Milk can you or cant you?

So I thought I could drink lactose free milk- somehow I thought I was told or heard it was ok for IBD patients. Its the only thing I have added to my diet and just a low level of cramps and urgency.

Just not sure there is anything "healthy: for me anymore! Do you stick to just water??


Lauren

I wasn't aware that IBD patients can't drink milk, I've never been told this, I've been told to eat and drink normally, which I do, including milk.
It's a different matter if you're lactose intolerant.
Bunty x

I can only drink one kind of milk with no problems.......Walmart brand lactose free/fat free milk. All of the other lactose free milks use additives to thicken the milk, and those additives cause me huge problems.

The name of the milk is "Great Value Lactose Free Fat Free" milk. All it has in it is fat free milk, the enzyme, and vitamins. "Lactaid" kills me graveyard dead...or makes me wish I was.

I was always told to avoid milk because the fat is hard to digest if you have Crohn's. It was the first thing they told you to steer clear of in the 1970's.
I had a second resection a year ago, and when I was getting back to a 'normal' diet, I thought I would try lactose free milk. It seemed to work for me, and if it does, why not? It's not expensive and not forbidden so, if it works, go for it, if not try rice or soya milk. Oddly, I've never been able to eat cornflakes, or corn in any form, but I decided I'd just try gluten free cornflakes. Worked a treat! Don't know if this was down to my latest resection, ot the food itself. Don't care either as long as it works!

Everyone is different. Some people with Crohn's Disease can tolerate dairy and others can't.

What ronroush said. Everyone is different in what they can/can't ingest. I have found I can have milk most of the time. Each flare for me is different which is highly annoying. Lol. I can eat whatever I want when I'm not flaring. Food doesn't cause my flares ever. Only stress.

I can tolerate dairy just fine, but I don't drink milk - I don't like the taste. I drink water most of the time.

My issue is wheat and oats - I can tolerate small amounts of wheat but not larger amounts.

Everyone is different in what their body can or can't tolerate

I haven't had problems with dairy, yet. Hoping I don't in the future. I remember my gastroenterologist (and a few others) said that if you're not lactose intolerant, most likely you won't have problems with it if you have IBD. (Unless you have something like whole milk, where too much fat might be hard to digest.) I don't drink milk by itself anyways. I don't like the taste, my throat tends to close up, and I get phlegmy. Most of the time I have water or tea. Preferably decaf tea. There's so many different flavors of tea out there, I don't miss drinking other things.

ronroush7 said:

Everyone is different. Some people with Crohn's Disease can tolerate dairy and others can't.

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This.

From what I've read it's a very individually dependent on how you intestines will react to it. I'm presently undiagnosed but was tested for celiac disease and lactose intolerance prior to being referred to a GI and both tests came back negative. However, if I don't take a lactase enzyme before moderate amounts of dairy consumption I get relatively bloated and crampy. :stinks:

Hope you find some answers!

I have lactose intolerance (which apparently according to my nutritionist, it can cause D or constipation) lactose intolerance is quite common, you might want to get tested for it and if you do have it then you'll have to become an avid label reader because lactose is in all kinds of things from baked goods to potato chips, soups, etc so label reading is important especially if you have a high lactose intolerance.

If you don't have lactose intolerance then it could be a casein allergy (another protein different than lactose that is also in milk/dairy products but the symptoms can vary so it's best to do a google search for casein allergy.

Some IBDers (and even IBSers) have issues with milk/dairy but it's believed that a good majority of people do have lactose intolerance issues so you don't have to have an IBD to have issues with milk/dairy.

pb
That's interesting! For several months before I had my last resection, I was on Modulen, and as far as I can recall Modulen is made from casein protein. Modulen is made, and labelled as being specially formulated for Crohn's Disease suffers.

I can drink both full fat and low fat milk; I sometimes have trouble with excessive gas because of full fat milk, so I just stick to low fat milk. Being lactose intolerant has nothing to do with your IBD.

SooBee- what is Modulen? I have never heard of it.

Lauren

I havent been able to take milk ever since I had my first signs of crohns 8 years ago. As times gone by and my illness worsened I cant go anywhere near anything that isnt lacto-free. I used to be able to dabble rarely with products with milk but pay for it after but I cant at all now. Just a lacto free life.

I don't like to drink milk(don't like the taste) but I love dairy products. I do stay away from any that have preservatives or cellulose or other crap put in them. High quality cheeses, plain greek yogurt, and I make Kefir from full fat pasture-raised cows milk. Most of these are lower in lactose than plain milk. I don't think the dairy I eat has any affect on my Crohn's but I haven't done a true elimination to find out.

I go through spurts of not being able to tolerate dairy. For some reason, I'm in the worst flare I've ever had and really not having any problems with dairy, as long as I eat/drink it in moderation.. Usually I stick to the lactose free milk, but I guess I haven't even had milk in a few months. I don't eat cereal right now and that's the only reason I used milk before. I like the occasional small bowl of ice cream however. And as long as I don't get carried away I do fine.

Thankfully I do not have any issues with dairy. I have cereal with 2% milk every morning and frequently eat cheese and yogurt.

Doc said to avoid it. Granted I'm lactose intolerant so it made sense lol. Changed my butter, cut it down to 1 slice of cheese a day bc I can't bring lunch with me to work and I can't stand breakfast sandwiches without cheese.

Have you tried rice cheese or cheese made from almond milk?

eat mozzeralla and parmesan cheese they are low in lactose and are fermented and slightly improve ibd. Take calcium supplements, I take 600mg calcium carbonate and get the rest of my calcium from dairy. i get about 1000-1200 mg per day.

wildbill_52280 said:

eat mozzeralla and parmesan cheese they are low in lactose and are fermented and slightly improve ibd.

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I always wondered why! I used to rarely have mozzerella and have a livable reaction, but my god if I dared to go near any other cheese lol. but unfortunatly I cant take mozzerella anymore.

I struggle with milk. I only have the smallest drop in my tea but if I have a bowl of cereal I'm growling like an old boiler. I've never been tested for lactose intolerance because it never used to bother me but now I avoid it where I can.