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Hi everyone,

First off I wanted to thank everyone for their responses.  We got some
great advice.  I'm not sure if I phrased my question badly regarding the
lactose or not but a number of people seemed to be under the impression
my wife is having problems with Lactose Intolerance (this is not the
case).  Many people also addressed the issue of lactose intolerance
saying many celiacs have it and need to avoid it (along with soy).  This
part we were aware of prior to my posting but thank you.  

As for will ingesting Lactose actually hurt the healing process

2 people believed it would. 1 did not mention the lactose but said that
soy could do this in some cases.

The overall majority of the responses (15) were no that it would not
slow the healing and if she was having no lactose problems it would
probably be OK to continue to eat it.  (I might add she doesn't drink
large quantities of milk and when we (including our little ones) do it
is organic or rice milk, she was more concerned with giving up her
occasional ice cream and having to do even more label watching).  She
does plan to add a Calcium supplement to her diet as well.

Another common thread (7 responses) was that although they didn't think
the lactose would slow the healing process it may be wise to avoid it
for 3-12 months just to keep any possible irritants away from the gut.
Many celiacs are lactose intolerant and many people found their ability
to tolerate lactose has changed over time often getting better the
longer they were on the diet.

Virtually everyone said no to cheating many telling us to find a new
nutritionist (we're actually trying to get a referral to Melinda
Dennis).  Two people were actually told by their doctor or nutritionist
it was OK and a couple have cheated on rare special occasions (saying it
is their personal choice). We were also advised to join a support group
which we plan to do.  A few people said they thought it was great that I
was supporting my wife in this way (just an FYI, that part is easy). For
anyone interested she's doing fantastic since going on the diet only 5
weeks ago, up 10 pounds, more energy than she's had in 2 years and just
feeling world's better. She is a bit worried about what many people are
saying; the longer she's on the diet the more intense her reactions to
gluten will be in the future, as previously they were very minimal.

Thanks 

Tom

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