Diarrhea...?!
Question:
Diarrhea...?
Yesterday, I had diarrhea. I normally give up dairy products, but then I drank 2 glasses of milk after that anyway. Then, this morning I had a glass of milk and a bowl of cereal milk drink. I had diarrhea again. I took some medicine and it stopped. Well, aside, from a yogurt drink,I didn't take dairy products after. When can I start drinking dairy products again?
Answers:
You can start drinking them again when you want diarrhea again!
I am an RN and I learned about this in school but have also had it happen to me when I entered my early 30's. Many people become lactose sensitive as they age and find that dairy products, esp drinking whole glasses of milk or eating ice cream, cause gas and diarrhea as early as within a half hour of eating. We lose the ability of our natural lactase enzyme in our digestive system to break down the milk sugar lactose. This is extremely common over age 30 and among Asian people or all ages, but even with younger people. My 16 y/o daughter has the same problem and it started about a year ago.
I used to be able to drink chocolate milk, eat ice cream, eat cereal, etc. Now I only have them if I know I am going to be home and don't plan on going anywhere and in general have it about once a month. I hate milk anyways, I think ice cream is fattening so I just ignore it if it's in the freezer, and I eat oatmeal, cream of wheat, or eggs for breakfast instead of cereal, because I think most cereals are empty calories unless they are the expensive cracklin' Oat Bran or Granola which are the only ones I like.
You can try Lactaid and see if you get the same effect, then you will have your answer for sure. There are also over-the-counter products you can take which will help you digest lactose. Don't bother wasting money on a Dr. visit and a co-pay because like I said, I am an RN with a BSN and you are going to hear the same thing from a Dr. who has a little more schooling than I did. One night, drink a glass of regular milk and see if you get diarrhea. The next day (24 hrs later), eat no dairy until about 6pm and then drink a glass of Lactaid. If you don't get diarrhea, you'll know why.