Lactose/protein intolerance causing constipation

[New mummy]

Hi all, :wave:

My husband and I were just wondering if there have been any bubbies out there that have had an intolerance to the protein/lactose in formula milk causing their baby to get constipation??

We have been dealing with this for some time now and our doctor wants us to try a soy milk formula or goats milk formula as he said is very rare and its not normal for a baby to get constipation with an intolerance but as we have tried other avenues this is a last resort to try.

How do we get our son tested? do we go back and ask our doctor to do the test even though he has suggested we change formulas? Our son is currently on Karicare follow up formula 2. Not to mention we have seen our doctor 4 times now due to this consipation and still having to go back, we should possibly see a pead, but as we live in Darwin we are yet to come across many.

Also we are not sure about which formula to use as we have heard both good and unsure things about soy and goat.

If any one can help or give us information it would greatly help,

thank you for reading our post

New mummy :-)
:wave:

[Kade's Mummy]

Hi New Mummy

I feel for you! My DS has had various digestion problems in his 4 months of life, and constipation absolutely breaks my heart. There is just no scream like it! We tried soy but with no luck, apparently 50% of kids who are intolerant of cow's milk protein and also intolerant of soy and goat's milk.

Our paed put Kade on a prescription formula called Pepti Jnr and we haven't looked back. No longer is going to the toilet a problem for him, his wind has calmed down significantly and overall he is just a much more settled and happy baby. Thank God! I was going outta my mind beforehand.

Still to be safe we put extra water in his bottles to help him with number 2s, about 20mls extra. Have you tried Coloxyl drops from the chemist? You don't need a prescription and they are especially for infant constipation. I found Kade's constipation got worse everytime we swapped formulas so be wary when you first make a change.

Good luck :fingerscrossed:

[Caitlin's Mum]

I put DS on lactose free formula and we saw instant change. Karicare have a lactose free formula, maybe you could try that instead?

[almond eyes]

My son isn't lactose intolerant but my familay has a history of allergies and to be on the safe side, his pedia opted for him to take a hypoallergenc formula. He is still on it (11 months now), Nan 2 HA Gold. Maybe ask your doctor about this?

[alexandra]

We went through the same thing as you and even soy formula had him constipated. The waitings to get them tested are really long and painful on the child sometimes. But try the Karicare De Lact. that was the eighth formula we tried and the Paed is finally happy, so are we :thumbsup:

[Lunar]

Normally when a baby is lactose intolerant they have very runny, explosive, bubbly poos. Alot of tummy pain too.
I would definitly find a paed. maybe ask around if anyone can recommend one...?
GP's really don't know as much as paeds. I really hope you find answers soon, it is very sad I know.
Have you tried boiled water with a bit of brown sugar, or some infants friend? I know these worked with DD1 who was lactose intolerant (has since grown out of it) but she was constipated for other reasons, not because of the soy formula or intolerance but a lack of muscle strength.
Good luck!

[bindiloo]

I know how you feel,my bubs was also constipated and it was awful watching her etch her face in pain.
We had her on karicare gold but have changed her to the karicare lactose free and she has improved majorly. Her poo's are now perfect and even her reflux isnt as bad. Id definately suggest you give it a go.

While coloxly drops do work and soften the poo they are only to be used as an emergency thing for a couple of days as they actually cause the bubs abdominal pain and can cause colic to flair up.

As for soy milk,well im not a very big fan of the stuff i dont think soy is good for any of us but thats up to you if you wish to try it.

Goodluck with whatever choice you go with.:)

[3cherubs]

My DD had the constipation, she would scream to do poos and it was usually very hard. Th DR had her poo tested and the found she was Lactose Intolerant, so with some babies can get constipation as a symptom.
The Dr prescribed Karicare De-Lact Formula ( cost $4.60 for 5 tins), she was also having to have some Actilax Syrupy medicene to losen her up a bit.
Once she was on solids i stopped the medicine and she is fine with the De-Lact Formula.
Just ask your Dr to get her tested for it, they just get you to take a stool a sample form baby... A Dr can see if they are Lactose Intolerant.

Hope this helps..

[msbohrer1227]

My son was SEVERELY constipated the first couple months of his life...he screamed MOST of the day with gas and constipation. My son, as well as our entire family was MISERABLE! Our pediatrician made us try every formula (including soy) in the book and NOTHING was working. I decided to take things into my own hands and i am SO glad i did!

We are now on a Goat's Milk recipe that is working wonders...within 3 days our son was going poop regularly (VERY regularly)...and the gas was COMPLETELY gone. My pedi wasn't happy, but the recipe i found makes up for ALL vitamins that aren't in goat's milk that a baby needs. I will send you the link to look it over...there are TONS of reviews from other moms that saw this recipe as a "god-send" as well. PLUS it's SO much cheaper than regular formula, if you need advice on how to get it in bulk at the cheapest places, please feel free to message me. And i feel SO good knowing that i know exactly what is going into my child. I love doing things all natural and this gives me peace of mind.

He now only cries if he is hungry or sleepy. All other times he is coo-ing, smiling, and laughing...that or just falling asleep on his own (WOW!!..that NEVER happened in the past!). I hope this helps your family out as much as it did mine.

