Type 1 T1D developing lactose intolerance

Didi61

Member
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16
Type of diabetes
Type 1
I was never lactose intolerant for 25 years of my life but suddenly developed it in the past year. Is this common or normal?
 

Kristin251

Expert
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5,334
Type of diabetes
LADA
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Insulin
I was never lactose intolerant for 25 years of my life but suddenly developed it in the past year. Is this common or normal?
Lactose intolerance is VERY common and as we age even more common.
I cannot drink milk, cream of any kind, sour cream, cream cheese etc. Nor can I eat aged white cheese but I can eat a LITTLE semi soft like havarti, Brie, Colby jack.
 

Didi61

Member
Messages
16
Type of diabetes
Type 1
@Kristin251 thanks for your reply. I'm asking because I don't know of anyone who has developed it suddenly, most people I know are usually born with it. I haven't spoke to my endocrinologist or GP about it yet though
 

Kristin251

Expert
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LADA
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@Kristin251 thanks for your reply. I'm asking because I don't know of anyone who has developed it suddenly, most people I know are usually born with it. I haven't spoke to my endocrinologist or GP about it yet though
What are your symptoms?

If that’s you in your avatar pic, you look Asian? My ex SIL was Chinese and could not do dairy, or even butter.
 

BunsenHoneydew

Active Member
Messages
35
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Yes Asian, but have never had this problems till a year ago
I'm Chinese and in my early 20s I started reacting poorly to milk. Would feel queasy an hour after having it, have to go to the loo (etc, you know). I avoided milk for about 3 years but then it just went away. *shrug* the human body is a mysterious thing

I have dairy now fine (lol except it probably makes me fat) go through 2pts a week.

Bonus: in those 3 years I learned to stop having milk in coffee and now I'm a coffee connoisseur (ie snob)
 

Lamont D

Oracle
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15,793
Type of diabetes
Reactive hypoglycemia
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I do not have diabetes
I have lactose intolerance. Along with a few others, such as wheat. But, because it is the amount of carbs in them, that is why I'm intolerant to certain foods.
You could actually call it carb Intolerance.

The funny thing about how I found out why was because of all the experience of testing and experimentation and recording. I found that all milk was bad for me, and low fat yoghurt was bad, but I could tolerate full fat Greek yogurt. I'm not gluten intolerant, but wheat intolerant. Because I can eat food that contains gluten but not wheat! In fact all grains are bad for me.

I have also found that if your body is intolerant to any food, then despite dietary advice that you should have so much for health reasons, you don't!
Avoid it!
Why eat something that you can live without?

Best wishes
 

donnellysdogs

Master
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13,233
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@Kristin251 thanks for your reply. I'm asking because I don't know of anyone who has developed it suddenly, most people I know are usually born with it. I haven't spoke to my endocrinologist or GP about it yet though

Have you had SIBO tests? If you haven't see if you can, as other things can also appear to lean towards lactose intolerance, nut they aren't...
 

Kristin251

Expert
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5,334
Type of diabetes
LADA
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I can eat some ( small amounts) of certain cheese but not milk. I had full fat cream in a sauce I made and seemed ok

I heard from my sister in law that Asians don’t do well with dairy as it’s not a part of their normal diet

We can become into,errant to any food at anytime
 

Didi61

Member
Messages
16
Type of diabetes
Type 1
I can eat some ( small amounts) of certain cheese but not milk. I had full fat cream in a sauce I made and seemed ok

I heard from my sister in law that Asians don’t do well with dairy as it’s not a part of their normal diet

We can become into,errant to any food at anytime

Yes some of my siblings are lacto too. It’s just a little bit of a bummer as I really love dairy.
 

donnellysdogs

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My gastro reckons that my oil of oregano capsule has kept my sibo tests all clear...
 

Didi61

Member
Messages
16
Type of diabetes
Type 1
I'm Chinese and in my early 20s I started reacting poorly to milk. Would feel queasy an hour after having it, have to go to the loo (etc, you know). I avoided milk for about 3 years but then it just went away. *shrug* the human body is a mysterious thing

I have dairy now fine (lol except it probably makes me fat) go through 2pts a week.

Bonus: in those 3 years I learned to stop having milk in coffee and now I'm a coffee connoisseur (ie snob)

I mostly usually get stomach issues and mild diarrhea but nothing as bad as feeling queasy. Good to hear that it went away for you. I hope it would be the same for me. Despite that i still consume dairy although somedays I feel fine and get no bad reactions at all.
 

Dark Horse

Well-Known Member
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1,840
Most children are not lactose intolerant as they need to be able to digest the lactose present in their mother's milk. In the majority of people in the world, the ability to produce lactase (the enzyme that breaks down lactose) falls off as children reach adulthood. Many cases develop between the ages of 20-40 so to develop it at 25 is not unusual. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/lactose-intolerance/

Some people, however, continue to produce lactase throughout their lives so can drink milk without digestive problems. This is a dominantly inherited genetic trait and the distribution varies around the world - in North West Europe something like 10% of adults are lactose intolerant whereas in East Asia it's something like 90%. This article gives information about evolution of lactase production in adulthood and the distribution of it worldwide https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/news/070401_lactose

In people who normally produce lactase in adulthood, this ability may be temporarily disrupted by a gut infection - hence the advice not to drink milk while you have gastroenteritis.

If you stop taking milk or milk products for 2 weeks and symptoms disappear only to reappear when milk is reintroduced, this would suggest that lactose-intolerance is the problem and it would be worth trialling lactose-free milk.
 
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Kristin251

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5,334
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LADA
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I mostly usually get stomach issues and mild diarrhea but nothing as bad as feeling queasy. Good to hear that it went away for you. I hope it would be the same for me. Despite that i still consume dairy although somedays I feel fine and get no bad reactions at all.
The type of dairy matters for me. No milk ever, hard aged cheese like Parmesan pecorino romano bloat me. Cream cheese is iffy. Brie, Colby jack Boursin havarti are working these days.
Cottage cheese, nope.
I’m not sure if I’m lactose intolerant, whey or casein. Seems obvious lactose with milk but not sure about the aged ones. Semi or soft cheese is better for me

I try to keep my dairy down as I don’t think it’s a health food. Just a yummy one
 

Dark Horse

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1,840
There is a list of cheeses (and other dairy products) with their lactose percentage - the advice is that most people with lactose intolerance can manage 2% or less:- http://www.stevecarper.com/li/list_of_lactose_percentages.htm

Unfortunately, some cheeses have ranges that span the 2% value so the only way to know if they are OK is to trial a brand and, if there are no symptoms, stick to it.

May also be of interest to @Kristin251
 
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Kristin251

Expert
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Type of diabetes
LADA
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There is a list of cheeses (and other dairy products) with their lactose percentage - the advice is that most people with lactose intolerance can manage 2% or less:- http://www.stevecarper.com/li/list_of_lactose_percentages.htm

Unfortunately, some cheeses have ranges that span the 2% value so the only way to know if they are OK is to trial a brand and, if there are no symptoms, stick to it.

May also be of interest to @Kristin251
Very interesting. As of Monday I gave up all dairy. I’ll see how that goes and if my aches go away. Then I’ll slowly reintroduce starting with ghee. KG butter was even bothering me