lactose intolerance

[VegasBride]

have a seven week old on ranitidine for reflux but he is very miserable. wriggling squirming screaming on and off all day horrendous farting had changed to c and g comfort but no help at all. he had very loose stools every other day. could this be lactose intolerance

Do you get many smiles?? Only asking because my friends baby is lactose and dairy intolerant and didn't snipe until she prescription milk. X

Sounds a lot like the symptoms my son had. Lots of wriggling and constant passing wind even in his sleep. Took him to GP at 9 weeks old when his loose stools become diarrohea as his formula feeds increased. She suggested we try SMA lactose-free and it made all the difference for a while. He was so much more settled and cuddled on my lap for long periods of time which was such a revelation. His wind became almost non existent. Unfortunately it did have the opposite effect and he got quite constipated, only having dirty nappies once every 3 days and even then his stools were very hard pellets. Tried reintroducing a bottle or two of normal milk at 14 weeks but the diarrhoea and wind returned almost immediately so gave up on that. We were back at GP again last week as he was starting to scream in pain when straining as his stools were so hard. He is now on movicol to get his bowel moving and the lactose-free milk still which is perfect combo. Is likely we'll stay like this for another month then look at reintroducing the normal milk again. He'll be 6 months old by then so will hopefully be growing out of the lactose intolerance and then we have the challenge of weaning! Good luck.

It might be an allergy to cows milk protein rather than a lactose intolerance. There's some info here

There's also an allergies board on here, (you can find it under the health section). You might want to post there too as you'll get great advice :)

that's all really interesting thanks all no smiling at all yet and cannot sit contented at all was going to try the cow and gate infasoy to see if any difference

Hi there, my ds had severe reflux and dairy intolerance as a baby and I'm also a GP - reflux and dairy allergy often go hand in hand, whereas lactose intolerance is usually following an infection such as gastroenteritis or after a course of antibiotics. I would switch his milk to one that is both dairy and lactose free - your GP can prescribe you one, such as nutramigen, and see how you get on with that. If you're still having problems after that, ask for a referral to a paediatrician.

Don't use the soya milk - that is okay for girls but there is a link with baby boys who have soya milk and male infertility. We don't prescribe soya-based formulas for baby boys.

dr prescribed sma lf milk I just wonder how long it will take to see if its working

You might get a really quick improvement or it might take a couple of days to start improving things - I would give it 5 or 6 days and go back to GP if no better. Probably a dairy free milk would be the next best plan. Hope it helps though.

I'm currently going through the same thing with my6 week old :( we're just waiting for results of a stool sample to determining she has a dairy or a lactose allergy/intolerance x

DD was allergic to all formulas and nutramigen. Docs prescribed Aptamil pepti because it was the only formula she wasn't allergic to. She is 2.5 now and can have very small amounts of milk (a teaspoon in mash etc) but can't have any more than that

oh well nearly a day of lf formula and bit more contented today but could be just a good day will see how the weekend pans out thanks for all the advice

But SMA LF is just lactose-free, it's not free of Cow's milk protein (CMP). True lactose intolerance in babies is very rare and usually leads to serious faltering growth.

He'll be 6 months old by then so will hopefully be growing out of the lactose intolerance

I didn't think you could grow out of it. MN is brilliant for learning things.

My dd had reflux as baby.
She never in her life formed a solid stool. She is 5 now and eventually diagnosed with cows milk protein allergy and soya allergy.

She became aenemic because food passed through her too rapidly to absorb nutrients.

Lactose intolerance is pretty rare. Cmp allergy is pretty common. There is no test for cmp though except eliminating from the diet.

On your next visit to GP I would request a dairy AND soya free milk.

There may be some imprpvement on SMA lf because one consequence of cows milk protein intolerance can be secondary lactose intolerance. But I would hazard a guess it'll be cows milk protein that is the primary problem.

Hi v similar story here with ds2. 7 weeks he is on gaviscon for silent reflux but still v windy and unsettled so I am thinking of trying colief as well to rule out transient lactose intolerance - if that makes no difference might ask gp about ranitidine ?

how common are dairy allergies and would it be something that would be inherited from us I have changed his formula four times now and just want to get him to a stage where he will sit in a bouncer contented.

There was some research that said something like 70% of babies with reflux have cows milk protein allergy. You don't want a 'lactose free' formula though or a soy formula (60% of babies allergic to CMP are allergic to soy) you want the GP to prescribe an extensively hydrolysed formula like neocate or nutramigen as a first line.

Dairy allergy not usually inherited and usually outgrown unless severe, it is just cows milk is highly allergenic