Welcome – Portrait of a Dairy Allergy

I have a dairy allergy. Now I almost certainly also have “decreased lactose activity” like 75% of adults in the US.[1]  However, that is not my problem. Please, don't confuse your symptoms of indulging in too much ice cream with mine. They are far different and more serious than a bit of bowel discomfort.[2]
It is easy to find the find the symptoms of a dairy allergy, [3] in general, but let’s look at an example from my experience. Suppose, for instance, unbeknownst to me, my completely free of dairy, soy creamer for my coffee (not to be confused with non-dairy creamer, which contains milk products) gets switched for an all-natural dairy creamer. It's happened, so this isn't hypothetical: 2 tablespoons of creamer into 12 ounces of coffee, I drink half. The same thing would happen if I ate popcorn laced with butter substitute, so this is a good example. My progression of symptoms is as follows (depending on severity, the progression can be faster or last longer, but this is typical; "day"-symptoms generally continue into the following days):
Day 1: Initial exposure
  1. My ear starts itching – it’s always the right one for some reason.
  2. My eyes get gummy and my face starts itching.
  3. My sinuses activate, varying from pressure. 
  4. It becomes difficult to breathe and my throat feels tingly and like something is "stuck" – I should take some Benadryl or perhaps go to a hospital.
  5. Here comes the coughing and wheezing – this one is scary: Do I need an Epipen®?
 Day 2: These symptoms continue in varying degrees throughout the rest of the allergy cycle, depending on degree of exposure
  1. A feeling of general malaise with histamine responses.
  2. Coughing
Day 3
  1. Sharp pain in upper intestine
  2. GERD symptoms – I need to watch what I eat and avoid bending over
Day 4
  1. Migraine
  2. Lightheadedness
Day 5
  1. Intestinal gas – bubble, bubble, toil and trouble
Day 6-7: Here come the lactose intolerance symptoms
  1. Enough said
Day 8-9
  1. Feeling good and back to normal
 Day 10
  1. Acne explosion all over my face
This is not lactose intolerance. Yes, I am aware that a true milk allergy in an adult is rare,[4] but that still leaves a lot of people having one. I may be a little paranoid when I go out to eat.[5]  You would be too if 15 minutes into enjoying a perfectly cooked steak sent you into coughing fits as you tried to breathe. Please, don’t assume your discomfort after eating too much lasagna is the same as mine. It’s irritating; worse, it’s insensitive; worst, it might cause you to be careless with my food and give me something that has the potential to kill me. Just, don’t do it.
One day, I will post my experience in uncovering this milk allergy as the cause of being unwell for three years. It was most certainly there for much longer; it just came to a head. It’s a lesson in taking charge of your own health. My doctor was a partner in this but I was the sleuth: my Dr. Watson, if you will.  For now, enjoy the saga as I learn to navigate dining without all-things milk.
REFERENCES
[1]    Statistic Brain Research Institute, “Lactose intolerance statistics – Statistic Brain,” Statistic brain: Percentages, numbers, financials, rankings. Statistic Brain, 23-Jul-2012.
[2]    WebMD, “Food allergy, or something else?,” WebMD: Allergies health center. WebMD, 25-Oct-2012.
[3]    Mayo Clinic staff, “Food allergy: symptoms,” Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 11-Feb-2011.
[4]    R. G. Crittenden and L. E. Bennett, “Cow’s milk allergy: a complex disorder,” J. Am. Coll. Nutr., vol. 24, no. 6 Suppl, p. 582S–91S, Dec. 2005.
[5]    WebMD, “Living with a milk allergy,” WebMD: Allergies health center. WebMD, 24-Oct-2013.
Websites were current as of 19 April 2013.

 UPDATE
It appears that this "milk allergy" is an intolerance – although it feels like an allergy to me, and I am treating like an allergy because it knocks me out so badly.  No, I learned yesterday – or at least had confirmed – that I have fibromyalgia.  I'm not taking this page down, but head to Living with Fibromyalgia to learn more of this saga.

updated 14 December 2013

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