i can have any sort of dairy product in mass quantities without any reaction, but a half a glass of milk and my stomach is killing me for the rest of the day. i eat foods made with milk (like pasta mixes and hot cocoa) and not have a problem. cold cereal on the other hand can go either way.
it seems like if the milk has been heated in any way i can digest it. if it’s cold i can’t.
is this still a reaction to lactose or could there be something else that i’m allergic to?
Certainly. One can be allergic to milk proteins, but have no trouble digesting lactose.
Milk allergies usually start in childhood or infancy, and often manifest as wheezing, skin rashes, or gastro-intestinal distress.
Lactose intolerance generally developes after adolescence, and manifests as gastro-intestinal distress.
Heating will often denature a protein, and make it less allergenic. Heating usuallyd doesn’t affect the lactose content.
People with lactose intolerance are allergic to milk in exactly the same percentage as people who are not lactose intolerant. They aren’t correlated in any way.
I’d also say that I know of no evidence that heating has any effect at all on lactose, unless you completely caramelize it.
And I’d be pretty surprised if heating dairy products had enough of an effect to eliminate allergy symptoms.
So since I’m sure our friendly doc here doesn’t want to diagnose someone over the Internet, I’d suggest seeing your own doctor if this persists.