Just curious i wanted to know if you stay away from it completly or do you do what i do and take the lacose pill.
Also What other foods make you have symtoms just recently i found out that spinach and broccoli also have lactose in it. which explain a lot..

Lately my body has been acting up meaning i cant eat any dairy without feeling like i wanna die later. I know there is lactose foods but in all honesty im affraid to eat it just in case i do get sick. I personally wont drink milk ever i am forever scared because of so many bad experience when i was younger and didnt know about the whole lactose intolerent thing...

I've noticed that I don't get symptoms until I've had a decent amount. It seems to be dependent on lactose content and quantity, so I don't have any problems eating a slice of pepper jack cheese but CANNOT eat goat cheese. I'm too cheap to buy the lactase pill, so I just bear through the pain. I drink soy milk instead of cow milk, but I still use cow milk to cook with and have not had symptoms yet.

I recently tried cutting dairy out of my diet completely in an attempt to deal with (for lack of a better term) tummy troubles. Since doing so I've felt much better. I switched to either soy or almond milk with my cereal and otherwise I just make a point of avoiding cheese/butter/yogurt etc. I've not taken the lactose pill, because I honestly would rather play safe than risk it. That being said I am having a hard time getting rid or ALL dairy because I live on my college campus and have a meal plan, and God only knows what they put into my food. For the most part I listen to my body, if I eat something and it makes my stomach hurt (even if I'm not sure if there is dairy in it or not), then I avoid it. The main thing for me was to cut out the biggies, and as a former dairy lover, it was surprisingly easy!

I'm also lactose intolerant. I find I'm ok if I just stick with my 1/2 to 3/4 cup or milk on my cereal in the morning, but I can not drink a whole glass of milk alone, even if I take 2 or 3 lactase enzyme tablets with it. I also find that cheeses are ok, as well as yogurt, but can only eat ice cream about once a week without having issues. I used to be able to use the lactase tablets successfully, but now, it seems as if they don't work as well. I have also had digestive issues from another problem, so I think it's made me more sensitive to the lactose, too. I did try soy milk and "ice cream" but got sick from the soy, so I just avoid dairy most of the time and try to get my calcium and vitamin D from supplements.

I used to have very severe IBS and now it's much better ~ I can eat hard cheeses like old cheddar and mozzarella; plus yogurt (Source) and yogurt ice cream without any problems, but I do measure the servings (ie about 1-2 oz cheese and 1/3-1/2 cup of yogurt or yogurt ice cream).

I can have Parmesan or Romano Cheese on things like Pizza too with no problem (1-2 tbl). I can eat cheese slices and processed cheese too, but I usually have only a small amount at a time (ie one slice or a tbl) ...

For my cereal I can use homemade skim milk made with the powdered skim milk (it tastes best after being chilled) without any of the IBS symptoms, but I do still get the conjestion issue from it for an hour or so, but that isn't too bad, so I can live with that a couple times a week (the rest of the time, I have eggs/toast or something else for breakfast).

However, I cannot eat regular ice cream (esp chocolate for some reason) or I get the runs and pain and gas within 1-2 hours of eating it; and I learned that again last Saturday night.

I haven't tried the pills, but my MIL has and finds they help her ...

Thanks for all your help i was very helpful... Im gonna stick with the pills and stay away ice cream even though its hard to do my stomach will appreciate the rest.. lol