How do you tell if you're lactose intolerant?

LeanMeanFitnessMachine
LeanMeanFitnessMachine Posts: 659
edited October 5 in Food and Nutrition
The past couple months whenever I eat or drink more than 1 serving of dairy I get these symptoms:
- bloating
- upset stomach
- gas (gross, i know!)

Should I call my doctor and have a test done for lactose intolerance? Is there any way to tell?

Replies

  • shovav91
    shovav91 Posts: 2,335 Member
    Try cutting those foods out for a couple weeks to see if your symptoms go away. Good luck! :D
  • bprague
    bprague Posts: 564 Member
    Sounds a lot like lactose intolerance to me. I agree with the above poster- cut it out of your diet for a week and see if you get the same symptoms. If you don't- try having that glass of milk with a tablet of lactose enzyme. They are cheap off brand, and work wonders for me!
  • LeanMeanFitnessMachine
    LeanMeanFitnessMachine Posts: 659
    Try cutting those foods out for a couple weeks to see if your symptoms go away. Good luck! :D

    Thanks! I'll give it a try.
  • servilia
    servilia Posts: 3,452 Member
    Those sound like symptoms. I don't know if it's worth a trip to the doctor's - I just switched to lactose-free milk and noticed the symptoms stopped. Cheese doesn't affect me though, only milk.
  • campb2ti
    campb2ti Posts: 104 Member
    I am dairy intolerant and my doctor told me that there was no test to see if I was lactose intolerant. BUT I had to do a elimination diet to find out what was causing the bloating, gas and diarrhea (grosser still i know!).
  • susanloveszumba
    susanloveszumba Posts: 182
    i am lactose intolerant but i am not sure if there is a test for it. i just did my own "test" by cutting out all dairy and a miracle happened...the nasty gas and diarrhea went away and my stomach actually felt decent most of the time! i know it is gross but there is no other way to describe the symptoms.
  • caitlinclock
    caitlinclock Posts: 528 Member
    If the symptoms are affecting your everyday life and you'd really like to know then yes there are tests your doctor can do to see if you have developed a lactose intolerance. Otherwise, you can just try only having one serving of dairy per day and see if this is fine for you. Even if you are lactose intolerant this is probably all your doctor can recommend anyway. Good luck.
  • mtbke5
    mtbke5 Posts: 96 Member
    There is a breath test that they can do for intolerance, but cutting out all dairy for 2 weeks (to get the best read on the situation) really is the way to go. Watch out for hidden dairy in protein shakes and other items. Most labels should indicate Milk, but there are other "trigger" words to watch for.
    I had to do this for another reason similar to yours and I struggled so good luck!
  • brookepenni
    brookepenni Posts: 787 Member
    careful though - if you cut all of these things out and then take it again one day.... well you think your problems are grose now. it takes a lot longer to train the body back onto these things after cutting them out.

    I'd keep them in your diet, just in small portions.
  • Yakisoba
    Yakisoba Posts: 719 Member
    Diarrhea after drinking milk? X'D
  • AZKristi
    AZKristi Posts: 1,801 Member
    There really is no point in testing for lactose intolerance. If you experience symptoms when consuming dairy, just try to limit it. Or, you can take lactaid when you consume dairy to see if that helps.

    Lactose intolerance is very common.
  • kyylieeeeee
    kyylieeeeee Posts: 197 Member
    I had all the symptoms associated with it, to the point where the cramps from gas were debilitating. And I was having all sorts of health issues at the same time, so it just never occured to me that it was something as simple as lactose intolerance. A nurse finally suggested an elimination diet, so I tried zero dairy for three days and I felt great. Now I just take 9000FCC of Lactaid every time I eat dairy...it works well for me. I still have to stay away from high-fat/rich dairy like cream cheese or ice cream, but with skim milk and cheese the Lactaid works wonders!

    Elimination diet is a quick and effective way to diagnose yourself....because if you stop eating all dairy, all your symptoms clear up in about 24 hours.
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