Re: Kefir is making me sick!?!

  I have been drinking milk kefir for the last couple of months without any issues but my last few batches have been making me feel sick. It all seemed to start after I had some bad veggies which gave me awful stomach cramps 2 days in a row and on the 2nd day, I drank kefir after the stomach pains started which seemed to make it go away.

The next day I made it through most of the day feeling fine and then I decided to drink more kefir and within 30 minutes of drinking it, I started to feel mildly dizzy and nauseaus so I ate some hot oat bran cereal and felt better.

A couple of days passed before I had kefir again and this time, shortly after drinking it I got what felt like heartburn and turned into sour stomach which persisted off and on for the rest of the day.

A couple more days passed and by this time, I was afraid to drink any more but I thought maybe it was just coincidence and I couldn't be completely sure it was the kefir that was making me sick so I had another cup with a new batch and sure enough within 15-20 mins, I developed what felt like heartburn which then turned into sour stomach and then diarrhea. This was no normal diarrhea, this lasted for 2 1/2 days straight and the pain was awful. Even though the diarrhea stopped, I am still having waves of intestinal cramps here and there several days later.

I am afraid to drink kefir again. I decided to stop making any more batches until I figure out what to do next. I am not lactose intolerant, I've had milk since with no issues. Has anyone else experienced anything like this? What could be causing my reaction?

One thing that is really important is when making any cultured foods make sure that all the utensils and containers are cleaned well and even sterilized so that no pathogens grow in the cultures.