So I figured out why I'm sick all the time now..

[LuminousMom]

I'm lactose intolerant!

I've drank soy milk for years.. not because I had to, but because I like it, and I think its healthier. Something about drinking milk from a cows udder just.. never caught me the right way, even as a kid. BUT- I started having breakfast regularly, as a promise to myself to be healthier (my old routine was skip breakfast, skip lunch, eat dinner, and go to bed... not healthy.) so I have been eating my Kashi with skim milk. Every day I have been feeling like crap! Sore stomach, indigestion, cramps... well... turns out, I cant have milk anymore! We had a treat a few weeks ago where we stopped and got some ice cream.. same thing. Sick as a dog.. I should have known it then! the only thing is.. I can still eat cheese without a problem, so I dont know what thats about.

My doctor told me I built up an intolerance to dairy by not eating/drinking it for so long.. I have milk VERY rarely and ice cream maybe twice a year.. so my body has basically lost the ability to properly digest it. I am kinda looking at this as a good thing.. I love soy milk, so thats nothing to have to get used to.. and I dont really like ice cream anyways. The cheese I am still wondering about though. The only cheese we eat is Parmesan (on salads), sometimes swiss on sandwiches... I've never gotten sick from it, but because of the fat content I have been considering cutting it out of my diet anyway.. so we will see.

I cant wait to not be sick every day! I am really mad at myself for not thinking of this sooner, I've been silently suffering for weeks now.. but I'm glad I know now, and can make a simple, easy change that will make me feel better.

As far as changing my eating habits have gone, I have cut out about 80% of my diet coke habit (I still have 8-16 oz a day, but thats a HUGE improvement from 5-6 CANS a day..) and I have been chugging water. I have lost some weight, but as I banished scales.. I dont know or care how much. All I know is my caffeine craving headaches have stopped. I lost 40 pounds from October-December last year.. and gained 15 back. So I am back on track.. and not going to give up this time. I'm doing ti different.. no numbers, no scale.. just care about how I FEEL... and I feel great :)

[ToddlerBrain82]

Aug. 3, 2009 at 10:13 PM

I'm glad you figured that out!! My son is lactose intolerant, and he was about 18 months old when we figured it out. It was amazing - his vomiting, diarrhea, and ear infections just disappeared.

Good luck with your diet change!

[LuminousMom]

Aug. 4, 2009 at 3:00 AM

my nephew too! Although they didn't figure it out until he was almost 3 years old.. he was such an unhappy kid and then when they cut the milk out of his diet, his entire demeanor changed! Its really crazy.. but yeah, I am glad to know what the problem is and know its such an easy thing to fix :)

(Original Poster)

[parrishsky]

Aug. 4, 2009 at 4:21 PM

Yeah that can be an uncomfortable feeling. Glad you were able to pin down the culprit. So many people suffer with wheat and milk allergies and if they only took the time to narrow their food habits down.

I love vanilla soy milk in my coffee! ~Mmmmmm

[LibbyLife]

Aug. 4, 2009 at 5:15 PM

A friend suggested to me that maybe my frequent bouts with "stomach viruses" were actually related to lactose intolerance (because she had similar experience).  So I switched to soy milk and even discovered that the soy version of ice cream is very good (yum!).  And I am feeling SOOOOO much better now!  It has made a HUGE difference in my life to stop consuming milk.  I am voting your journal popular in case others might realize they might need to make the switch too.

[MoonLover06]

Aug. 21, 2009 at 2:05 PM

Coconut milk ice cream is DELISH!  My daughter was allergic to milk when she was small but she could handle certain things like yogurt cooked in food because the cooking process broke the proteins down...could be the same for you and the cheese but lactose instead.