Am I lactose intolerant?

Lactose intolerant problems advice?

• im 19 and i am lactose intolerant. MANY people in my family older and younger are lactose intolerant. and by that i mean several farts after eating ice cream. i noticed my lactose intolerance getting worse about 1 1/2 years. i was farting a lot worse after eating dairy. there was one night i had cheese and crackers and i threw up violently for a few minutes later that night. there was also one time i had 4 big pieces of pizza with extra cheese, i threw up all night long then. not sure if it was the cheese, eating too much, or a bug. i often get headaches or stomach aches after i eat even just a little bit of cheese. and it seems like its been getting gradually worse for the last 2 years or so. its something i can live with easily but i dont like the stinky farts in public or having to hold them in and have a massive stomach ache. and i love dairy food so i definetly do not want to stop eating it and i do not want to eat less of it either. what are some remedies? right now, i dont have a lot of money but even if something costs alot of money tell me about it. also is there a measurement or something like that that tells u how intolerant or how allergic you are? i heard of a blood test for lactose intolerant but what does the test even measure?

• Answer:

  You could try switching to non-dairy or low-dairy alternatives. Lactaid, soy milk, 2% cheese, yogurt. They also make a lactose free ice cream. It only comes in vanilla that I'm aware of, but you could add in your only flavors to give it a bit of variety. I'm not saying to give up your dairy completely, as I'm mildly lactose intolerant as well, and couldn't do that myself. However, slight changes to your diet may well help. If the change in diet fails, you could speak to your doctor about a medication that helps to break down the lactose for you. As far as the blood test, I'm afraid that I'm completely useless there, as the diet changes have been enough to work for me.