Unusual Reaction To Dairy?

[BigDogz]

Not sure if I'm experiencing something real or whether I'm just going off my rocker...

I've been searching this board as well as Googling the internet to find symptoms of dairy intolerance...not lactose intolerance...but reactivity to dairy like to gluten.

Here's the thing...went gluten-free on my own due to a doc who was unwilling to be open-minded and test me. Felt better. Got a new doc - she wanted 'proper' testing - "Go back on gluten, my child." Immediate return of watery diarrhea and all neurologic symptoms. Suffered thru 12 days before refusing to go any further. Doc suggested genetic testing since I couldn't tolerate enough time on gluten to do a colonoscopy - positive DQ2.2. She decided she was comfortable with a celiac disease diagnosis purely on the strength of my gluten challenge symptoms and the genetic testing. Resumed gluten-free lifestyle 4/09. Did well, felt great.

Recently been fatigued, not quite as bad as before going gluten-free, but a noticeable change from how I had been feeling. I also was noting stomach pains, bloating, gas, heart pounding, feeling hot/sweaty and significant dizziness. Had none of that on gluten-free diet before now.

Initially couldn't connect it with anything I was eating. Started a food diary to see if I could see any pattern. Noted my stomach hurt something fierce the morning after having a small bowl of gluten-free ice cream for a bedtime treat. Then I noted symptoms after eating a gluten-free pudding cup. Hmmm, dairy?? Tried Lactaid with no change in symptoms. Skipped dairy for a few days...no symptoms. Intentionally ate dairy again x4 days. Dizzy!

Today - yogurt for breakfast - dizzy, stomach pain. Chocolate milkshake for lunch - heart pounding like a jackhammer, sweaty, very dizzy. Took somewhere around 2 hours for the symptoms to resolve after the milkshake.

None of the info I've found on dairy reactions mentions anything about dizziness! Could I be having an unusual reaction to dairy? I have a home meter because my sugars had been climbing before I went gluten-free. Back to normal on gluten-free diet so when I ran out of strips, I stopped checking it. Could the dizziness, etc. be reactive hypoglycemia - my sugar spiking and then plummeting? If so, why would it only do it after eating dairy but not after a slice of gluten-free cake with frosting?

[missy'smom]

Hmm, It's interesting. I can't speak on what's going on but you never know. If you start reading up on T1 diabetes, there have been alot of studies lately connecting it with wheat. I've seen similar ideas out there connecting dairy. Also read up on L.A.D.A (Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults) or Type 1.5 and you'll see a connection between autoimmune type blood sugar issues and foods. You should come away seeing that foods can trigger an autoimmune attack on the pancreas, like T1. The LADA is like T1 only starts later in life and is slower progressing. I'm not saying you have either one of these but it is in line with some of what you seem to be exploring in your thoughts.

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

For this last link, I can't link directly to the article, but there's one on LADA

Open Original Shared Link

[missy'smom]

I'll just add my personal experience with dairy and BG. I've had problems my whole life, since birth but never a clear DX. Eliminated it for a year. Had several tests done in the past year. Most recent one came back allergic to casein. While I was CF, before the test, I did a re-introduction experiment. I made a cheesecake with no sugar, just pumpkin(which I normally eat so I know how it impacts my BG), eggs and cream cheese and a little pure erythritol(which doesn't raise BG), calculated the carbs and how much I could eat and had a piece or two everyday, by the fourth day my BG was up quite a bit every meal all day, despite sticking with my normal very low-carb meal plan. I included the cheesecake in my carb count so that I wasn't going over the usual limit. I didn't have GI symptoms like I usually do with dairy, suprizingly!, but did have some sinus pressure, that went away when I stopped eating the cheesecake. BG also went back to normal after stopping it. I may do another re-introduction later on this year to see if I get similar results.

[BigDogz]

Hmm, It's interesting. I can't speak on what's going on but you never know. If you start reading up on T1 diabetes, there have been alot of studies lately connecting it with wheat. I've seen similar ideas out there connecting dairy. Also read up on L.A.D.A (Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults) or Type 1.5 and you'll see a connection between autoimmune type blood sugar issues and foods. You should come away seeing that foods can trigger an autoimmune attack on the pancreas, like T1. The LADA is like T1 only starts later in life and is slower progressing. I'm not saying you have either one of these but it is in line with some of what you seem to be exploring in your thoughts.

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

For this last link, I can't link directly to the article, but there's one on LADA

Open Original Shared Link

I haven't had a chance to read your links yet, but I'm really starting to think I should *make* some time. Since my original post, I noticed that I'm once again able to eating dairy without experiencing the stomach pains that I was having. What I have found, though, is that my blood sugars are remaining elevated from where I had been.

