The Highs and Lows of Lactose Intolerance

HIGH: Finding a "cure"

Last year I found a product to help ease my lactose intolerance. The brochure used the word "solution," so of course in my mind it meant a cure. (yippee!) I spent $150 and did the 38-day program in which I had to ingest powder every day and abstain from any form of dairy. It wasn't easy because dairy is in EVERYTHING we eat: spaghetti bolognese, eggs with hollandaise sauce, salad dressing... I was down to noodles and crackers. Then my stomach started reacting (bloating, cloggage) and before you know it I was spending Saturday nights alone in my room.

But after 38 days I had my first Chai Latte with real milk and felt A-OK! "Wow, it actually worked," I thought, and continued along the high road of dairy tolerance. That is until....

Low: A year goes by and I can't digest dairy anymore =(

It crept up slowly, but surely. Now I'm back to square one. The thing is, I love dairy. I still buy milk, but I sip cautiously.

HIGH: Saying "screw it" and going to a MILK event.

This week Chef Bret Thompson, along with people behind the GOT MILK campaign, threw a dairy food promotional (read as 'orgy du la creme') . I threw colon-caution to the wind and decided to go. My two robot friends were getting a last-minute lube job so we were incredibly late, but there was still a lot of good stuff left, plus I got to talk to the chef.

That Bret is a swell guy. He may be high-profile, but he's humble enough to man his own cash register. That's where I found him the first time I visited MILK, last year. Julie Delpy had come in with some friends and Bret was taking their order en francais. Little did I know, world-famous designer Phillipe Starck was part of the entourage, as Bret excitedly pointed out. I had no clue. Both of us were star-struck that evening but for different reasons. Fancy that.

You can see Bret in this picture:

He's not always that blurry 'cept for when the focus is on the sweets. From left to right: a mini cone with banana ice cream, savory butternut squash soup, an ice cream sandwich sprinkled with rice crispies, and a 'tres leches' berry cake. I settled in by popping a Lactaid. The body tends to build a tolerance against it, but since I'd been away from pills for a while it seemed to do the trick. Hallelujah.

All the desserts were heavenly, especially the banana ice cream with its nutty hard shell. The robots loved the soup and cornbread (not pictured).

Here's another shot:


The day ended well and my colon was hanging in. I'd been taking the Activia challenge this week, eating yogurt to regulate my system. So maybe it was working? =)


The Final Low: Getting bad news from the doctor.

I had a physical exam this week. They took x-rays, drew blood, and made me pee in a plastic cup. During the doctor's consultation I asked if lactose intolerance was curable and he gave me an emphatic but regretful "no." "But you can still maintain your digestive system by taking things containing acidophilus," he added. So I left the office somewhat optimistic. So as long I continue eating yogurt and popping pills regularly I should be okay.

A few hours later, the doctor called with the results from my blood test. He said my cholesterol was high and that I needed to cut back on high-fat dairy. Do'h! I was speechless. For the past year I'd worked to get back something only to be told it was never meant to be. How depressing.


Cheese. Ice Cream. Milk. I miss you already.

Lactose Intolerance (an update on last year's experiment)

A reader sent this email yesterday:

Hi Pirikara!

I was just reading your blog and I was very happy to find an objective review on your experience with Lactagen. I have been contemplating buying that product for a while, and I was so glad to find an objective review.
Now that it's almost a year later, I'm curious how you are doing? Are you still struggling with the intolerance, or are you largely "cured" at this point?
Thanks again for your helpful blog! I am an LA local and depend on sites like yours for "pre-screening" of my eating choices.

Mr. Lactose Intolerant

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Hi Mr. Lactose Intolerant,

Funny you should write to me about Lactagen. Yes, a year has passed and sadly, I'm noticing slight but increasing signs of lactose intolerance, but it's still not as bad as before. I still drink milk every day (albeit, only the good stuff like Brouguire and Trader Joe's) and plan to continue doing so because basically I'm no longer afraid of dairy.

