Saturday, August 2, 2014

Breaking Up is Hard To Do

Good bye, buddy ol' pal.....sniff......

Guys. I'm going through a major relationship crisis right now. I think that one of my most favorite food buddies and I simply must part ways and it's not going to be pretty.

You know how I've been wah wah wah-ing about my cranky innards? And that I've been thinking that I just don't tolerate wheat, and fresh fruit, and vegetables?

Wrong.

I had it completely wrong. I tolerate all those things just fine and dandy. It's when I consume any kind of dairy product that things get messy.

Dairy. Me. A hay-seed farm girl that grew up milking cows in America's Dairyland. Who went to the bank during the month of June with my mom every chance I got because June is DAIRY month and they gave away free chocolate milk at the bank. Who considers ice cream a therapeutic food group. Who thought she couldn't live without cheese. Who.....

Well. You get the idea. Lactaid pills help me tolerate smallish amounts of milk and dairy; but the vanilla milkshake (large) that I inhaled yesterday just because Bev bought it specifically for me sealed the deal. I reluctantly came to the conclusion that there isn't enough Lactaid in the whole stinkin' universe to make a large milkshake and me happy at the same time.

WAH WAH WAH!

I know from hearing from all of you that food intolerances in Sjogren's is a very common thing; and I also know that often dairy is the culprit, so this should be no surprise but I'm still amazed that it took me months and months and months to draw this conclusion.

.::facepalm::.

But there's no denying that when I omit any and all things dairy, my insides are much happier. So there we have it.

How can I tell my PARENTS? Oh, the shame of it all........

It appears that I'm not the only sjoggie that had to go separate ways with dairy. Read this study entitled Cow's milk protein sensitivity assessed by the mucosal patch technique is related to irritable bowel syndrome in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome published in Clinical and Experimental Allergy in 2008:

Introduction 
Patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) are reported to have a variety of gastrointestinal symptoms partly attributed to an overrepresentation of celiac disease. We have observed that irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)-like symptoms are frequent complaints in this patient group. Allergic manifestations to various drugs are also common in pSS. A role of food allergy in IBS has been proposed.
Objective 
This study is aimed at evaluating the mucosal response to rectal challenge with cow's milk protein (CM) in patients with pSS and relates possible CM reactivity to their intestinal symptoms......continue reading here

6 comments:

Charla said...

I've been off dairy since 1995. It was soooooo hard to give up ice cream and cheese. I'm also off wheat and fruits with bananas being the exception. Then there are the additives, spices and OTC drugs I have to stay away from. Sounds overwhelming but with creativity I've discovered ways to get around my "no" foods. Not easy, but doable.

Anonymous said...

I am so pleased you posted this study. It backs up the anecdotal stuff we SS patients talk about. I've been off of cows milk, ice cream, yogurt and some other dairy products for about 15 years and experienced instant relief. Almond and Rice Milks are good substitutes.It is a challenge to keep up your calcium levels so I take a supplement. Sorry for the loss of dairy but I promise you will get used to it!

annie said...

Sorry you've had to join "the other side" of dairy deprived. I'm on rice milk and sometimes cheat with soy milk, as I cannot have almond milk as I also have some issues with tree nuts (ARGH...). I really really miss ice cream and cheese, and no! soy ice cream does not taste the same as regular ice cream.


Doctors have a difficult time with intolerances. To them, you either have an allergy or you don't and if you can have sheep or goat's milk products, you can have cow's.That is not true, they are clueless.

Rita said...

Hello, I am in the same boat. GF for years and still need to be but now dairy has to go! I can tolerate a bit with lactaid but not too much. One exposure to Wheat makes me sick for a few weeks but dairy just makes me feel bad for a day or so.

Heda said...

I've given up trying to work out what foods cause a reaction. One day I can't eat eggs the next day I can. And so on. My latest theory is old ie stale food sets me off. But hey it's just another theory. And speaking of theory I've been a coeliac for years and still don't quite believe I am. My theory on that one is that sjogrens causes gut changes that mimic coeliac disease in the same way the immune deficiency does. But what do I know?

Melody said...

Going dairy free is not easy, especially for someone who really loves milk, cheese, cottage cheese...OK, let's not think about all that!
I decided to go gluten free and dairy free on Nov. 3, 2012 after my granddaughter was diagnosed with celiac. My daughter had been doing a lot of reading about it and said, "Mom you really need to do this. The book says that the 3 biggest causes of inflamation are wheat, dairy and sugar." So I put my big girl panties on and did it!
I know I've had a dairy allergy for many years and was just "careful" about how much dairy I had but after completely going off of it - and all gluten - I'm doing much better. I was in the hospital during the summer of 2011 with horrible, burning chest pains. It felt like my lungs were literally on fire! They thought I was having a heart attack. Turns out it was inflamation from an autoimmune disorder. And even though I'd been diagnosed in 2009 it took that visit to the hospital for me to agree to take Plaquenil. After I went gluten/dairy free those pains have disappeared!
I still have pizza (with cheese) once in a great while but for 99% of the time I avoid it. I really like almond milk and coconut ice cream is yummy - if you like coconut.
My granddaughter's allergist is also concerned that she may have a dairy allergy. She said that milk is very weird because it can be days before you have a reaction to it. When I did my elimination diet to determine if I had a milk allergy, chocolate was the 1st thing I was able to add back into my diet. Yippee, I can have dark chocolate! But milk makes my nose run, makes me cough and gives me respiratory problems. Thank God I still have dark chocolate!
I remember writing to you a year or so ago bemoaning the fact that I can't sing much anymore when my whole life has centered around singing. Your advice was don't think about the things you can't do anymore, concentrate on the things you can. So I'm saying it back to you, try not to think about the things you can't eat anymore, experiment and try new things (coconut ice cream!)
Good luck!

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