Revelation: I am lactose intolerant. Or sensitive. Amazing how it took me four weeks of stomach cramps to figure it out.
But it never occured to me - My nana called us the Moo children when we were younger because we drank so much milk. I loved the stuff. Never had issue with it. Until...
Benin. I went two years without cheese, milk, or any other dairy products. (no refrigeration). I would put only about a teaspoon of powdered milk in my one cup of coffee a day. That's it. When I went to Cotonou I would sometimes drink milk, but that was only on occasion. AND, honestly, I had gotten totally used to stomach cramps and problems, so if I had them after my milk binges in Benin, it never would have occured to me to attribute it to the milk. I would just blame the various parasites and amoebas living in my intestinal tract.
Arrive in Sierra Leone and what do I do? Gorge myself on milk, lattes from the Starbucks cafe on board, ice cream whenever possible, cheese all over everything... it's no wonder my stomach freaked out. I've literally been dealing with painful stomach cramps since arriving, but again, just attributed it to parasites (even though my final screening from Peace Corps was clean) or the change in foods here on board. But the other day when my stomach was fine and then went crazy after eating ice cream, it finally dawned on me. I bet the 26 months of being basically dairy-free changed some things!
So for the last two days I have gone dairy free - and guess what? NO PAIN! It's amazing. I didn't even realize how much pain and discomfort I had been in until today when I'm not in any! It's lovely.
SO... I talked with a couple of medical-type people (benefits of living on a hospital ship, they're everywhere!) and it's likely that my body just got used to not having to digest dairy and then once I got on board and binged on dairy, it freaked out. They all suggested I cut out dairy completely for a little while and then gradually ease it back in to my diet and see what happens.
So for now, no more lattes or ice cream, which in reality is better for me anyway! And I've found that soy milk in my coffee is just fine. Cheers.
But it never occured to me - My nana called us the Moo children when we were younger because we drank so much milk. I loved the stuff. Never had issue with it. Until...
Benin. I went two years without cheese, milk, or any other dairy products. (no refrigeration). I would put only about a teaspoon of powdered milk in my one cup of coffee a day. That's it. When I went to Cotonou I would sometimes drink milk, but that was only on occasion. AND, honestly, I had gotten totally used to stomach cramps and problems, so if I had them after my milk binges in Benin, it never would have occured to me to attribute it to the milk. I would just blame the various parasites and amoebas living in my intestinal tract.
Arrive in Sierra Leone and what do I do? Gorge myself on milk, lattes from the Starbucks cafe on board, ice cream whenever possible, cheese all over everything... it's no wonder my stomach freaked out. I've literally been dealing with painful stomach cramps since arriving, but again, just attributed it to parasites (even though my final screening from Peace Corps was clean) or the change in foods here on board. But the other day when my stomach was fine and then went crazy after eating ice cream, it finally dawned on me. I bet the 26 months of being basically dairy-free changed some things!
So for the last two days I have gone dairy free - and guess what? NO PAIN! It's amazing. I didn't even realize how much pain and discomfort I had been in until today when I'm not in any! It's lovely.
SO... I talked with a couple of medical-type people (benefits of living on a hospital ship, they're everywhere!) and it's likely that my body just got used to not having to digest dairy and then once I got on board and binged on dairy, it freaked out. They all suggested I cut out dairy completely for a little while and then gradually ease it back in to my diet and see what happens.
So for now, no more lattes or ice cream, which in reality is better for me anyway! And I've found that soy milk in my coffee is just fine. Cheers.
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