Lactose intollerance - in adults?

[Demented]

Is it possible to have developed a lactose intollerance as an adult? I caught a tummy bug off of my DSs last week and it had cleared up and I was feeling back to normal. I don't take much in the way of dairy products but I am partial to a cappuccino. For the first time since the tummy bug I had two cappuccinos today and almost immediately after the second one I was running to the loo. My DS1 had a lactose intollerance as a baby and I was advised to keep him off dairy products for two weeks and it cleared up. I am assuming it is possible for an adult to have the same thing, just wondered if it was possible and would two weeks off dairy be enough for an adult or would it require longer.

post-tummy upset it can be hard to digest milk products..but I think what you're describing is more of a reaction to the coffee, which has that effect on me nowadays, but didn't pre-kids. i know a lot of people who go to the loo after they've had their 1st coffee of the day

I became a bit of an anorak on this very subject when dd was about 3 years old and developed constant diahorrea (although , come to think of it I'm still not that sure how to spell it). Eventually she was diagnosed as having a temporary lactose intolerance that was just having a sort of rebound effect. What happens is (and here, as Jennifer Aniston used to say, is the Science Bit) when you have a tummy bug and are going to the loo every 5 mins your stomach gets very depleted in the enzyme lactase which you need to digest the lactose in the milk. It takes a while to build this back up again, so even when you're getting better, if you have some milk the whole thing will start up again.

In my humble and non-medical opinion two weeks would be absolutely loads. I now keep my littluns off milk stuff for 3 days after a tummy bug.

Anyway, hope you're feeling better soon lovey

Oh, and my DH has just reminded me that you can buy stuff called Lactolite (in some supermarkets - I used to get it from Safeways way back then) which is milk with the lactose magicked away.

Every time I take certain antibiotics I became milk-intolerant. It used to take me 1-2 years of avoiding milk (gradually reintroducing yogurt, then hard cheese and so on) before I could tolerate milk again. Then in June I took antibiotics and developed the worst milk intolerance I have ever had. This time I took Solgar Mult-Acidophilus Powder and within 2 weeks was able to re-start yogurt and hard cheese. Now, about a month since I started taking the powder I have no problems whatsoever with dairy.

It's very expensive, but I can't recommend it highly enough! Certainly worthwhile trying.

Second the probiotics, and also agree that it could be the coffee. A coffee set me off after a course of antibiotics and then I couldn't eat dairy or gluten for 2 months. An extreme case, but probiotics definately helped.

Looks like the cappuccinos could be out the window then. I know what you mean about coffee setting you off (a bit of a laxative at times) but I definately felt ill more than just having a good clear out . However I don't drink coffee without milk so will be off both for a while and will go more gently with reintroducing it, try the milk first. I hadn't heard of Lactolite before but will bear that in mind if things don't sort themselves out. I've got some acidophillous in the fridge (used to suffer from IBS but seem to have been free of it for a while, just hope this isn't going to set it off again). Thanks for all your help, advice and concern.