I would have to say yes, based on my husband's dietary response to milk products. This is a man who used to have a bowl of milk every night before bed. Over time, he started to wake up with diarrhea in the middle of the night and he thought maybe it was the milk - so he now no longer eats cereal!

Over the past few years, he also finds cream cheese, heavy dips, ice cream any of the rich dairy products cause him terrible distress.

He can eat melted cheese - cheese in fact is the one thing he still can eat. It seems like if it's cooked dairy, like lasagna, or mac n cheese etc. he's ok. Just can't tolerate milk based dairy in it's natural form - if that is the correct way of phrasing it!

He also recently had colon surgery for diverticulitis, so we thought maybe his milk issues were related to that, so he had some ice cream a few weeks ago and only ate 3-4 bits. Definitely not a good move, so he's resolved himself to not eat those things and he feels fine!

I was just hearing about a new study of ovarian cancer. They've found that it usually actually develops in the fallopian tubes and is often missed when doctors look for it in the wrong place.

The following article gives the exact cancer marker you should be tested for. I really hope it is lactose intolerance, but if you find it doesn't seem to be that, I would give this info to your doctor.

Here is a link that might be useful: cancer study

Also have your gall bladder checked. What you are describing can be caused by not enough bile being released to digest fats, and could explain the sudden onset of symptoms. I'd see if you feel the same way after a meal of fatty hamburger or steak.

I use unsweetened soy milk (Organic Valley brand, in the refrigerated milk case) in my coffee and really like it.

...or you could just be perimenopausal. Sounds familiar, but I don't seem to have a problem now. I'm 52.

My DH went through almost exactly what you have described. We've learned a LOT about lactose intolerance the past few years. Assuming you are lactose intolerant, you will want to learn to read ingredients of everything you eat (or maybe you'll be fortunate and not have the severe intolerance he has and be able to tolerate some dairy). We learned to even ask about deli meats and read the labels on rotisserie chickens because they can be injected w/butter. To give you an idea as to how careful we have to be, last summer we went away for a couple of days. We went to a lovely restaurant for their Sunday buffet but there was nothing besides fruit that he could eat. The chef made him two eggs and he was sick as could be that afternoon and night. We figured they must have fried the eggs in butter (even after being told of his lactose intolerance!). So, all this to say, life will be easier once you read labels and be very specific when talking with restaurant servers. DH usually sticks w/salads, double checking about the dressing and no cheese on the salad. You may be able to tolerate yogurt. DH can handle Greek yogurt. I'm learning to cook w/rice milk, coconut milk and Kefir (be sure it's made w/goat's milk rather than cow's milk). Good luck and I'm sorry 'bout the morning lattes:(. I've recently cut way back on mine (haven't had one since the holidays) in an effort to cut out the added calories. Oh, one other thing...in DH's case the Lactaid tablets don't help him very much. If you find they help you, that would be wonderful. If you find they don't, be aware that milk advertised as "lactose free" actually has Lactaid added to it so in DH's case he is unable to tolerate it

Try using probiotics. I've heard that true lactose intolerance is rare, but for many, our bodies become less able to react to the sugars in dairy products.

Since I've become a greek yogurt fan, I can tolerate dairy much better, and my whole digestive system has become much more regulated. My mother also had problems with digestive issues and always thought it was lactose intolerance, but it was a mis-balance of the digestive flora. She went on the Jamie Lee Curtis yogurt plan and for the first time in years can feel safe from having to run to the bathroom at the worst times.

You can get them in capsule form, and someone recently told DH that taking acidopholous is the same thing only a lot cheaper.

According to what my Mother told me years ago, I was raised on goats milk because I was lactose intolerant as an infant. I remember drinking milk when a teen and while nursing, and don't remember having issues. However, when Starbuck's hit the scene, I started drinking lattes and having problems~~gas/diarreah. Even putting milk in coffee I've brewed seems to be a problem. The odd thing is, I don't have a problem using milk in my cereal which makes me think it's a combination of the coffee with the milk. I've decided to only use lactose free milk in spite of having no issues other than coffee w/milk.