Going dairy free

[JudysDreamHorse]

Hello. Was wondering if anyone could offer advice on going dairy free and/or point me in the direction of any useful advice. I have a 5 month old (today!) DS who has silent reflux which is pretty much under control with infant gaviscon. He is EBF and also has eczema. He is a terrible sleeper though - always has been difficult to settle but at 15 weeks started waking more frequently and now wakes every 1-2 hours. Have been putting it down to sleep regression but in the past week 3 people have suggested trying to go dairy free.
The refux symptoms which have pretty much gone now were:

• sometimes stopping feeding abruptly and started to scream
• very disturbed night time sleep - could hear him vomiting in throat and swallowing accompanied with thrashing around
• dry cough
• always poo'ed while feeding (think this is one - now poos when taking his gaviscon)

He was quite a screamy baby up until a few weeks ago and he is normally quite manic and generally is kicking his legs around. He also has green poo a lot of the time (more than half I would say). His weight has always been fine and he feeds well - is a bit of a comfort sucker at times (this too has got better). Anyway, sorry if this is TMI but would be really interested in knowing if anyone thinks it is worth me going dairy free to see if it helps and if so how to do it. I asked the GP and she said to cut down on dairy and see if it helps but have also been told that you need to be completely dairy free for at least 2 weeks. I'm at my wits end with the sleep issues but when awake he seems like a happy contented baby during the day. Life is just quite difficult at the moment and I'm not convinced dairy is behind the sleep problems. I am willing to try anything but it to go completely dairy free seems quite daunting - am struggling to eat properly during the day so would really appreciate if someone could direct me to info on how to do it. Thanks and sorry for the essay!

Really interesting speedy. Do you think there could be a link between me having soya milk and having a really bad migraine today? Normally get them when I have my period. Had to stop taking the combined pill as had lots then. Might move onto the oat milk. Thanks for posting.

'Tis just a theory!

Judy I'm afraid I know nothing about migraines, wish I could help. Good luck with the diet stuff!

Almond milk is okay for sauces.
And you can have dark chocolate. I make choc chip cookies. And cocoa powder is fine ( chocolate cake!) Those old fashioned Fry's chocolate fondant bars are ok too.

Vitalite is brilliant for baking with and sandwiches.

Pancakeflipper, I'm assuming you've also made pancakes? Found a good dairy-free recipe?

I haven't made dairy-free pancakes ( I feel I should be arrested under the trades descriptions act) but I was thinking of giving it a whirl with almond milk.

You ever tried it?

Almond milk is perfect for dairy free pancakes. Yum.

Ds and I are both dairy free due to his terrible eczema. His whole life changed when we cut it out, despite the doctor's complete lack of enthusiasm.

We did go on to get various tests done but tbh they were expensive and didn't confirm what I could see with my own eyes.

I can't write lots now but have been meaning to set up a dairy free support thread. It would be good to swap experiences and tips.

Will be back.

I'm curious having read this.. Do you test your breast milk for lactose at snh point as the tests done on research papers shows that regardless of lactose consumption by the mother breast milk still contains 7% lactose?

Is that 7% human lactose, Chloe? Also lactose and casein are different components of milk, which can cause totally different reactions.

When I ingest dairy, DD reacts. When I don't, she doesn't.

Almond milk pancakes...Mmm! Will try this week! Presumably that's a direct substitute into a normal recipe?

Lactose of any sort. Is 7 % in breast milk. I know I'm a cynic but as a medic is scares me that without any diagnosis people self diagnose babies with an intolerance. The inability to digest lactose is a medical emergency in babies, diagnosed in newbies. So I guess I'm curious how the decision has been made that it's lactose/ dairy consumption by mum that's the problem.

Going dairy-free is easy! :)

There are many, many dairy-free milk alternatives, just make sure you go with those fortified with calcium and avoid rice milk for an infant.

Some weaning ideas here: www.viva.org.uk/recipes/weaning03.html

Going dairy is easy until you try to eat out. It's limiting. Our collection of Tupperware boxes is expanding..

chloe, as a medic you should remain open-minded. My GP very rudely doubted my diagnosis of my son as milk allergic, but when I insisted on a hospital referral, the tests confirmed that I was right.

Human lactose is fine for humans to ingest, for obvious reasons. However, for my children, it's not lactose, it's cow casein that's the problem. As I said before, when I avoid dairy, my DD doesn't react. That's pretty conclusive and my medics are happy with that evidence.

Pancake - yes, eating out can be a real pain!

I thought I'd update on my situation (am the OP). I stopped having dairy on Wednesday lunchtime and saw an improvement in DS's sleep that night. Nothing amazing but he slept in 2-3 hour blocks rather than waking every hour as before. This continued for Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. As I saw a difference so quickly I thought it must be a coincidence so went back to eating dairy yesterday (Sunday). DS's sleep was back to being awful last night with him waking at least every hour and being more distressed on waking than he had been the previous nights. Am going back to being dairy free to see what happens.
Chloe and Speedy - I understood that lactose intolerance and intolerance to dairy protein were two seperate things from my limited reading on the subject with lactose intolerance being picked up very quickly and being v serious as chloe said. I think people on this thread have even said that getting lactose free milk is not enough as it is not the problem. I really don't want to self diagnose my DS and will be going to the GP to talk to them about all this and see if I can get a referral. I have also noticed a difference in DS's poos when I stopped having dairy. They went back to being yellow when they had been frequently green before. As soon as I reintroduced dairy yesterday they went back to being green and mucousy.
I know one days results is not conclusive but I'm feeling postive for the first time in ages that I might be onto something as life has been quite miserable for the last few months. I was very sceptical that it would make a difference but decided to give it a try after it being suggested by so many people.
There does seem to be a lack of awareness in GP's or maybe a reluctance to suggest that it could be an issue. A friend in my antenatal group has a DS who cannot take dairy and it took multiple visits to the GP and finally her paying to go privately before she discovered the problem. Her DS had been dropping down the centiles and her GP suggested it was because she had PND. He is now on dairy free formula and eating normally, gaining weight and not screaming through every feed.
I'm not sure if my DS does have a problem with dairy (and if he does I don't think it is extreme as my friend's case) but it seems worth investigating.