One thing you should know...goats milk by itself is NOT healthy for your baby as it is missing a few necessary vitamins that a baby needs. But the recipe i will send you covers everything! You also will be making this formula once a day. I keep mine in quart size canning jars. And NEVER heat the formula up in a microwave as it kills all the nutrients your little one needs. I heat a cup of water up in the micro and let the bottle sit in the water for about 2 minutes.

If you have any questions please please message me! :)

[chenara1]

msbohrer1227 I would be very interested in the gots milk recipe that you are using. MY daughter is 4 1/2 months and we have been through nearlly everything on the market including the prescribed formulas.
Would love to hear from you about the goats!
Thanks

[Alimia]

I thought goat and soy milk contained the same protein as cows milk, therefore shouldn't be had if there was a milk protein intolerance? No?

[chenara1]

I think soy protein in soy and a more gentle protein in goats so some babies can have the goat over soy or cow milk

[Elijahs Mum]

Goats milk has a different protein but does still contain lactose

[WorkingClassMum]

It's not so much as the 'same' protein, but rather the length and complexity of protein strings. (Think the Hollywood movie vision of a twisted DNA strand).

Lactose is the milk sugar and is different to the protein

People can be allergic or intolerant to either and both.

The op posted in 2006, so I suppose she has solved this problem now ;)

[msbohrer1227]

hey girl! Sorry to hear about the difficult time your having with your little one. I know we were MISERABLE until we found this goat's milk recipe. I was extremely nervous about making my child's formula because i was afraid he wouldn't get the nutrition needed. But i now feel 100% confident that not only am i giving him everything he needs, but i know EXACTLY what is going inside his little body. He is above average on the growth charts now and is a happy thriving baby! Constipation is definitely not an issue! His constipation before this goats milk formula was so bad that at 3 months old he had gone 3 weeks without a BM! We were giving him suppositories and enimas. It was extremely tough and hard to watch him go through that along with our entire family. In saying all that. I will give you the first website i went to for the recipe...but i am doing it differently now. I will explain exactly what i'm mixing now in a bit. Here is the website i first went to...http://reliableanswers.com/med/homemade_baby_formula2.asp

I am now using:

2 cups Meyenberg Goats Milk (powder form which is 2 scoops to each cup of water)
2 cups of Enriched Rice Milk
1 teaspoon of Child Life Essential Multi Vitamin & Mineral
1 tablespoon of Organic Blackstrap molasses


I used to use the exact recipe from the website i sent you (except for the flaxseed oil..it made my baby's tummy cramp plus he was EXTREMELY regular with just the blackstrap molasses), but i found that i was able to give him more nutrients and it was EASIER and cheaper to do it the way i do now. We also had about a month where my son was having a hard time getting down his milk...he always acted like he was choking...we tried every bottle every nipple flow we could think of...we spent a TON of money before i somehow realized that he just needed his milk thickened in order to eat it and enjoy it. I tried thickening with Rice cereal but it made his gassy and constipated again...so i finally came across "Thick It" (you can find it at CVS or Walgreens) and i thickened his milk and fed him through Sassy feeders for a month or two...then we were able to gradually switch him back to unthickened goats milk formula (the one above) and he's eating like normal now. If you have ANY questions at all let me know ;)

[Chazrity]

The flax seed oil contains Omega-3 fats that are important for brain development.
Also, I'd be worried about that the protein content could be too high that home-made formula along with some of the micronutrients and it might put too much strain on your little ones kidneys. You could find a dietitian to analyse the recipe for you and they can compare it to the nutrient reference values for infants and let you know if it's missing anything or providing excessive amounts of anything.

[chenara1]

thanks for that recipe - Ill keep it in mind however I think the lactose may be a problem.

I have worked out the following with bub. On Karicare Aptimal she is taking it but not enjoying it and is very gassy - like crazy gassy. I changed her onto Karicare Soy for a few days and she took around teh same amount as on the other but got constipated and green and crabby, but the wind disapeared. Now put back onto Karicare Aptimal the gas has reappeared. So she is not digesting something in the formula - maybe lactose???

[msbohrer1227]

thanks for that recipe - Ill keep it in mind however I think the lactose may be a problem.

I have worked out the following with bub. On Karicare Aptimal she is taking it but not enjoying it and is very gassy - like crazy gassy. I changed her onto Karicare Soy for a few days and she took around teh same amount as on the other but got constipated and green and crabby, but the wind disapeared. Now put back onto Karicare Aptimal the gas has reappeared. So she is not digesting something in the formula - maybe lactose???

Well, i know my son is intolerant of any formula i put him on...i am almost 100% positive he is lactose intolerant. But from what i've heard (and the reason i think he does soooo well on goats milk) is there is a very small amount of it found in goats milk. My old lactation specialist said it is the closest to breastmilk there is. It's super easily digestible. Definitely try it. What do you have to lose? I know i put it off for a month and then finally gave in and tried it and it was the best thing i've done for my son.

[mummabear11]

We now have our little one on the De-Lact Karicare formula. We thought she had Reflux but she was still throwing up all the time with Reflux formula so we tried the lactose free and she is soo much better for it. You can also get it on prescription which makes it so much cheaper!

[Alimia]

Is the formula called neocate?