I thought I was lactose intolerant, as my stomach started becoming very upset and I got n* and had d* when I had a lot of milk or cheese. I went to the doctor and took an official lactose intolerance test, which told me that I'm NOT intolerant. However, I am lactose sensitive. The difference with that is the lactaid pills don't help me. Being sensitive its not like there's anything missing that the lactaid pills would help with, my body just doesn't really like lactose. So, I would consider getting a lactose tolerance test. It's really not that bad, they have you drink a small amount of lactose and then test your breath periodically. I thought it would be a lot worse than it was.

If you don't want to take the lactose tolerance test, I started to deal with it by testing my limits of how much lactose I can ingest without feeling bad. I do generally try to stay mostly lactose free now, but that can be really hard at restaurants. For example, I tried a lobster ravioli and my stomach was fine, but macaroni and cheese or really cheesy pizza sends my stomach over the edge. I can also have baked goods with milk in it or mashed potatos with milk, but I wouldn't be able to drink a glass of milk or have a bunch of pudding. Now that I know what I can and can't have and in what quantities, I'm figuring out my new diet.

Oh also, yogurt can be the exception to lactose intolerance/sensitivity because the bacteria in it is really good for your digestive system.

Anyway, think about getting the test and/or doing an experiment to see if there is a "safe" level of lactose for you! Also, remember that if you DO start feeling sick after eating lactose, it is just what you ate and it will go away in a few hours.

Good luck!