Living with Lactose for 20 years now

Back in 1988, I started getting sick a lot during my senior year of high school. Not fever sick, but rather uncomfortable sick accompanied by gas and the dreaded 'D' word... My stomach would cramp up with intense pain, and I had to find a bathroom quick. Not exactly the way one wants to spend their days at school, or anywhere, for that matter.

When visiting the family physician, he told me to lay off the milk products and see if that made a difference. Sure enough, I began to notice that my sick spells seemed to coincide with drinking milk or eating dairy products like cheese. That's when I found out I was Lactose Intolerant... NOOOOO!!!

What was I going to do? I liked, no... LOVED milk products... far too much to keep away from them. They were part of my daily diet each and every day. I used to drink about 2 glasses of milk a day, 3 if you include the milk in my cereal each morning. I loved the cool smooth sensation and flavor of ice cream as if slid down my throat. I loved the ways cheese improved just about any food it touched. My life was ruined. I was doomed.

I soon discovered there were pills, "magic pills" I called them, that would allow me to still consume dairy products. All I had to do was take one or two of these pills before eating any milk, cheese, ice cream, etc, and I would be ok... well, mostly ok. Even with these pills, I learned that there was such a thing as too much dairy. I would still get sick, just not quite as often. Nonetheless, the pills allowed me to still enjoy some dairy in my diet.

Over the years, my lactose intolerance has become worse. My body doesn't just not tolerate lactose, it loathes it, and it lets me know that frequently. I find I need to take pills more often, and they don't always help me like I hope they would.

Fortunatley, over the years these pills have improved. Mainly they've just upped the active ingredient of each pill, and made them work more quickly. I've also learned what foods I can eat safely, and which one have lactose hidden within them. This has helped me to adjust and endure over the years.

Well, I'm tired of this problem. Not just because getting sick makes me tired and gives me dark circles under my eyes, but rather, tired of dealing with this life disrupting problem. I'm looking for freedom from the trouble that lactose has given me for the last 20 years.