Not Digesting Properly

[arrbug]

I have had digestive problems for a couple years now. Last year, I stopped being able to eat anything more than chicken broth and a little bit of bread per day for about 3 weeks. Lost over 30 lbs.  At that time the doctor told me that if we didn't find out what was wrong with me I'd have to take enzymes to digest my food for the rest of my life.

First, though, we tried taking me off wheat and dairy since a family member had been diagnosed with gluten intollerance.  Voila, I got better.

I went back on dairy and started getting sick again, this time with a series of infections and parasites.  Did a clense diet and got better again.  Snuck in some dairy gradually.

For about a 1.5 weeks now I have been very nauseaus, and finally gave up and went into the clinic.  Doctor found nothing on stool samples except that she says that, once again, I'm not digesting my food properly.  Not as bad as before but still notable.

Can lactose intollerance cause you to "not digest your food" properly? I know that lactose intollerance is the inability to produce lactase and thus digest lactose, but should this be affecting other things as well?

[moshbydefault]

I believe so! I have a subtle case of lactose intolerance, I say "Subtle" because my father can't have any dairy or he will die. My subtle intolerance to dairy causes me to immediately feel a bit nauseous, run to the bathroom, suffer with bad indigestion, mucus in my esophagus, etc. If i eat a bit of dairy, let's say everyday, i would never have a normal looking stool.
For me personally dairy is really hard to give up. I need to get off it, though. You would most likely benefit EXTREMELY from a gluten-free vegan diet.
Health is more important.
And! take digestive enzymes, too. they're beneficial to EVERYONE, not only those of us with digestive issues. they really do help in the long run. They could even save your life.