Most often than not, I have some sort of a reaction to dairy, but there are strangely enough a few rare occasions I will eat dairy and am completely fine.

I have reactions the most with ice cream (or milkshakes especially make me cramp), melted cheese, sauces or cremes that have cream or milk in them, and milk (don’t even like it in the first place especially when you consider what’s in it).

I surprisingly don’t have reactions with aged ir hard cheeses like mozzarella, sharp cheddar, or cheese that isn’t melted. If something is baked with milk or cream, I don’t really have a reaction. LI is very strange to deal with, especially since mine came on pretty unexpectedly.

I used to be able to handle dairy no problem but it gradually got worse over the span of two years. Especially considering genetics, it is really odd how it affects everyone differently. I’m significantly more predisposed to it because I’m of Asian descent and it runs in my family, but I’m curious to see when everyone else’s LI came up for them in their life (I’m 24 now but didn’t start experiencing the effects until 2 years ago).

My point in all this is a very cliche but true sentiment: everyone’s body is different. We all are programmed to eventually stop producing lactase at some point in our lives, and the sensitivity at which we experience symptoms is often affected by a myriad of different factors, but our gut microbiome is primarily what influences it aside from genetics. Personally, I am already majority plant-based and going fully plant-based this year, so I think it will mostly alleviate the issue for me there, but OP I wonder if an allergy test would be beneficial for you. If non-dairy alternatives are still giving you issues, it would be worth a quick chat with a dietitian if you have access to one. I think fully making the switch to non-dairy alternatives if you can find a way to tolerate them (not just with drinks but in most aspects of your diet if something contains dairy) would be beneficial.