My 15 mo old has been a difficult sleeper since birth (waking often at night - cramping). She was on specialized formula (Elecare) until 12 mo and is on constipation medicine and reflux medicine that all seemed to help make her more comfortable at night. At 1 year we were instructed to move to whole milk. Her constipation is under control and reflux meds are still given but the rough nights have come back again (waking 4-5 times). The GI folks were telling me that if she had a milk allergy she'd have other digestive issues (not just cramping/reflux issues). However, yesterday I took her off of milk and we had the best night sleep we've had in months. Does anyone else have children with milk allergies that only seem to be affected with the issue at night? Do the symptoms show up as cramping and/or poor sleep? Were your issues resolved with eliminating milk? Help please... need sleep!
Do not believe everything the drs. tell you ,unfortunately. You can have any type of symptoms with allergies/intolerances. COMPLETELY remove the dairy from her diet and you'll see a new kid. My kids had similar issues and are still dairy free and thriving today.
Hi J.,
Our first one had the reflux and both girls have the constipation and cramping. This would happen at all hours but maybe we noticed it more at night because everything was supposed to be calm and it wasn't. :-)
I put our oldest one on Lactaid milk, cut out cheese, ice-cream, etc and life got a whole lot better. I have noticed that she did okay with yogart, something with the natural bacteria helping to breakdown the lactose. Also, as she's has grown I see improvement with her system being able to handle milk, like I can now cook with it and she can have a little bit of ice-cream 1-2 times a week. With my youngest I'm still breastfeeding and it's always a bad night if I have any kind of dairy (like I had pizza yesterday and we didn't sleep last night).
Try cutting out dairy. At least if it doesn't work you can always go back to square one.
Good luck!
My son has allergies to dairy.I got it confirmed by going to a holistic center and he had an allergy test.
His symptoms did become more intense at night,cramping,stuffed nose,conjested chest.
Once I cut out the milk the change in him was fantastic and of course we were loving getting a better night sleep.
Getting a full comprehensive allergy test done was one of the best things I did as a mother for my son as I also found out that he had allergies to wheat ,apples and strong cleaning products(the smells agitated him.)
Best of luck
B.
Cut the dairy out. There are many other natural items she can get the vitamin D, calcium, and fats that milk provides. If she slept good without it, I would say that is a sign in the right direction. Good luck!
I agree with Julie J. I know someone whose teacher requested meds for ADD. She had him tested and discovered a dairy allergy. when she took him off all ADD symptoms went away! He had no stomach issues.
Try goat's milk. Our daughter had a dairy allergy from birth with GI issues-rashes-reflux-bad sleep, but nursed and was also on Elecare until about 13-14 months (I have a dairy allergy and even had to abstain from goat's milk products while nursing). We like the Meyenberg brand.
The the allergist told us she tested clear for regular cow dairy at 12 months. But it went hideously bad in just a couple of days with fitful sleep, gritty bloody stools and rashes. Went back to formula. Started her on a probiotic (a non-dairy gel-capsule variety from the cold case in Whole Foods vitamin section) added into her formula for a month and gradually began to add a little goats milk at a time over the next month, and she did fine. Now she's just on goat's milk and still does poorly on anything with cow's milk in it. Even a few cheesy crackers cause terrible gastric distress and awful diaper rash.
The pediatrician said that the immunity in the blood and the immunity in the GI tract are sort of separate, and that even though she tested OK with the stick test for milk, that doesn't mean her GI tract had caught up yet.
Digestion slows down to a crawl and practically stops at night when you sleep, so anything that can irritate your guts spends a much longer period of time sitting or moving through there.
As far as constipation goes, I just make sure she's hydrated enough during the day, and try individually packaged prunes or prune juice mixed with apple juice (or prune baby food when she was about a year old) only in the morning. I found the reflux medication seemed to cause more problems than it fixed, so I took her off of it.
I am so sorry you have to go through this. I am sorry but I have questions, how did the diagnosis of milk allergy come into play? Did they do a blood test or skin test or just said so after the reactions?
ok here are my opinions on different senerio: If the doctor just pulled the diagnosis out of thin air (by listening to symptoms) I almost want to say that she is lactose intollerant, I would go back to what worked for a little bit get the milk out of the diet then try lactose free and see how that works for you.
If the doctor did a blood test he could still just be lactose intolerant. My 2nd child was getting REALLY sick fast and after ... ok lets make this short he had a blood test that said he was allergic to milk, but he was just lactose intolerant and by age 2 he out grew it, but he was not allergic just intolerant to lactose. (I Love Lactaid Milk)
If you have done the skin test then I am sorry you need to remove cows milk from his diet, I am not sure how sows milk, or rice milk works on milk allergies but check with your doctor.
Good Luck, support and hugs sent your way!!
Go 3 weeks without diary (remembering that it is hidden in things like Casein, Caseinates, Koumiss, Lactalbumin, Lactalbumin phosphate, Lactoglobulin, etc. Keep a daily diary of symptoms. Then reintroduce dairy, and see what happens. If she does have a milk problem, you can see if it is a Lactose (milk sugar) or Casein (milk protein) issue by experimenting with foods that have one but not the other. If nothing works, then you'll have to go completely diary free, but that's not as hard to do these days. There is even a pretty decent vegan cheese called diyia (I think), that actually melts. Good luck!
I STILL (at 31yrs old) have cramping, bloating, and excessive gas that keeps me up at night if I have too much dairy. If I have dairy in the morning, it starts just before I go to bed. If I have dairy any time after morning, it will begin in the middle of the night and wake me up.
I usually stick with almond milk. They have chocolate, vanilla, and regular. It's still got the vitamin D, calcium, and good fats. You could try that... that is unless she has a nut allergy.
Every child is different, and drs don't like to admit that there isn't a checklist you go through and wahla! You know what they are allergic to or not. If You saw that dramatic of a difference continue to try it and see if it holds true. It could be a one time thing or it might not. Having milk everyday is not necessary to survive. There are plenty of other nutritious things out there that be just as good. Yes cramping and constipation/diarhea and poor sleep can definitely be linked to an allergy. In fact bedwetting can also be linked to dairy issues as well. But most drs won't tell you this.
