I may have the strangest case of lactose intolerance yet. First of all I'm 18, and diagnosed myself basically just before I turned 17. I have the most severe intolerance of the people I've talked to. If I eat even a spoonful of low-fat pudding my stomach begins to gurgle and I will have some flatulence. With one cookie I will have gas, bloating, cramping, and nausea. If I have even a small amount of cheese or something else dairy that's more than the size of a cookie I will be on the ground, in the fetal position, clutching my stomach, with gas, nausea, sweating, tremendous pain, and sometimes vomiting. Usually my symptoms occur within 15-20 minutes of eating something with dairy in it, and can last for 8 or more hours. The strangest thing is how I "got" the illness. I think it may have occurred from well the articles I've read says it could be from damaging the lining of the small intestine, so I think what caused mine was when I ate half a container of frozen expired chocolate cool-whip. It was about 2 weeks expired but had been frozen so I thought it would be okay. I had severe pain, cramping, nausea, hot flashes, some vomiting, and it lasted I'd say about 24 hours. Does anyone know if the bacteria from expired foods could cause enough damage to result in lactose intolerance? I know cool-whip has no lactose in it, and since that day, anytime I ate any amount of dairy products I would get the symptoms. Please, tell me if you have any information. It'd be great to know what cause this very annoying and painful illness.

I would somehow agree with the previous comment that lactose intolerance may be associated with the menstrual cycle. In my case, I noted bloatedness, palpitations, hot flushes and diarrhea within minutes after taking diet containing milk. Also, I have noted that this usually happens in the second half of my cycle. During this time, I observe that I am more vulnerable to allergies and food intolerance. I would get hot flushes and palpitations drinking soya milk, eating watermelons and seconds after taking certain brand of tea.

I was just diagnosed with lactose intolerance last week after a few months of experiencing bloating, distension, loose stools, diarrhea and gas cramps. I also have noticed more pronounced symptoms in the second half of my menstrual cycle, from ovulation to the beginning of my period. I spoke with a dietician yesterday who said that no one knows why people just become intolerant, but she indicated that it may be hormonal. When I described my experience, she nodded her head and said she worked in an OBGYN clinic and has heard that the intolerance symptoms do fluctuate around a woman's menstrual cycle.

I have recently self-tested for lactose intolerance after talking to my doctor about a burning sensation after bowel movements. The burning was so severe that it was causing hemorrhoids. After one day of eliminating milk from my diet, the relief was immediate. I had previously consumed at least two glasses of milk a day. I will now try lactase tablets before consuming milk.

My first symptom was gas noise in my gut followed by a skipped heartbeat sensation. This in turn led to anxiety that further exacerbated the heart symptoms. Unfortunately, I was hospitalized with these heart symptoms that eventually were diagnosed as lactose intolerance. All I needed was a Lactaid pill before eating dairy and I would have been fine. But my lack of knowledge led me down the wrong path. Hopefully, this will be helpful to someone out there.

I was wondering if any women diagnosed with lactose intolerance find that their symptoms are more pronounced during the second half of your menstrual cycles. To the health care providers on this forum, can fluctuating hormone levels affect the level of lactose intolerance, or is it just PMS?