JudyDH - I agree, I think there is huge lack of knowledge or even wanting to look down that avenue. My youngest was vomiting, lethargic, not developing mentally or physically and had explosive bottom for 5 months before they accepted it was not viral. He would be sick for 10 days, improve for 4 then the cycle would start all over again. It was an utterly depressing time for all the family as we couldn't go out. I lost count of the nights I sat at the dining table crying cos I knew something was wrong but the 'experts' wouldn't help.

Thankfully the Dr's chucked our file at the HV with a note asking if I had mental health issues as I constantly at the Dr's. She spotted a pattern and got us in the system to see a specialist and dietician.

It can be really hard to get guidance and help which is why we end up testing out by removing foods without medics assisting.

Thought it was worth posting a link to the KellyMom website which talks about the difference between lactose intolerance and sensitivity to cow's milk protein (here).
FWIW I did actually asky my GP is it was worth trying and she said if I wanted to, to go ahead (as mentioned in previous posts). I wish someone had suggested it sooner (though 4 days in I don't think anythings conclusive yet).

DS is having a nap so I thought I'd have a little look on PubMed about all this and have found that "incidence of cow's milk protein allergy and intolerance (CMPA/CMPI) in infancy in western industrialized countries has been estimated to be about 2-3% based on strict diagnostic criteria". from here (other abstracts quote the same incidence). Really surprised it's that high and would be interested to know whether that includes mild to severe cases.

My 12 week old had been vomiting every day with no explanation. Gaviscon made it worse (she gagged) and ranitidine made no difference. I tried dairy free for almost a fortnight and we had a dramatic improvement - vomiting stopped (apart from the usual baby posseting). On the advice of a consultant I have just gone back on dairy and the vomiting has returned. So I have now booked a GP appointment to discuss further and ask for tests. It's definitely worth trying - doctors don't seem keen but the results could speak for themselves.

I didn't actually find the "diet" that hard at home - eating out is the problem, even sandwiches etc that you wouldn't expect to have milk. It actually made me eat better than when on dairy and once you shop accordingly, it's quite easy. Just remember to plan high calcium meals - I ate a lot of salmon.

Also, what about lactose overload? I think it's a problem of babies getting too much lactose, as opposed to being allergic or sensitive to it. Green poo can be a symptom. Lots of info if you google it. Our symptoms seem to fit overload, but I'm still a little confused by the results I saw when cutting out dairy. I've also read that if the problem is lactose overload then a lower fat diet can make this worse as the fat content of BM can be reduced, and a dairy free diet can tend to be lower fat, so it could be worth ensuring a dairy free diet has sufficient fat.

hi, i have done 4 weeks dairy free and ds 5 weeks. made a massive difference to his eczema. and maybe a bit to his terrible sleeping pattern, was waking every hour, now about 2hourly.

i have found Kara coconut milk to be the nicest substitute. agree cheese substitutes not very nice. i didn't think i could do a day off dairy but have got used to it and lost about half a stone too i think! eating out is hard i agree. but with 3 dc i don't get out much!

lactose (a sugar) intolerance different to cow's milk protein intolerance/allergy. all milk has lactose in it, i thought human milk about 9%, higher than cow's i think. worldwide lots of adults intolerant of lactose.

Wow, Judy, your evidence sounds pretty conclusive to me, and I'd think hospital tests would serve very well to back up what you already know (even though you're saying it tentatively, I think you do know ). Well done, Supersleuth Mama!

I have a feeling that the commonly-found GP's reluctance to discuss the possibility of a milk allergy is down to a general increase in parents wrongly diagnosing allergies. So I can understand why they'd be wary of someone walking in and saying they think their child is allergic to cow's milk, but at the same time they clearly need to find a way of striking a balance.

Judy, like me you may need to push hard for a referral. Be bolshy if needs be. You KNOW what you have observed, and dairy is clearly causing a significant problem. Don't leave that doctor's office until you get a referral.

In case you haven't seen this website, this is what helped me make my correct diagnosis - having never heard of milk allergy until then. Like you, I was following my instincts - the info about lactose intolerance just didn't match what I was observing, so I kept searching and then found that page above and bingo!

It's useful to know that most kids grow out of the milk allergy by age 3 - my DS did, and I fully expect DD to as well.

Peppa - I've never heard of lactose overload. However, I am MUCH encouraged by your suggestion that a dairy-free but fat-rich diet (aka a loaded with cake ) is likely to be better all-round!

Pancake, that sounds awful. My goodness you went through a lot. How horrible for you all. But glad that you finally got it sorted out.

I am so hoping my 2 yr old will grow out of it by the time he starts school....

I know it's not the end of world being dairy free but I'd love to just walk up to that ice-cream van and not buy a bloody ice lolly for him... And I want him to have my full-of-dairy-chocolate-cake.

And I want to take him to Pizza Express and indulge in their garlic bread.

And him to go to a birthday party and just eat the foods on the table.