--- Subscriptions <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> It's funny.  Every time I take Amanda to her doctor, I mention that she
> can't have dairy and that she's allergic.  The doctor asks what her symptoms
> are and I say bad stomach cramps, dark circles under the eyes, poor
> sleeping, and she gets emotional.  He then said that the stomach issues are
> a lactose intolerance, not a dairy allergy.  I just smiled and nodded and
> continued to avoid all dairy (lactose and casein).  sheesh.

I get the same thing all the time for myself. I list all the symptoms, and tell
them "This is specific - these symptoms come if I eat dairy, but if I don't eat
it, I don't have them. I can MAKE them come and go, based on my dairy intake."
And they STILL act like I'm a hypochondriac or something. I've never been
tested, but I realized what many of my physical issues were attributable to
after I was vegan (meaning no meat, no dairy, no eggs) for a year, about 10
years ago. Not eating meat, and not eating eggs, made NO difference to my body
- not that I was expecting any difference. But I remember about 3 months into
it, I suddenly realized that I could actually SMELL things (I hadn't realized I
couldn't!). Even more, my skin cleared up, and a whole lot of other things.
Amazing. Then I started reading more and realizing this had obviously been a
problem since I was a baby - but being from a big-dairy family, no one
realized. I think my aunt also has it, and perhaps my grandfather, as well. But
they won't stop eating dairy (it's that addiction thing, I think - it makes us
feel bad, but our brains kick in some endorphins to make up for it. Wheee! ;)

Congrats to all the parents here who are working so hard to help your
dairy-allergic children. You're sparing them a LOT of suffering, both now and
in their futures.

Gertie




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