Any one who knows me, knows how much I love food. So when I was diagnosed lactose intolerant two years ago it was my idea of hell. It came as quite a shock, as before then I'd eaten dairy almost everyday of my life with no problems and I just couldn't understand how it could change so suddenly.
Before I was diagnosed I had constant sharp stomach pains, uncomfortable bloating, diarrhoea almost every day and lost just under a stone in weight. Eating went from being something enjoyable to a chore.
The side effects had a big effect on my life, I found myself turning downs plans with my friends and boyfriend to stay at home instead- I was too scared to go out encase I got ill. The few times I did venture out the first thing I would do was look for the loo, then the rest of the time I would spend panicking about what would happen if I got a dodgy stomach. My handbag essential was no longer a hairbrush, but a box of Imodium, which I got through by the bucket load.
I seemed to spend my life sat in the waiting room of the doctors, only to be told time and time again that I had IBS triggered by stress, apparently it was common for girls of my age! My doctor prescribed me 3 different types of medication for IBS, which I forked out a fortune paying for them, to find they made no difference. To be honest I wasn't that keen on taking them either, as why would I want to fill my stomach with tablets I knew wouldn't help?!
After a year of going back and forth, I was fed of feeling like I wasn't being taken seriously and my doctor treating me like I was 12 not 21. My mum was fed up too, as she could see the upset it was causing me, so she booked an appointment and we both went along. It took my mum telling my doctor exactly what I'd been telling him for the last year for him to finally realise I wasn't just making it up, and if the medication wasn't working, then we needed to look into it further. He finally referred me to the gastroenterology department at my local hospital for tests, hallelujah!
I had zillions of blood tests (even passed out in the chair a couple of times, as me, blood and needles don't mix!), 2 ultrasounds, 3 breath tests and another year of agony before it was confirmed I was lactose intolerant. As we all do, before being diagnosed I 'Googled' my symptoms and at one point I generally thought I was dying, so I was over the moon to find out what had been causing my body so much upset. Word of advice- don't believe everything you read on Google!
When I had an appointment with a dietician it really hit me how many food products contained dairy or traces of it, and the effect being lactose intolerant would have on my life. Striping my diet back and starting from scratch was difficult, it was so easy to slip up and fall back into old habits. I would make myself a cup a tea without even thinking, then immediately after regret it.
Breaking bad habits wasn't the hardest part though, the hardest part was learning to like the new tastes and textures of diary free foods, it took months. At first I started off covering my foods in sauces and spices to mask the taste, then eventually one day something in my brain clicked and they tasted normal to me. The foods I was now eating, were the foods I used to turn my nose up at.
Now a couple of years on Being dairy free isn't such a burden, there is such an amazing range of free from foods in the majority of supermarkets, most restaurants have a dairy free menu (make sure you ask), and with more and more people opting to following Vegan or Paleo diets there's so many recipes floating round the web.
Also I have discovered 'Super Lactase Enzyme Tablets' in Holland & Barrett, which are a life saver if I'm ever craving anything I shouldn't! You just take one tablet before you eat the dairy product, then the enzyme breaks down the food so your body is able to digest it. Not the cheapest at £11.99 a pot, but there often in the Holland & Barrett Penny Sale, where you get a second pot for 1p- bargain!
What I've learnt from this experience- you know your body better than anybody, don't let anyone tell you your fine, when you know your not. If you feel like your not being listened too, be persistent.
AJ x
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