That said, I don't think of Lactagen as a bogus product. It did as much as it could do in trying to reintroduce lactobacillus into my system, and anyone who's done their research would know that a single dose of antibiotics could kill the bacteria as quickly as it was introduced. (I had to take antibiotics a few weeks later. Oh the heartbreak!)

I do believe, though, that there are cheaper alternatives. Lactagen is basically lactobacillus powder in bulk. It's nice because they give you a daily chart of how much to take, but it is certainly not scarce commodity. Trader Joe's sells it for far cheaper, in pill form. I also noticed Whole Foods promoting lactose intolerance products recently.

Good luck and may the force be with you~!

Piri

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So my question now is, has anyone found other ways of curing/easing lactose intolerance? I'm curious, so let me know!

A Cure for Lactose Intolerance?!

Could it be? Could it really be?! A couple months ago I found a pamphlet which offered a cure for lactose intolerance. Details were a bit sketchy and the product isn't exactly FDA-approved yet, but like the optimist I am it nearly brought tears to my eyes to know a product like this actually exists. Of course, before mailing in the $150 check, I did some extensive Googling to see what kind of reviews it got. I also sought the advice of a doctor friend. Neither ended up dissuading me. Most reviewers thought the product worked for them more or less, and the doc said that it's definitely possible to reintroduce lactobacillus (which is what breaks down lactose) into your system, though it might not remain there forever.

So here I go. I've been lactose intolerant for about 9 years now and believe me, consuming milk, ice cream and cheese without all the nasty side effects would be a godsend.

It's a 38-day stint where I have to take a powder every day and forgo any sort of dairy product. That's the hard part. I'm a sucker for cheese and even though it gets me gassy for hours I live through it because I love it too much.

I'm about 5 days into it and so far, well, I'm hanging in. (Check out my diary here.) On the 35th day, I get to drink a glass of milk. Ooh~ how exciting. I don't remember the last time I did that. I'll report back on this 'lil experiment, but for the next month or so don't count on me filing away any pizza reviews.... or gelato... or creamy pasta. ~Sigh~

Check out my one-year update here!

Journey toward Lactose Tolerance

I've started documenting my experiment with going 38 days without dairy while taking a powder called Lactagen which supposedly guarantees to cure my lactose-induced agony once and for all. (Warning: Log contains explicit details of abdominal discomfort.)

Day 1: Stirred up a 1.25 cc scoop of powder with an 8 oz. cup of yogurt with no problem.

Day 2: Stirred up another 1.25 cc scoop of powder with an 8 oz. cup of yogurt. No problem.

Day 12: Mixed powder with hot green tea. Had a salad with dressing which may have contained dairy ingredients. Major bloating and stomach pain ensued.

Day 15: Mild constipation. Stomach gurgling. Went to an all-you-can-eat Italian food and wine night at Il Forno in WLA. Scraped cheese off the pizza. *sniff* Agitated stomach.

Day 17: The regimen has me taking 12 times more powder than on my first day. The powder has a slightly sweet taste but is pretty harmless. Still, it's getting to be a lot to drink down with a 6 oz. glass of water.

Day 18: Stress at work drove me to head to the nearest chocolate store. I chose four dark pieces filled with buttercream, their top seller, and cherry. One piece wouldn’t hurt, I thought. And just how much dairy is contained in chocolate?? A few hours later my colon was gurgling ever so slightly. Crap.

Day 21: I've become increasingly gassy and all backed-up. You know that feeling when you really wanna poo, but no matter how many times you try you just can't seem to? That was me today, all day.

Day 22: I find that when I drink the powder with room temp water I start to feel a little sick in the stomach. And then I get the runs. Psychological perhaps? Powder with cold juice slowly consumed throughout the meal seems to go down smoother.

