cows milk and constipation

[Jodiesmum]

Does anyone have any experience of constipation in a baby being down to cows milk allergy? This was suggested to us by one doctor as a possible cause of dd2's chronic problem so she's now on a completely disgusting prescription formula (in addition to breast milk) which she loathes. Everytthing I've read about cows milk allergy talks about diarrhoea and vomiting being the main symptoms with no mention of constipation so i'm wondering if this is a red herring, specially as she's shown no particular improvement from being off cows milk for 2 months. i'd love to put her back on her old formula (SMA gold) as at least she liked it but of course don't want to do so if it may make things any worse for her. any views?

Hi Jodiesmum, I'm afraid I have no advice, but can relate to this problem. I have just introduced framage frais to my ds and after both helpings (which were four days apart) his system got bunged up. It's the only new thing he's had so I know it's the culprit. I'm not sure if it's his body getting used to digesting something different or if he is allergic. He also has packet mixes to thicken his puree which contain skimmed milk and I haven't had a reaction from them. Poor little thing, he's constantly pulling strawberry-faced efforts and it's even brought on a few tears. I think I'll try some grated cheese next week to see if it brings on the same reaction. I also find bananas bung him up - the only fruit I avoid.

Sorry I can't be of help, and I'm hoping the same thing as you - it's not an allergy.

Hi, Jodiesmum, my dd has also suffered from constipation since being weaned. She was diagnosed as chronically constipated at 10 months. After an Xray was done, it showed she had more than 1 weeks worth of stool in her. At the time she was on C&G premium. She was immediately put onto very high dose of lactolose (20ml per day) and it took 1 week for her to be cleared out. Prior to the constipation diagnosis, she had been put on pregestemil (still on it now) and we went dairy free for 9 weeks to see if the wind (which was and is still is the main problem) reduced. It did not. She is now having dairy products in food but cannot tolerate cow's milk as her main drink (severe wind) The constipation is under control now with 10 - 15ml of lactolose being given on a daily basis. When my dd went dairy free, her constipation did not improve. Alot depends on the diet, wholemeal bread really helped and weetabix, however alot of fluids need to be taken aswell. Hope this helps!

DS used to have lots of problems with constipation (for some time he cried when pooing) Then we gave him a homeopathic remedy (graphites) for eczema and curiously... the constipation disapeared. Before the graphites I have also seen an improvement when we changed to Aptamil First however, if she has an allergy there's no use to it...

Good luck and hope she gets better soon.

I think I have replied to you on another message board Jodiesmum, but my dd suffered badly with constipation due to cow's milk protein intolerance. Diarrhoea is generally seen as the main symptom of lactose intolerance because usually the body fails to deal with lactose and it comes straight out of the other end. Our problems only came to light when dd was prescribed lactulose (lactose based laxative syrup), after only one dose she was climbing the walls in agony and I was sure that the milk connection was responsible. This then enabled me to tie in all the other cow's milk/behavioural problems eg 10 o'clock tantrums (3 hours after cereal and milk), disturbed sleep (3 hours after suppertime milk) and the occasional tantrum in an afternoon after yoghurt at lunchtime. She has been prescribed Wysoy ever since and whilst this is generally not prescribed in case of soya allergies developing these days, she was and still is (at 4 1/2 years) happy to drink it. It does smell pretty bad but she is used to it and doesn't mind. I'm told that the hypoallergenic formulas are even worse.

I would suggest that you remove all milk from your own diet for a couple of weeks to ensure that she is completely milk free and see if there is any improvement, she may well be suffering from the milk that you are taking in. After this period if you are no wiser, try re-introducing cow's milk to see if there are any adverse effects.

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