Lactose intolerant, full fluid and NSVs

Hi everyone, first an NSV.  I saw someone last Friday that i haven't seen in a few years.  She said wow, how much weight have you lost?  Since I saw her last and plus having the surgery I have lost a total of 96 pounds....27 since Opti.  I told her and she said it was like losing an entire person!  It was nice to hear :)

Now for the questions about lactose intolerant.  Well I have always been intolerant of too much milk but since full fluids started I can't even eat yogurt let alone the cream soups.  I am now having pureed vegetable soup but wow is that getting boring and a little irritating.  I have been sticking to juices with water, vegetable juice, and jello's.  I have also tried soy yogurt ....disgusting..yuck!  I am trying soy milk today.  Needless to say I am hungry and don't think I am getting enough food.  I have been getting dizzy and a little faint.  I am drinking lots of water as well...no problem with that.  Any suggestions from other's who are lactose intolerant or have any advice at all for someone experiencing this after surgery.  Oh and puddings upset my stomach too.  

Thanks so much for any input, it is greatly appreciated!  Sue

Hi Sue,

I was in the same position and I don't like Soy either.  Before surgery, one thing my GP said to try was to not have any dairy for 2 weeks then slowly add it, you can try that.  I am able to have low/no fat yogurt (as long) when I eat it as the lower the fat, the lower the lactose.  But I can not handle dairy early in the day.  Not sure why, but it's like other food coat the stomach.  One thing I have liked (although I don't get it often) is Almond Breeze.  (It's in the baking area I think, depending on what store you go to).   Also, you can try cheeses when your diet permits.  They don't seem to bother me as much, as they don't have lactose in them (so I'm told).  Not sure how they are when they have some whey in them like cottage cheese.  You can up your protein by mixing non flavored protein powder in your soup.  You will need to watch your protein powders as well, as a lot of them have milk in them.  There are a couple brands that have juice type ones (4EverFit, and Weider I think are the names).  Some have suggested taking lactaid but I haven't tried it either.  Have you tried the Lacteeze milk at all?  Or goat's milk (not fat free that I know of, but it digests easier than cows milk).

I do know how you feel, I can react to milk that is mixed in things as well.

Good luck,

Cathy

Thank you for the wonderful ideas athy.  I will definitely try some of the suggestions you have made.  Thank you again and best wishes :)

Hi there. .I am also on the full fluid stage. Wondering if you have tried oatmeal? I just made some banana bread oatmeal from the WLS book and it was a great change from soup!

I did try oatmeal but I made it with mil; so it caused some stomach pain but maybe I should give it a try with jus****er.  :)

I tend to use some coffeemate when I make oatmeal to give it a creamy taste.  No nutrition, but no lactose either (watch the store brands, some still have lactose in it).

The recipe I use is:

1/3 cup rolled oats

1 cup water

some sweetener (optional)

some extract, either maple or vanilla (optional)  - I add it to the water before adding it to the oats.

Microwave in a good size bowl on High for 99 seconds.  You can adjus****er for how thin you want it.

Cathy

YUCK soy and almond milk.. no no no for me. Theres Lactose Free Skim MIlk, I get it at Zehrs. Maybe try that?

Buy Lactaid from the pharmacy....chew 2 RIGHT before eating dairy....then chow down. In hospital I drank half a medicine cup of milk...and knew RIGHT away that something was not right, lol. I laid down, fell asleep...then the nurse woke me to take my blood pressure and I said "omg I'm going to be sick".....and I was...very. No milk again. However I tried cottage cheese, and even though I didn't throw up....I was crampy and bloated and just yucky feeling. I am a dairy LOVER so this was very upsetting. I did however go and get the Lactaid, and chewed the hell out of it for a week. Now the lactose intolerance seems to be calming down. I forgot to take the lactaid and ate dairy...and was fine. So now I approach with caution...but stopped using the Lactaid for now. So it might not be a forever thing, and you might be able to tolerate dairy a little further down the line. However, for now....I recommend the Lactaid it can really help get you through for a week or 2 until you can try again. Helps you get your protein in via dairy =)

I will buy some.  I did try the greek yogurt again today and it seems to be sitting well. Thank you so much for the advice :)

You may also want to try Unsweetend Almond Milk it is really good and low in calories.  It is abou 30 calories for 8 ounces.