Lori
Lee, You are right to suspect hidden ingredients. Dairy products are in almost anything that has more than one ingredient. I also am exptremely intolerant and I have basically taken the approach that everything that does have more than one igredient or that I did not make myself will make me sick. Dairy products are in bread, rolls, salad dressing, cakes, anything battered and fried, special sauces or dips, almost every processed baked good from a store, look for the ingredient "Whey" or any Deriviatives. In general, I don't eat anything that lists an ingredient that I don't know what it is. All of this means is, be suspicous, but it does not mean that you have to give up eating things that you like. I have found that the Lactaid pills work for me, but not one or two pills. Through trial and error, and many trips to the bathroom, I have found that I need to take 6. Wal-Mart has been the only store that I have been successful at finding a generic for the Lactaid, because it is expensive. It is right next the the Lactaid on the shelf under the Equate label for Wal-Mart. I called the makers of Lactaid and found some interesting facts: they recommend not taking more than 6 pills (regular strength), however, it is a natural enzyme found in your body and you really can't take too much of it. The interesting thing is that it breaks down after about 40 minutes, so if you are out for a nice dinner and you have several courses, be aware of the time...don't finish off a beautiful dinner with a cappiccino if you don't take more pills. (learned that the hard way). I can eat almost anything I want, except for regular milk, no matter how many pills I take, so I use the Lactaid milk, 100% Lactose free, and it's fat free too. I even occasionally have ice cream (Godiva-Dark Belgian Chocolate), but I take 8 or 9 pills to start, and after I finish eating it, I take 4 or 5 more, and it works fine. Good Luck.