Im confused as to whether or not Im allowed to have milk, cheese, yogurt, etc. The paperwork I got from my surgeon contradicts itself. On the one hand, they say not to have milk products, but in another section of a different handout they gave me it says to keep snacks like yogurt and string cheese handy. So, which is it? What were the instructions everyone got regarding milk products post surgery?

You can definitely have dairy, BUT you may find that you've become lactose intolerant. There's a variation in how intolerant you might be - for example, it's very common to be milk-intolerant, but most people are ok with cheese or yogurt. I personally find ice cream to be the worst offender, with milk next. I'm trying to drink more protein shakes lately, and after a couple of days of explosive bathroom trips and searing tummy pains, I finally sucked it up, paid $20 for Lactaid drops, and added them to my milk carton....holy crap, that was totally worth it! I don't have an upset stomach after my milk-based protein shakes anymore.

Ah ha, that makes sense. Thank you so much for your expert reply!

Have you tried lactose free milk? I have always had a rather bad intolerance issue and think it is totally worth it to pay the extra $1.50 a gallon for relief! I buy Safeway's knock off brand of lactose free milk -- Lucerne. They also have fat free options!

You can definitely have dairy, BUT you may find that you've become lactose intolerant. There's a variation in how intolerant you might be - for example, it's very common to be milk-intolerant, but most people are ok with cheese or yogurt. I personally find ice cream to be the worst offender, with milk next. I'm trying to drink more Protein shakes lately, and after a couple of days of explosive bathroom trips and searing tummy pains, I finally sucked it up, paid $20 for Lactaid drops, and added them to my milk carton....holy crap, that was totally worth it! I don't have an upset stomach after my milk-based protein shakes anymore.

Do you think the lactose intolerance could be caused by drinking milk on your unhealed stomach? There probably haven't been any scientific studies but I'm wondering if there could be a connection? I'm just thinking about how infants are supposed to avoid some foods until a certain age because having them too young can cause allergies.....and so I'm wondering if it pays to avoid milk products the first little while.

Have you tried lactose free milk? I have always had a rather bad intolerance issue and think it is totally worth it to pay the extra 1.50 a gallon for relief! I buy Safeway's knock off brand of lactose free milk -- Lucerne. They also have fat free options!

No, I figured I'd just get the drops so I could add that to other dairy products if necessary. I also found I didn't need too much Lactaid, either. It said 5-15 drops per liter (1/4 gallon), and I used 5 per 1/2 gallon and it relieved my symptoms! Does Lactaid milk taste different? Someone mentioned that to me. With the lactase drops, it hasn't been an issue.

I wouldn't know about the taste because I never really drank milk plain, it was always mixed in with something. I can't tell a difference, but I am sure if you did a plain glass of milk vs lactose free you could.

I'm fine with milk products, so far. I also just have an infant sleeve.

Pre-op I had a small degree of lactose intolerance that actually set in during the 15ish years I chose not to drink milk. I was fine with it before. Now anything more than skim or a small amount of 1% leaves me with horrible gas for several hours.

Post-op I've had skim and skim extra and no troubles.

I personally love milk.i am 5 weeks post op and drink 2 glasses of 1% milk a day for 16 grams of Protein