Mrs. D, thank you for all your knowledge!

I suppose if I take a Zantac once in a while, or only for a few straight days, it will be OK as long as I keep on top of taking the B-12 in the morning.

Approx. 5 years ago I was on a PPI drug for several months. My doctor never mentioned the B-12 thing to me. That might have been when my B-12 problem began. I understand it so much better now....I was on Augmentin for a bronchial and sinus infection, and afterward developed horrible reflux. Tested negative for H. Pylori. Went on Aciphex. Had an upper endoscopy, which was normal. Now looking back I understand that the antibiotic probably killed a bunch of of the good bacteria (despite me eating yogurt), and that is probably what caused the reflux in the first place. These days I refuse to take Augmentin unless it's absolutely necessary.

As a side note....I'd suffered with a lot of sinus infections and coughs. To make a long story short, years later I found out that I had a benign tumor in my sinuses! That was the cause of me getting so sick all the time (not allowing proper sinus drainage). Since the tumor was removed, I've been wonderfully normal....nowadays if I catch a cold, I recover in just a few days like a normal person and rarely develop a cough anymore!

I haven't seen full-fat kefir in any stores yet. Maybe my local health food store would have it. You reminded me that with lactose intolerance, lower fat dairy products make it worse. Which is why I don't have too much of a problem when I eat high fat premium ice cream!

I have been wondering whether my problem lately deals with milk protein versus lactose. The thing is, it seems that gastro doctors aren't well equipped to figure this out. If it can't be fixed with pharmceuticals or surgery, they seem to be clueless.

I'll seek out a higher fat kefir and try drinking it in smaller quantities. Everything I read about kefir says that it's very good for digestive problems and that it can actually cure lactose intolerance (or make it a lot better). Not really sure about the "curing" part, since the reason a person becomes intolerant is the lack of lactase enzyme. Maybe somehow the good bacteria restore that ability to produce the enzyme???