>I've always assumed that I'm either allergic or intolerant to casein, and
>that it's found in varying quantities all dairy products, processed,
>fermented or not.

>I'm wondering if people who are intolerant to dairy products are reacting
>to different things, lactose only being the most common culprit. I'm going
>to do more research on this, but if anyone could send me any links I could
>follow, I'd be grateful. I'm most interested in why some people can
>tolerate certain dairy products and not others.

I developed an allergy to dairy about 3 years ago and it was to all
subfractions of dairy (casein, whey, lactoferrin, etc.) Mine was due to
leaky gut, which I suspect most Americans probably struggle with considering
their diet, use of birth control pills, use of medications, especially
NSAIDs, and high levels of stress. Mine also went away because I was trying
to avoid it for at least 6 months - it was challenging when eating out. My
reaction used to be some bloating the day I ate it. The next day I would
wake up with a ton of water retention. I normally have a very flat stomach,
but by the time I woke up the next day I would look like I am pregnant. I
would feel nauseous, fatigued, achy, and depressed (the latter at least in
part due to the physical symptoms). This would last all day until the next
morning. 

The other day we went out to eat and there was some butter on my food. The
only reaction I had was some mild water retention the next day.