Is it a milk allergy, lactose intolerance, or something else?

I used to be lactose intolerant, but was over it for about five years. Now, for the past couple of years, I've had what I've assumed was (and what my doctor told me was) an allergy to milk. The symptoms do match - I get hives, and my throat swells - but only with certain foods.
I can, however, have processed or cooked milk - cheese, sour cream, Lactaid, yogurt, etc., but not pure milk products like milk, ice cream, and whipped cream.
That matches neither allergy nor intolerance - if it was intolerance, i wouldn't have those symptoms, and if it were an allergy i wouldn't be able to have any milk products at all. What do i have?
Any and all answers are welcome...

It sounds like an intolerance to me. My children were lactose intolerant for the first few years of their lives and have slowly become more able to tolerate some dairy foods. Like you, they have experienced a greater degree of intolerance with certain foods, ice cream and cream for one and cheese for the other. The foods you don't react to may be contributing to a greater degree of reaction with pure milk solids as an intolerance is about levels of substance. People can also develop intolerances at different times of life and for different periods of time. You are right about an allergy - any incidence of the protein would cause a reaction. Trust your instincts and avoid the foods you react to.

It kinda sounds like one is the other. I would confirm unanswered questions with your doctor.

It is definitely an allergy. My son is allergic to milk, but I think in reality, its really an allergy to a protein found in cow's milk. If it was just an intolerance, you wouldn't get hives or swell up. Many people think that intolerance is the same as an allergy. Its really not. Your allergy may not be severe. That's why you can have processed stuff. But like I said, processing it might remove most of the protein that affects your allergies.

Food allergies are difficult to diagnose. Sometimes it's a combination of foods that triggers a reaction. I was told that I was lactose intolerant years ago and should avoid dairy foods. My symptoms where cramps, diarrhea and bloating. Now I have allergic reactions ranging from hives, throat closing or nasal congestion. Yet I can eat yogurt and cheddar cheese and use lactaid milk. My allergist determined that it was a lactose allergy, since my son has this same condition and broke out into hives using an Advair inhaler. We learned that the base powder in advair contains lactose. His allergy tests showed he was not allergic to milk protein. We empathize. It's hard to dine out. We carry benadryl on us. We've found that many resturaunts use lactose in their 'seasonings'. Let your server know you have an allergy and see what they recommend. Dessert menus usually leaves us without options. Pie works, just not ala mode. Many of the cakes are full of butter which minimally gives us a bad stomach ache. Good Luck......