Ok, well here is another question. Is it possible to develop an allergy to one of the strains? I'm wondering if since I took the kefir while I was battling food poisoning, if my immune system could have mistaken one of the good bacterial strains (in kefir) for a bad strain (from the veggies) and as a result, goes into defense mode every time I consume it. Maybe it lasted so long because my immune system was trying to eliminate all of that strain. Does that sound at all plausible or am I reaching here?

Not likely and those are not symptoms of allergies.

I actually thought the same thing at first, however, I am able to tolerate fats just fine. I had eggs and bacon (both gallbladder triggers) earlier and it didn't even phase me. It must be the lactose and by the way, I didn't drink my kefir straight either (it's a bit too strong for my taste buds), but instead I was taking it with whey protein powder which could be why I reacted to it. My reaction was probably from the lactose in the whey powder and not from the kefir. I really should have considered that before but I clearly wasn't thinking of every possibility at the time. Either way, I am still afraid to drink kefir for the time being. I'm still concerned that the kefir may have played a role in the start of my whole issue. I think I'm gonna pick up some Lactaid and then try some dairy again to see if I still react that way which should confirm my suspicion that it's a lactose issue. It's just still so strange to me that I could suddenly become lactose intolerant. I really hope this isn't going to last forever.

Fermentation by the cultures in the kefir should eliminate the lactose.  And lactose intolerance is caused from a lack of flora.  So that does not make a lot of sense unless the bacteria are not colonizing for some reason.  Maybe you need to focus more on prebiotics instead of probiotics.

This discussion took place months ago, so this reply may be moot. However, just to let you know, it sounds like you're talking about a problem with milk protein, rather than a milk sugar. People who are casein intolerant can't digest the casein (milk protein) in dairy products, non-dairy products (so much for "non-dairy"), and whey powder. Kefir digests the milk sugars but leaves the protein, so casein-intolerant people can't use milk kefir.