I'm a female in my late 20s. I began noticing a sensitivity to milk products when I was a junior or senior in high school. I decided I must be lactose intolerant, so I took Lactaid, and that seemed to help. I had been able to tolerate milk products before that, but never really liked milk.
My lactose intolerance grew worse as I got older, and I had to take progressively more Lactaid, to the point where I began to suspect that I did not have lactose intolerance at all, but some kind of allergy. My reactions to milk products were too quick for lactose intolerance - I had heartburn/acid reflux symptoms within five minutes of consuming milk products, and upset stomach symptoms soon after - not the typical gastrointestinal discomfort associated with lactose intolerance. So, I decided to conduct an elimination diet to figure out what element of milk products I was having a problem with - was it a milk allergy? Was it casein? Lactose?
My whey allergy suspicions came to a head after I had some Sixlets - evil little bits of chocolate. After only a couple, I felt awful. I looked at the ingredients list, and very high up was a form of whey. The lightbulb went on, and I rushed to my kitchen to look at products that didn't make me sick. Sure enough, they were whey-free.
After searching online a bit, I called my allergist to see if there was a specific test for whey. He said there wasn't (though I have heard from others that there is), but that I had had a positive test for milk allergy when I was young (I was about four and a half when I was skin tested). My parents fed me milk anyway, thanks Mom & Dad.
Since there is no cure or treatment for a food allergy, all I can do is avoid whey. It's improved a lot of things for me, though I have had to endure "no whey" jokes left and right, and gotten many blank looks when I ask at a restaurant or coffeeshop whether a certain thing contains whey or not (I usually get some response when I talk about it in terms of "curds and...").
I have not done extensive searching, but as of yet have been unable to find a list of products that do and do not contain whey. So, I'm taking matters into my own hands, and making lists of both. If you have questions, comments, additions, etc., please e-mail me by rearranging the words: com@wheyallergic.admin. I don't check that address very often, but I will reply to all e-mails eventually. Please note that nothing on this site is guaranteed, and your mileage may vary. I have never officially been diagnosed with a whey allergy (my allergist says there is no test, though others say there is), and this is only my experience.
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