Dairy Intolerance and other issues...

Both of my twins who have just turned 2 have recently been diagnosed with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), as part of the diagnosis both boys have had to undergo numerous blood tests etc to check for nutritional deficiencies due to their very selective diet. DS2 (younger twin) has also always had issues with his bowel movements and if he has 'full strength' cows milk he suffers from very acidic bowel movements which burn him, so since going onto cows milk he has always had lactose free milk as this reduces the 'burn'.

So the paediatrician has just rung with the results (although we are still waiting for the genetic testing results) and he has advised the following:

DS1 - who is the twin that lives on chips, chicken nuggets, pasta, rice and vegemite crackers - no fruit or veggies, has no issues at all. His level are perfect, go figure...

but

DS2 - has sugars present in his poo which is indicating he has a dairy intolerance, so we need to have a month trial of removing all dairy from his diet and switching to soy to see if it is a diary intolerance. If he is still having bowel issues after a month the paed is going to switch him onto prescription toddler formula (I'm hoping it doesn't get to that). He has also told me that he is slightly iron deficient - this child will live on fruit and veggies if he could - and also his thyroid level is slightly elevated as well.

To look at both my boys you would think there is nothing wrong with them - especially size wise both boys are above average in height and are a perfect weight for their height scales. DS2 is currently sitting in the 95th percentile in height for his age and DS1 is in the 90th percentile, both are very active and full on but add these issues to DS2 having ASD and also a renal issue as well, this little man seems to have drawn the short straw.

So anyway, I need to tackle the diary issue first to make sure I can give a good indication of his 'dairy intolerance' issues. So from tomorrow he will be on soy milk, olive oil spread (instead of butter) and I will be searching for a soy based yogurt as well. Now what I'm hoping the wider BB community can tell me is what else I need to watch out for - obviously cakes etc I would make at home I will now do with soy milk, I know he can't have milk chocolate but white chocolate is o.k, but what other foods are out there that have dairy in them that I need to avoid.

I'm going to now have to focus on food labelling so much more to avoid any dairy or look for soy based substitutes.

we tried some non dairy milks, and the yogurt was pretty gross. worth trying to see if your LO likes it, but don't stock up too many.

i don't know heaps, but have heard that soy intolerance often goes along with a dairy one. maybe try rice milk or almond milk to give you couple alternatives.

bread, cereal, tinned spaghetti, packet chips can all have dairy.

We use rice milk and almond milk. I like almond milk far more but it is significantly more expensive. Worth reading the packaging on these as some have far more additives than others.

Most pre-packaged biscuits etc have dairy in them so for us it's more been about getting to know what doesn't have dairy - 'nice' biscuits, choc-ripple biscuits, corn cruskits. Most dips do, but Yumi's brand don't. We just buy baker's delight or local bakery bread to avoid dairy and preservatives - if you've got behavioural issues, 282 in most commercial breads is well worth avoiding.

DS loves the soy yoghurt but it's so high in sugar and relatively low in probiotics that now I only give it as a very rare treat and sprinkle probiotics into his cereal or a fruit and almond milk smoothie.

It takes a while to adjust, but we're so used to living non-dairy now that I find it pretty easy to work around.... unless we're eating out or at other people's houses. Then you often need to go even more prepared than usual! Good luck and feel free to PM with any questions - about dairy or ASD, which I'm also very familiar with. xo

Thanks girls

The paed wants us to go soy first option for the month trial then onto the prescribed toddler formula if the soy still causes issues.

I thought my life was hard trying to manage 3 little peoples diets and it is already a challenge on a 1 income family so not looking forward to the added expense of 'speciality' products.

Santosha, I would love to buy only bakery bread but living out of town means I buy bread in bulk - maybe I need to see if my bread maker works and start making my own again. When I get my head around the ASD, diet stuff I'll PM you as it will be great to pick your brains :)