I have been making kefir since last February, so almost a year. I bought the grains and we just put them in milk and let them grow to the right consistency, then strain them out and start on another batch again. I feel my system is working like it's supposed to. I used a lot of natural antifungals to get rid of my candida. Taking those after years of Antibiotic damage, I felt the same as you, the trick is to get the good bacteria population back up. I have to admit I have fallen off the candida diet miserably throughout the holidays and I haven't had any trouble at all. Usually I get a nasty sinus infection and feel miserable if I eat sugary foods, but I have faired well this season. We make Kefir and blend it in a shake with berries and stevia almost daily. I have felt great, and my sinuses never get yucky anymore. I believe this is due to the kefir we have been ingesting. Another interesting note is that none of my family can tolerate dairy. We get lots of flem, plugged sinuses that turn to yellow infection. Not so with the kefir. We can drink dairy kefir without any problems what so ever.