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Hey, I'm Wondering About My Lactose Intolerance . I Have
Posted on
Fri, 26 Apr 2019
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Fri, 26 Apr 2019
Answered on
Last reviewed on
Question : Hey, I'm wondering about my lactose intolerance. I have drank milk all my life with meals. When I was 19,I started to get diarrhea of regular milk, but could still drink organic milk. And if I drank regular milk I could control/delay my diarrhea by eating lactic acid bacteria pills. Although when I turned 21 I couldn't control it anymore. When I started last year eating birth control pills, the synptoms got even worse. I can eat other dairy products and still can. I'm a helathy 23 year old woman, who is overweight but it's from muscle weight not fat. My mother is lactose intolerant. I was wondering if this is something else than lactose intolerance?
Brief Answer:
Lactose intolerance most probable
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
I understand your concern. Lactose intolerance can present in varying degrees and progress slowly to include other milk products. From what you describe, it seems very likely that this is the case. However, the best way to diagnose lactose intolerance is to completely refrain from consuming any milk and its products for a few weeks and see if the symptoms persist or disappear. If symptoms still persist, then further testing is needed to check for secondary lactose intolerance, which is caused by conditions such as Crohn's disease or celiac disease.
Birth control pills can contain traces of lactose, so this should explain the worsening of your symptoms after you started taking them.
So, as a first step, I recommend you refrain from consuming any milk products and switch to an alternative form of birth control to see if there is any improvement of your symptoms. If there is, that should confirm the diagnosis of lactose intolerance. If not, then I recommend you see a gastroenterologist for further testing.
I hope this answers your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Take care.
Lactose intolerance most probable
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
I understand your concern. Lactose intolerance can present in varying degrees and progress slowly to include other milk products. From what you describe, it seems very likely that this is the case. However, the best way to diagnose lactose intolerance is to completely refrain from consuming any milk and its products for a few weeks and see if the symptoms persist or disappear. If symptoms still persist, then further testing is needed to check for secondary lactose intolerance, which is caused by conditions such as Crohn's disease or celiac disease.
Birth control pills can contain traces of lactose, so this should explain the worsening of your symptoms after you started taking them.
So, as a first step, I recommend you refrain from consuming any milk products and switch to an alternative form of birth control to see if there is any improvement of your symptoms. If there is, that should confirm the diagnosis of lactose intolerance. If not, then I recommend you see a gastroenterologist for further testing.
I hope this answers your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Take care.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Arnab Banerjee
Answered by
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