Lactose Intolerance

Hello Everyone, I am almost three years out and have been having a lot of issues with diarreha, cramps, etc.  Have any of you become lactose intolerant after your WLS surgery?  I have heard that it happens pretty frequently for Gastric Bypass patients. Thanks and any suggestions would be helpful.  I am cutting out a lot of the dairy and it seems to help but my bone density is getting bad so I would really like to keep the dairy if I can. Thanks, Sharon

Hi there! I am about 2 1/2 years out from RNY and I find myself lactose intolerant much of the time. I cannot drink milk straight now nor can I eat cereal with milk. My stomach starts to cramp up something terrible when I even try (and I loved cereal so I keep trying...stupid monkey!) I have no trouble at all with yogurt and cheese though thankfully so I am still able to get in dairy. I also have a terrible time with ice cream - even the low carb/no sugar added variety makes me feel very ill. I don't throw up but feel just awful. I can also drink protein shakes just fine - even mixing the powder formulas with milk for added protein doesn't bother me unless I drink them later in the evening. Weird, huh??  I would suggest trying nonfat yogurts and string cheese to get your dairy in. Some have had success with taking pepcid or lactaid but I really don't want to take medicine just in order to eat something, just a personal choice. Good luck! ~Laura

Use Lactaid milk.  They add the enzyme that your body has stopped making, so that you can digest the milk.   I think there are cheese and yogurt products that are also made for people with intolerance.  However, some people who can't tolerate milk can still eat yogurt and cheese.  Don't know about you.  Soy milk products also come with added calcium and dark green leafy vegetables and broccoli have calcium.  Whole Foods Market will probably have products that you can use. Good luck!

I switched to soy milk early out cuz I couldn't tolerate cereal and milk anymore. Now I have hot cereal made with soy milk but I really don't like cold cereal that much (too much like bread to me). I don't like the vanilla soy milk cuz it's too sweet but the plain is pretty good.

Hey there Sharon! Nice to see you. I became lactose intolerant too. But like many I can tolerate yogurt because of the live cultures in yogurt...I can tolerate some milk in recipes and if I take a probiotics I am usually okay too. I eat an ice cream sandwich and I am usually okay...But someone else mentioned that late at night she can't handle milk...I'm the same way...The more I've eaten for the day...The least anything with milk likes me!  It's very very weird! I thought it was just me!  But some things just double me over in pure pain for hours one day and the next time I try it it may not bother me...I can eat cottage cheese, but not ricotta cheese!  (They seem almost the same...but for some reason I can eat one and not the other)...I can handle a few ounces of cheese...but I cannot drink whey protein either.   I suggest getting some probiotics (which are not medicine but live cultures  like in yogurt that eat bad flora in your intestines) when you eat something that in the past has made you ill and take one or two with that food, you should have no trouble....and eat a lot of yogurt...I absolutely love greek yogurt (Fage is my fav brand), I eat it almost daily for milk replacement. (But it is not fortified with Vit D...so you need to watch that too.  For whatever reason, Fage yogurt has 3 times the protein that regular yogurt has and is twice as creamy tasting for being zero or 2% fat. (it's also twice the price, but you add your own sweetner and fruit and it's so delicious! I use it in place of sour cream too, like in mexican foods or anywhere you might use sour cream. (It makes a great veggie dip too when mixed with seasonings. Or meat sauce with horseradish and dill...yummy! Sorry...I got a little off topic there!  But I was thinking like you...I didn't want to give up calcium and I needed a daily fix in my diet!  So this works great for me.  Hugs Anita

The same happens to me. I do great with cheese, yogurt and cold milk. But once I add cereal my stomach starts acting up. Ice Cream is a big no no. But at least I know if  i'm ever constipated, I can eat an ice cream and solve that problem.

Your concern seems to be, at least in part, your calcium intake.  Do you take calcium supplements?  I would suggest you try some UpCalD (you can get it from amazon.com - they have the best price). This is a powder that you can mix in foods or drinks (it's tasteless), or you can dump it right in your mouth and it's kind of like a pixie stick, but not sweet like that. I do hear that lactose intolerance is a fairly common "side effect" - luckily for me, I haven't had this problem - at least not yet! ~Wendy

Thanks everyone for the suggestions.  I do not drink milk on a daily basis but eat yogart every day and I am getting to the point that I can't hardly eat it. I do add some honey nut cherrios  (2-3 oz) for some crunch. I am wondering at this point if it is a lactose intolerance or if this is just the way it is going to be for me... I have talked to several gastric bypass patients and it seems we are either dealing with constant diarreha or constipation... LOL  Guess I should make an appointment with my PCP and have them test me for the lactose intolerance to find out for sure if that is the issue. I do take calcium citrate on a daily basis along with my B12 and multivitamin. I am almost 52 so age is taking its toll with the bone thing - I hate this getting old stuff. LOL Anyway, thanks again for your responses and have a most wonderful weekend.

At support meetings I attended prior to surgery, they warned that some patients do become lactos intoleratnt after RNY surgery.  No stats on what percentage, just that it does sometimes happen. From post RNY support meetings in 2 years, I've not heard about any studies about lactose intolerance being a common problem for post ops.  If you are lactose intolerant, then the why protein supplements might be a problem, and you may have to do soy, which are somewhat harder to digest.  I'd suggest a 2000mg calcium citrate supplementation daily, taken in 3-4 doses. Most calcium citrates come with vitamin D, but not all. So you may also want to supplement with additional vitamin D supplements for additional bone strength.  What does your doctor suggest in regards to correcting the bone density issue??