dietry effect.

I hope you get to the bottom of the problem. i feel I'm starting to move forward and we can get the right help for him now.

I wonder if any of you have thought of wheat intolerance? it does sometimes go with a dairy intolerance and I KNOW that can lead to behaviour problems.

My DS was such a happy baby until he began mix feeding at 6 months, didn't think much of it as he seemed o.k in himself. When he turned one we discovered he had cmp allergy and was lactose intolerant. Changed milk and restricted diet etc but as he got older he became much harder to control. He became aggresive, moody and very very hard work(more than just the terrible twos!)This carried on until he was 3 along with constant ruuny poos which would burn his bum and legs.
After constant badgering they suggested i eliminate wheat and gluten from his diet along with dairy, he is now a completely different boy. He is happy and sings constantly, i do notice when he is exposed to small amounts of either that if it doesn't show gastro it certainly shows in his behaviour.
I have had a home visit from our local celiac uk lady who explained to me the pains they experience are like contractions!
Now i understand why he behaved like he did as i think it was a way of releasing the pain he was feeling.
you are not alone and i'm sure like myself have strict boundries and rules and don't just let your kids run riot!
i would also recommend blood iron tests as he also has iron deficiency issues.

Dr Natasha Campbell McBride, nutritionalist and neulorogist does believe there is a link between food, nutrition and behaviour. This book discusses this with a focus on autistic spectrum diseases and while I don't think this book has all of the answers, I believe that food allergies / intolerences can have a profound effect on children in many ways.

BTW: We tried goats milk with DS1 who appeared to tolerate it more easily than cows milk but he is simply better without dairy.

Ds2 has a gluten and dairy intolerance and one his primary symptoms is highly emotional behaviour, aggression and self harming.
I pulled wheat and dairy at 4 ANC he is 14 now and still cannot tolerate them. His bowels calmed down and the dark circles under his eyes also diminished.
He also has autism .

Dd is 4 years and has silent reflux, if she consumes any amount of milk she is a totally different child the next day. The milk allergy affects her sleep because her tummy hurts so the next day she is sleep deprived with a sore tummy and little appetite, the slightest thing sets off an angry response & a tearful tantrum (like putting her toast on her plate the wrong way up!).

The sleep depravation is subtle as she will take longer to fall asleep & wake earlier and have periods in the night of being awake.

If your Ds was a colicky, crying baby then the milk allergy may cause some physical discomfort or pain, I have a dairy allergy and the bloating can be painful.