Prior to having the "stomach" pains I described in my first post on this thread, my BG's were in the high 70's/low 80's nearly all of the time since going gluten-free. Even after a large meal, I'd rarely go much over 100 and would always bounce back into the 80's within ONE HOUR of eating. The "stomach" pains are now gone, but the somewhat elevated sugars are lingering. Right now, I'm averaging a fasting (10 hrs.) BG of 112 in the AM. I ate a few eggs for breakfast (all protein, no carbs) and then didn't eat again until lunch. Just prior to lunch, I tested again and I was 107. I was too busy to test again until FIVE HOURS after lunch and I tested at 114. I didn't eat anything for another hour while I worked out with weights and tested again (a total of 6 hours since my last meal) and I had only dropped to 109. Granted, in the grand scope of elevated sugars these numbers aren't all that bad...but it's the sudden 30-40 "point" increase that's making me think there's the start of something going on here. I'm beginning to wonder if what I thought was *stomach* pain was actually a mild pancreatitis and the slowly resolving pancreas inflammation is causing the screwed up BG's. I looked up on the Internet the location of the pancreas and it corresponds pretty well with where I was having pain.

As I said, I've had similar pains in the past when I was still eating gluten and when I get accidentally glutened (in addition to other symptoms). I'm beginning to wonder if some of the cycles of pain I've experienced are chronic mild cases of pancreatitis and are putting me at a greater risk of developing full-blown DM. I think I'm going to go off now and read those articles you were so kind to give me. Thanks!

[missy'smom]

Hmm, I hate to say that I agree that your BG seems a little elevated to me, especially the fasting and bears investigating. Blood sugar issues can be very treatable and the earlier they are caught the better. Knowledge is power. Good for you for being informed and proactive! You won't regret it. Do read the blood sugar 101 site. The meal you described-eggs for breakfast, shouldn't raise you. With me, I am seriously insulin deficient, it seems, according to my serum C-peptide test and have little if any insulin resistance, according to my response to meals, and follow a very low-carb plan(nothing else works anymore). My BG fasting or pre-meal may be from mid 80's, barring any immune issues-illness or allergies, to low 10something. When I was consuming dairy again, I saw a significant increase like what you described and like what was described in the blog I linked to. My recent allergy testing-re-testing, came back positive for casein. Stress can raise me, even the extra release of adrenaline from preparing the meal, especially at breakfast. Also, exercise can raise me, so if I test within a short time of finishing, I may be higher than I started. Are you eating many carbs at dinner? If you have delayed stomach emptying, or slow digestion in the evening that could result in an elevated morning reading. Are you staying well hydrated. Dehydration can raise BG as well, even if we don't seem to be THAT parched. Dr. Richard Bernstein has found after testing hundreds of people, that a young, healthy individual has a BG of 83 so that's what he considers "normal". If you are inclined towards the low-carb approach towards meals I recommend him. He is also wonderful resource and advocate for those with blood sugar issues. He is a doctor with diabetes himself and has dedicated his life to it so is very honest and open with sharing information.

Here's a link to Bernstein. Open Original Shared Link

[BigDogz]

Hmm, I hate to say that I agree that your BG seems a little elevated to me, especially the fasting and bears investigating. Blood sugar issues can be very treatable and the earlier they are caught the better. Knowledge is power. Good for you for being informed and proactive! You won't regret it. Do read the blood sugar 101 site. The meal you described-eggs for breakfast, shouldn't raise you. With me, I am seriously insulin deficient, it seems, according to my serum C-peptide test and have little if any insulin resistance, according to my response to meals, and follow a very low-carb plan(nothing else works anymore). My BG fasting or pre-meal may be from mid 80's, barring any immune issues-illness or allergies, to low 10something. When I was consuming dairy again, I saw a significant increase like what you described and like what was described in the blog I linked to. My recent allergy testing-re-testing, came back positive for casein. Stress can raise me, even the extra release of adrenaline from preparing the meal, especially at breakfast. Also, exercise can raise me, so if I test within a short time of finishing, I may be higher than I started. Are you eating many carbs at dinner? If you have delayed stomach emptying, or slow digestion in the evening that could result in an elevated morning reading. Are you staying well hydrated. Dehydration can raise BG as well, even if we don't seem to be THAT parched. Dr. Richard Bernstein has found after testing hundreds of people, that a young, healthy individual has a BG of 83 so that's what he considers "normal". If you are inclined towards the low-carb approach towards meals I recommend him. He is also wonderful resource and advocate for those with blood sugar issues. He is a doctor with diabetes himself and has dedicated his life to it so is very honest and open with sharing information.

Here's a link to Bernstein. Open Original Shared Link

I had a similar rise in BG's like this before I got diagnosed with my gluten issues and went gluten-free. My doc ordered an OGTT. My one hour was 185 and my two hour was 141. I also had an A1C done that was 6.0%. My doc said she wasn't concerned about either result. She said she thought they'd improve after committing to the gluten-free diet and my body started healing. I told her I wanted to know if things were really getting better, or not, so I wanted a recheck A1C in conjunction with the home monitoring I'd do from time to time. The recheck A1C came back 5.7%, which she said was "normal" and I should stop worrying about it.

