All you Mums/Dads with a lactose intolerent child, I need your advise please!

[Haribosmum]

DS2 is 10 months old. He was diagnosed with lactose intolerence at 2 months and has been on LF formula since. He has a bit of a tolerence because he can manage baby food and biscuits etc with dairy in it. We tried re-introducing lactose into his diet at 6 months with explosive results I tried him with a bit of yoghut on Saturday afternoon and it seemed to go through his system within 10 minutes. I tried a bottle of 'normal' baby formula on Sunday morning and pretty much to same result.

My MIL and SIL (who's a nurse so thinks she knoes 'everything') say he should be kept on the normal formula for at least a week because the yucky poos might just be because he's not used to lactose. Me and DH don't think there's much point and we don't want him to get his painful tummy aches again and also last time we tried the re-introduction he go really bad nappy rash which ended up at thrush. He was so sore poor wee lamb.

BUT we want to make sure he really is still lactose intolerent- do you thing we should try for a week or are the results of the past couple of days pretty much conclusive?

I'm going to the doctors tomorrow so will ask then as well but just thought the combined power of MN might have some answers as well.....

Also, he's a tiny baby. He was 6.5lbs at birth (which I know isn't that tiny really) but he's still really really small, bald and only has 2 teeth. My SIL reckons he's not getting enogh calcium and it's all connected with the lactose intolerence but I'm not so sure...what do you guys think?

It was easier for us to go totally lactose free than mess about getting 2 lots of stuff -swedish glace is the best tasting thing in the universe anyway,alpro yoghurts taste the same as normal ones, and as for the cheese, DS2 has toffutti slices ,I've not tried them but DD approves and shes the real cheese freak! DS2 does know now what he can have, and if he's not sure and somthing looks dairy, he'll say 'no thanks that's got cows in it'
lisa x

my DC are all small for their age, and both my DS are totally intolerant to cows milk - presumably one of the proteins rather than lactose, but the result is the same as you and DS.
You stick to what your feeling is as a mum!! My DS1 was BF with some formula from when i went back to work p/t when he was 4mo; so the symptoms were there but not dire until i stopped bf at 10months. At that point we had no clue what was 'up' with him and thought of all sorts, it me now but it took til he was 20mo to suss out it was the milk. We put him on goats milk; the eczema went within the week and his tummy has been sorted ever since. I think that by subjecting him to such a reaction (food poisoning meets hayfever, basically) In my mind i think that his gut was damaged by the cow's milk etc, and took a long time to get over the inflamation.
DS2 - which is where this increasingly long post is leading to ... has been dairy-free from birth, BF then soya formula, and is now at 4yrs tolerating small amounts of foods containing stuff like whey powder or whatever - even ate quavers with no ill effect. It appears that he is going to be able to "grow out" of the intolerance, and my theory is that it is because he didn't have the awful prolonged reaction in infancy that DS1 had.
This may all be total twaddle but thought i'd share my experience, in case it helps. Not scientific tho - so please make up your own mind but remember your instinct as a mum is usually right. Do a food diary if you need proof!!
Wishing u luck

Haribosmum, is he on Nutramigen or Neocate?

Thanks for all your messages, I honestly didn't expect so much response!

MALO - I read your comments with great interest. DS2 is has ALWAYS got a cold (or so it seems!) He has also got an unexplained rash on the front of his body and dry skin. I'm taking him to the doctors tomorrow to try and get the rash etc sorted out. He also had a period of 3 months where he had a chest infection that just wouldn't clear. In the end he was on very strong AB's and steriods as his wheezing got really bad.

MOLJAM - I am outraged at your doctor! . How DARE they make your poor DS suffer like that! BTW no problem about the hijack LOL!

NATUROPATH - DS2 was on SMA LF but now he's on S26-LF (We moved to New Zealand 4 months ago)

DS2 has been really 'odd' today. Not ill ill but just a bit grumpy and temp slightly up. (37.7 at the highest so far). His nappies haven't been that nice either LOL. His bum is red raw sore and even good old faithful Metanium cream isn't doing much. Off to the docs tomorrow though as I said before. I'll keep you all posted.

I'm surprised no-one has yet mentioned lactase. You can buy drops via the internet that are suitble for babies and might allow your child to have traces of milk in food. However it doesn't help if it milk protein intolerance. I used lactase with my partner for a time as he had what proved to be temporary ( but until we discovered lactase!) lactose intolerance. He can now do without the lactase as long as he has only traces of milk.

