Possible milk/dairy intolerence for DS???

[rufalina]

I know I have mentioned this before, but I think it is time to be worried.

I have been upping DS milk intake, trying to cut out the formula bottles, and DS poops have gone from lumpy to watery, and causing some rashes, and I am now seriously considering that he might have an issue with milk or dairy.

He has yogurt, and cheese and milk on cereal and formula, but the changes happened when I started trying to sub the formula for milk. I made a bottle of 150ml formula and 50ml milk for his morning bottle only, and later that day out came the runny poop. It also had slightly "sandy" grainy bits I can only assume where fiber from the brown bread he eats. Oh and I added custard into his diet, as he had some with my sister and loved it...

He is really good drinking water, and eating a variety of meats and vegetables, and his diet is getting more solid and chunky, so I was hoping for a more solid poop but nope... I am assuming an intolerance as I guess the problems increase with the more dairy I add to his diet.

I did not give him any milk on his cereal today, but he did not like the taste, and have left him with only formula and yogurt to see if we can see an improvement...

Do you think this warrants a trip to the Dr? I am leaning toward this.... Thanks....

[JordieC]

I would go to docs because you just never know. Our daughter was allergic to milk but it has got heaps better in last 6 months. She is now only allergic to eggs. We saw her GP several times ebcause of rashes she was getting and he referred us to allergist (which tooke 3 months to see). So go now cause you never know when you can get in. At least you will know if he is or isn't.

[Janie]

Yep, I would get it checked out. Be prepared for the fact that your GP may not necessarily be supportive though. I would look around for a paed who has an interest in allergies AND intolerances, or a naturopath.

My DS's issues were diagnosed by a naturopath who has an interest in this area. There is a blood test that can be run to check out protein intolerances (my DS has cows milk protein, soy and nut intolerances), if you are interested check out the ARL labs website, they have a list of referring practioners for each state (can't remember where you are???).

If it is an allergy, it will be much simpler to seek a diagnosis, but intolerances are actually more common. Good luck, let us know if you want any more info

ETA FWIW, my DS's symptoms really ramped up when I was trying to cut out the formula and add in more cow's milk. He had been having dairy before that, but although in hindsight they were present, the symptoms were not clear at that time. It was drinking a much larger quantity of cow's milk that made things more obvious.

[rufalina]

Thanks Janie... I was hoping you might drop by... I really would think it is more an intolerance. I will have a look at that website ans see if I can find someone close... I am in Sydney so there is bound to be someone I can see in the general vicinity.

And Jordie, thanks for the advice.

you know when you just have this "mummy" feeling in your gut that it is not normal... I guess I just need to see this through to make that feeling go away... And better to do it now that in a few months with a new baby...

[Janie]

Yup, definitely do it now hun. It can take a little time, by the time you find someone (hopefully they're the right 'someone'!!!), get an appointment, have the tests, get the results, and look at dietary changes. So yeah, would agree with getting going on it! Let us know how it goes hun.

[rufalina]

hooley dooley... I just called the RPA allergy unit, to inquire about waiting times for appts and they are not taking any appointments for kids under 4 as they are booked till June next year... YIKES.....

But they could offer me a list of drs that have private practices, who also have dieticians... So hopefully I can get into one of them... Insane...