<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> I received 34 messages in response to my post. Thanks for all of the help and information. Both the degree and duration of lactose intolerance vary so widely that it's difficult to predict one's own experience from that of others. I'll try to summarize the range of experiences reflected in the responses. I heard from seven subscribers who discovered their lactose intolerance only AFTER going gluten-free. At least a couple of subscribers are, like me, fairly sure that the intolerance either developed or increased dramatically AFTER going gluten free. (My lactose intolerance, for example, has became far more pronounced over time as the rest of my health, and all serum tests, indicate that my diet is working and my system is healing. Go figure.) I also heard, however, from another nine subscribers who were lactose intolerant at the time of diagnosis but have improved significantly. Two of these were parents whose very young children improved within six or sever months. Another six were adults, whose lactose intolerance lasted a year or two, but then got better. Another three subscribers had longer term lactose problems -- three years in two cases, 15 years in another -- that eventually improved significantly. Finally, there were four or five who have long-term lactose intolerance that remains a problem, even after five years or more. In one case, the person's lactose intolerance improved after six months GF, but has became more severe after four years GF. A number of people also wrote with suggestions about the possible causes of my difficulty with lactose. Several mentioned a possible intolerance of casein, a protein in milk. Several others cautioned that the culprit might be accidential ingestion of gluten. One person suggested an allergy to or intolerance of high fructose corn syrup. And another mentioned "galactose" intolerance, which I haven't heard of elsewhere, but which is, apparently, a combined intolerance to wheat and dairy proteins. I can't vouch for the evidence behind the latter two possibilities. I can't draw any conclusions, but my sense of the responses is: 1) Generally, the younger you are, the better your odds of getting your lactose ability back, as lactose ability decreases naturally with age, even in non-celiacs. With celiacs, an added factor may be how late in life one was diagnosed, which may relate to how much damage was done before going GF. 2) Six or seven months is far too soon to give up hope. Thanks again for all of the responses. Mike Coe Arlington, Virginia