Day 27: After a dinner of cold Japanese noodles (hiyashi chuka), I had a Starbucks Chai tea with soymilk. You know, sometimes I wonder if those Starbucks people mess with their customers by just adding a little soy and finishing up with regular milk 'cause wouldn't ya know it, I got the runs! So two thoughts came to mind: 1) if I did ingest regular milk then it's just completely counterproductive to my regimen and 2) I'm only eight days away from drinking regular milk, so shouldn't I be able to tolerate it somewhat now? I'm starting to worry...

Day 28: This is the equation I drew up while at Urth Cafe:

Vegetarian Chili + 1/2 chicken pesto sandwich = irritable bowel?!

There was a non-dairy pesto option which I of course requested... and yet.... I really think I have more than one issue here.

Day 34: Took my four scoops of powder without any ill-effects. Maybe my stomach is finally used to it now that it's over. Today is my last day of the powder before the moment of truth when I have my first glass of real milk. ...I'm a little scared.

Day 35 (6.18.07): MOMENT OF TRUTH

11 a.m.: I chose my first poison -- 8.25 oz bottle of Nestle Chocolate Milk. Gulp, gulp, gulp, and down it went within a 15 minute span. A couple hours go by and all is well. Minor gurgling if anything. Then a couple more hours pass and my abdomen starts talking to me. Not as much as usual, but enough to worry a little. Didn't get my morning poop out of the way so I walk over to the loo. Solid, solid, solid....oooh~ yikes... runny. The tail end of it, that is. Damn.

I read some online testimonials and some say that they, too, experienced some discomfort on their 35th day, but were able to built their tolerance after a few more days. ...So I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Honestly, I'm just amazed at myself for even drinking a whole cup of milk. That's a daring feat in itself.

4 p.m.: Okay, I officially have the runs. Send your condolences to pirikara[at]gmail.com =(

9 p.m.: Had a cup of regular ice cream without incident. But maybe that's cause my insides are all cleaned out and there's nothing left to expunge.

Day 36 (6.19.07):

9:45 a.m.: I'm slowly and cautiously drinking a 10.67 oz. carton of Alta Dena milk. It's giving me the heebie jeebies, though so far my stomach is holding up.

8 p.m.: I had a burger tonight from The Counter and washed it down with a glass of Trader Joe's milk. (89 cents!) It was far less stinky than Alta Dena and best yet... I stayed completely solid the whole night! (^o^)/ I'm hoping this isn't just a fluke.

Day 37 (6.20.07):

8:45 a.m.: Was running late for work so I down a cup of milk and took off. So far, all is well. (!!)

4:30 p.m.: Okay, I spoke too soon. Cappuccino blast, yo.

8:30 p.m.: Another cup of milk down the hatch... without incident. Seems like I digest dairy better at night for some reason.

Day 38:

9 a.m. Today is officially the last day of my Lactagen stint. Yet, somehow I know I'm gonna have to continue working on it. This morning, I picked up a Chai Latte at a corner tea shop. It took a lot of effort to keep myself from requesting soy milk. "L-L-Low fat milk, please," I stuttered. It scared me to see that my drink was pure white, from the inch-thick froth right down to the base. I stirred it up and took a sip. Sublime.

Two hours have passed and, so far, all is well.

July 10, 2007: A couple weeks have passed since I ended my journey toward lactose tolerance. Last night I was craving Broguiere milk from Whole Foods, so I ran to the store half an hour before closing. I'm sure you've seen it, the one in the glass bottle sporting the tag line, "So fresh, even the cow doesn't know it's missing." It's super tasty and I love it with my morning corn flakes.

I know that my lactose isn't 100% cured. And perhaps it's only a temporary setback of me going on antibiotics this past week for a, well, female issue. The way antibiotics work is that it wipes out all bacteria in your system, both good and bad. So it's really up to your body to re-grow lactobacillus so that it can get back to work against all the milk and ice cream.

Just before dashing off to work this morning, I downed a cup of milk. My stomach has been a little gurgly at times, but nothing cataclysmic. I'm just gonna keep at it day by day. It's really is a good feeling though, to take milk for granted. Drinking it here and there like it's nobody's business. =)