Needless to say, I've still been checking here and there, anyway. I know this is wrong, but I really hate to "bug" my doctor about tests and "symptoms" and such. She's been pretty easy to talk to and seems to at least consider what I'm saying, but the way my first doc treated me has made me downright paranoid about saying anything that's not 100% absolutely provable and valid. I spent so much time hearing him tell me that I was "imagining things","making health issues where there are none", "you don't have a gluten problem, you're just depressed - here have some antidepressants", etc. that I'm afraid of my new doc looking at me like I'm a hypochondriac like the last one did. I feel as though I can't mention stuff (like the BG's) without looking crazy until the sugars are high enough, consistently enough that there's no question that I've got a problem.

Stress may well be playing a part, too, I suppose. There's a huge meeting at work this coming Monday where the company's going to outline how many lay-offs are coming, how soon and to which workers. Of course, like anyone else would be, I'm a bit stressed out worrying if I'll still have a job come Monday afternoon. I'm doing my best to stay calm and positive, whether I get a lay-off or not, but I'm sure it's effecting me subconsciously.

Anyway...our little discussions have helped me to see some patterns in regards to when the pains occur in relation to when the sugars elevate. I'm going to keep my eye on things, try to curb my carb consumption and go from there. Thanks for the additional link, too!

[T.H.]

It sounds like you have some ideas for where to look for the possible problem, but I figure I'd add one thing, just in case it helps.

When I went gluten free, I did end up having a reaction similar to what you describe. Dizziness, stomach pain, elevated heart rate, etc... (by the way, extremely elevated heart rate can be a sign of an allergic reaction)

Mine turned out to be reactions to a LOT of foods, but one of the ones that really made me dizzy wasn't dairy, but sugar cane. 0.o I only mention it because I noticed that sugar was likely an ingredient in most of the dairy foods you mentioned specifically. So, it might be worth considering as a possible culprit, if food is one of the issues.

A few brief facts about it, too - most of the gluten-free stuff, you might have noticed, has more sugarcane than its non-gluten-free equivalent. They also tend to have the sugarcane less 'processed,' so it's evaporated cane juice rather than 'sugar,' which means an allergic response to it would be more severe than to the fully processed sugar.

And lastly, it's a member of the grass family like wheat. I've read that a number of celiacs develop sensitivities to one or more 'grass family' foods, in the beginning of all this. So, could be, yes?

Honestly, I don't know whether the dizziness is allergy related or not, but I do know I had those symptoms (no hives, no itching, etc...). I was told by my allergist that this had nothing to do with an 'allergic reaction.' He wouldn't do a blood test for it.

Then my GI tested me and lo and behold, I AM allergic to the stuff, pretty severely. But I don't get the typical reaction, just the symptoms similar to what you have. Either way, I suppose it doesn't matter in the end whether it's intolerance or reaction or allergy, really, as long as we figure out what causes the problem and take it away, eh? :-)

Not sure if I'm experiencing something real or whether I'm just going off my rocker...

I've been searching this board as well as Googling the internet to find symptoms of dairy intolerance...not lactose intolerance...but reactivity to dairy like to gluten.

Here's the thing...went gluten-free on my own due to a doc who was unwilling to be open-minded and test me. Felt better. Got a new doc - she wanted 'proper' testing - "Go back on gluten, my child." Immediate return of watery diarrhea and all neurologic symptoms. Suffered thru 12 days before refusing to go any further. Doc suggested genetic testing since I couldn't tolerate enough time on gluten to do a colonoscopy - positive DQ2.2. She decided she was comfortable with a celiac disease diagnosis purely on the strength of my gluten challenge symptoms and the genetic testing. Resumed gluten-free lifestyle 4/09. Did well, felt great.

Recently been fatigued, not quite as bad as before going gluten-free, but a noticeable change from how I had been feeling. I also was noting stomach pains, bloating, gas, heart pounding, feeling hot/sweaty and significant dizziness. Had none of that on gluten-free diet before now.

Initially couldn't connect it with anything I was eating. Started a food diary to see if I could see any pattern. Noted my stomach hurt something fierce the morning after having a small bowl of gluten-free ice cream for a bedtime treat. Then I noted symptoms after eating a gluten-free pudding cup. Hmmm, dairy?? Tried Lactaid with no change in symptoms. Skipped dairy for a few days...no symptoms. Intentionally ate dairy again x4 days. Dizzy!

Today - yogurt for breakfast - dizzy, stomach pain. Chocolate milkshake for lunch - heart pounding like a jackhammer, sweaty, very dizzy. Took somewhere around 2 hours for the symptoms to resolve after the milkshake.

None of the info I've found on dairy reactions mentions anything about dizziness! Could I be having an unusual reaction to dairy? I have a home meter because my sugars had been climbing before I went gluten-free. Back to normal on gluten-free diet so when I ran out of strips, I stopped checking it. Could the dizziness, etc. be reactive hypoglycemia - my sugar spiking and then plummeting? If so, why would it only do it after eating dairy but not after a slice of gluten-free cake with frosting?