Giving milk to anyone who is milk intolerant damages the lining of the gut and increases the time it takes for them to outgrow the problem. It is only recommended by those who don't understand the problem. Trust your instincts not relatives who have obviously not had proper training!

Have you given him wheat yet? I ask because if he has a problem with wheat/gluten it would cause slow weight gain and lactose intolerance. Remove gluten and he might be able to tolerate milk after a few weeks. If you look on the special needs section you'll read information about digestive enzymes allowing families to have nomal diets after being GF/CF (gluten and casein free). This is the one recommended www.naturalfigure.co.uk/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=&products_id=68?osCsid=8451244deec7 e2e5524b14177b77ad00

Hi Tatt. Yes we tried Colief (which is basically lactase) first ie before the LF formula. It made a bit of a difference but not enough to say they worked iygwim.

I'm going to read up on the wheat thing now.......

We were prescribed a huge tub of E45 for dd's ezcema and some oil to put in the bath - the name of which escapes me at the moment but I was advised not to put bubble bath in her bath due to it drying out her skin - so that meant two separate baths for two kids.....not much fun!

DD would develop the rash so quickly after having had dairy etc so we guessed it was connected....

Having said that it took many appointments at the Doctors and some visits to A&E when she was so sick and lethargic before anyone would actually listen to me. I was quite often told 'oh babies are often sick' but I knew it was more than that. It wasn't until I took her for a weigh in with the HV that I was shocked to see her weight had gone down quite dramatically when she was about 3 months and asked to see the HV immediately who told me, without any hesitation, that I had an intolerant baby. She wrote me a note in dd's little red book, I made an appt to see a GP urgently, handed him the red book and he wrote out a prescription for soya there and then.

What makes me cross is that it took a HV to draw the GPs attention to the possibility of an intolerance - tbh I didn't have a clue whilst she was being ill - it never even crossed my mind.

For the next 18mths we had soya on prescription - a tin of it costs £12 in the shops and I got through a tin a week. Needless to say the GP wasn't keen on prescribing it (costs etc) and insisted I was referred to a specialist who, fortunately, told my GP with regular letters that dd had to stay on it.

I suspect the lactase drops are stronger than colief.

This talks about coeliac and lactose intolerance so might be a place to start reading. The underscore is only between healthcareand professional and associated and conditions.

www.coeliac.co.uk/healthcare_professionals/associated_conditions/173.asp

So, Just come back from the doctors. She has asked me to get a poo sample to do the simplest test for lactose intolerence. Mmmm...that means scraping his nappies because he's still got runny poos from the weekend when we tried him on normal milk. Not pleasant! Only managed to get a bit out of his last nappy because most of the liquid is being soaked up. I will try and get some more before I dop it off at the lab later. She thinks he rash on his chest is a form of ezcema so prescribed him a moisturiser/soap substitute and hydrocortisne. He's also having a urine test because he's got kidney reflux. So all in all we get plenty from the chemist LOL. Depending on the results of the poo test they will refer him to a specialist who can apply for him LF formula to be free for us YAY! He will also get the proper allergy test. I asked her about his size and lack of hair and many teeth and she said he looked ok and in proportion so not to worry. She weighed him and he is 8kg with his clothes on (no proper baby scales so used the highly scientific method of weighing me and him and then just me). Anyway I'll post again when we get the results of his tests.

I remember 'those' nappies....if I wasn't careful it would run out the sides before I had a chance to fold over the flaps and seal it up in a nappy sack. DD's nappies would be swimming, so to speak, so very difficult to get a sample.

and boy did they stink!

oh the joys of being a mum

i put a post on another thread to say all i ever seem to mn about is poo, snot and boobs

why is it always a mum's job to catch poo and deal with all DC's bodily functions?!

glad you are on the road to getting some answers. will put watch on thread to catch up later in week!

are you sure it's not a milk protein intolerance? if so, you should probably as for one of the formulas I mentioned below (Neocate has soya, Nutramigen doesn't).

My ds also has eczema, runny poos (all the time) and I haven't even eaten any dairy for the last 3 months!

UPDATE - Well his urine test came back clear (as expected) but his wonderful poo sample hasn't come back yet. He's been really 'off' all week. Can't really say he's ill and nothing I can put my finger on but he's still got the diahorrea (sp?), been off his food (ie hasn't eaten lunch all week and not had dinner 2 days) and his nappies are starting to dry up a bit but he's still perky. Except for today when he screamed and screamed which is quite unlike him.