Lactose Intolerance vs. Milk/Casein Allergy?

About a year ago, I noticed that I was having trouble digesting cream cheese and icecream. Then it got worse, and I counldn't digest milk, butter, whip cream...etc.. I started doing research and came up with Lactose Intolerance. So I avoid dairy and take a pill. The problem is, I'm not sure if its Milk/Casein allergy or lactose intolerant. Its so bad that I cant eat breaded food, cant use certain hair products (casein I think) and I cant even take tums, or pepcid because they contain lactose, even if I take a my lactose therapy pill.

Does anyone have a casein or milk allergy? I want to know some signs and sympoms and what to look out for that may let me know which one I have. (Yes, Ive looked online but I want REAL person experiences)

Ive taken tabs to help and to a certain degree, they do help. But even if I take them, all is does is allow me to eat the normal foods that others can, like bread and a small amount of butter. I still cant have anything with milk or cheese, or lactase. I also have an allergic reation to hair product. The only thing I can use is Dove shampoo and conditioner (no mousse, hairspray, leave in conditioner, etc.) b/c is it hypo-allergenic. They think I might be allergic to casein, which is why I was thinking I might not have a lactose intolerance problem.

I have milk allergy. My syntoms are: I have my face swollen, rush, redness and itching.

Did you ever consider getting some lactase tabs?

I have a casein intolerance. Casein is a protien found in milk and dairy products. Lactose is a sugar found in milk/dairy products. If you are lactose intolerant you can take a pill to replace the enzymes that you are lacking in order to digest the milk product. If you are casein intolerant, it isn't something that is lacking in your digestion, or treatable with a pill. It is your auto-immune system kicking in and causing damage to your system and making you feel generally yucky. The only thing you can do for casein issues is to avoid dairy products all together. In my case eating casein caused me terrible constipation and sinus troubles. These problems went away almost immediately after removing dairy. You might want to not eat dairy at all for awhile to see if you improve. If you improve, maybe you are having a casein problem instead. Good luck!

I have a milk allergy. I had stomach aches, sometimes nausea, acne ( I later found was due to my allergy), headaches, sinus congestion and heartburn. All of these went away after I removed dairy from my diet.

Sure seems more likely to be something like Celiac Disease, an autoimmune disease in which u cannot digest gluten, a protein in wheat, rye and barley. If u are taking Lactaid pills, they contain gluten, so u are hurting yourself with that as well as eating gluten. Please feel free to email me or use these sites to see if u think u may have Celiac.
www.csaceliacs.org
www.celiac.com
www.celiac.org