I am lactose intolerant which means I have a lowered ability to digest milk and dairy
Oh wow! I'm sorry to hear that. Have you always me intolerant? 
No, it happened during my teenage years where I started having symptoms of abdominal pain and gas
Do you take any medication for it to make it more manageable? 
No, the only cure is to avoid the foods that make you upset
I see. Do you miss being able to eat the foods that you were able to before you were a teenager?
Lactose intolerance
Lactose intolerance is a condition in which people have symptoms due to the decreased ability to digest lactose, a sugar found in dairy products. Those affected vary in the amount of lactose they can tolerate before symptoms develop. Symptoms may include abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea, gas, and nausea. These symptoms typically start thirty minutes to two hours after eating or drinking milk-based food. Severity typically depends on the amount a person eats or drinks. Lactose intolerance does not cause damage to the gastrointestinal tract.
differ in severity. Most people are able to digest a small quantity of milk, for example in tea or coffee, without suffering any adverse effects. Fermented dairy products, such as cheese, also contain significantly less lactose than plain milk. Therefore, in societies where tolerance is the norm, many lactose intolerant people who consume only small amounts of dairy, or have only mild symptoms, may be unaware that they cannot digest lactose. 
Eventually, in the 1960s, it was recognised that lactose intolerance was correlated with