i think it's about time to introduce myself! i am the mother of a 16 mo
old son who is casein intolerant. we only discovered this about a month ago
(after a frustrating and needlessly long search for the problem) he is breastfed
so both he and i have cut all dairy out of our diets. of course, my relatives
all say it would be so much easier for me to just quit nursing him but if he
has dietary problems anyway this is one of the best things i can do for him!
and... as a natural consequence my husband and 6yr old daughter are eating less
diary products as well. my husband is slowly discovering that his digestive
problems may be related to milk. in fact, the more i learn, the more i think
we'll try to get them off completely and that we'll stay dairy-free even after
breastfeeding and after (if?) my son outgrows his intolerance.

in the meantime, we are having some fun and some near-tears frustration
adjusting. it's not that i miss it, as i was never a big milk-drinker in the
first place, but i'm amazed that it's hidden everywhere! i am so sick of
reading what we *cannot* eat, it seems to exclude everything. i've been
gathering recipes here and there, and finding a few acceptable brand name
products, but i still have some work to do in developing a sense for this
eating style.

as for how it is affecting my son...within the first couple of days his
chronic diarrhea disappeared, we stopped seeing blood loss through his
stools, his hemoglobin is finally rising, he has become much more active,
even his personality has changed! it's like he came out of a fog. it's
simply amazing. another one of his problems had been slowed growth and
we're not seeing a lot of change there yet, but i think that needs time,
especially since he's so much more active now and burning more calories.
occasionally we see diarrhea or a tinge of blood and i'm sure that's
because i haven't perfected my ability to catch everything yet.

i've NOT been impressed with the doctor's "expertise" in this area. i suggested
a milk protein intolerance early on in our search for a diagnosis and they
shot it right down, then proceeded to poke and prod at him for months with
no results, even to the point of taking biopsies of his intestines under
general anesthesia...just to come back and say that it is indeed casein
intolerance. so now i'm dealing with the guilt of not trusting my instincts
and taking care of this a long time ago. then, in a conversation about milk
substitutes, the doctor actually suggested giving him "non-dairy" coffee creamer
as a beverage! unbelievable. that's why i'm trying to research this on my own
as much as possible, and looking to the experience of other parents.

so that's where we are. i might as well apologize in advance for naive
newbie questions :)

jen                                                [log in to unmask]
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
-=- disclaimer: the views & opinions expressed above are mine -=-
-=- alone and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer -=-
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-