M- I think that my sister experienced side effects from Keflex.  I am going to see her this Sunday, so I will ask her and then post another comment to let you know.  Have you contacted the prescribing Dr., to let him/her know about the headaches?  Better to 'err on the side of caution', since antibiotics can create new/different problems in addition to the problem for which you are taking the antibiotic(s)!  In other words, sometimes the "cure" ends up being worse than the original ailment! 

On the other hand, if you can just take a few aspirin, Tylenol, etc. to relieve the headache, then the Dr. might want you to do that so that you can continue on the Keflex, provided that you don't start experiencing additional side effects (and provided that aspirin or Tylenol can be tolerated in combination with the Keflex).  Since most Dr.'s aren't available on the weekends, perhaps you should call tomorrow (Friday); otherwise, you'll have to wait until Monday.  Good luck!

Hi Lucy, thanks for posting.  My neuro knows about the headaches.  I hadn't correlated Keflex and headaches until I read about today it so I haven't brought it up with primary at the moment.  I have been taking Excedrin or NSAIDs for it, but for some reason Thursday was the worst one, with my upper neck being stiff.  Fortunately though that went away after I fell asleep for an hour. 

I agree with you that new problems can develop and be a problem long after taking a med.  I am going to hold off letting my DR know though unless it become intolerable.  He emails over the weekend if necessary and during the week so I don't need to worry about the weekends.  As I am writing this post I am doing ok.  The headaches usually come on late  AM, then stay until I sleep for an hour or 2 at night. 

Thank you for asking your sister :)

Melissa.

Hi!

I'm copy and pasting this from my previous post..."What Doctor's Won't Tell You..." :

If you are taking antibiotics from the tetracycline or sulfonomide family, you could be deficient in calcium (take several hours apart from antibiotic), magnesium, iron, L acidophilus, b bifidum, Vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, biotin, inositol and Vitamin K. 

I'm not sure if Keflex is in those families...

Hey I just found something interesting...Keflex depletes magnesium, and lack of magnesium can cause headaches:  http://www.jigsawhealth.com/resources/drug-muggers-suzy-cohen-magnesium

Here's another website that talks about nutrient depletion...scroll a bit down to see what they say about "Antimicrobials."   http://naturaldatabase.therapeuticresearch.com/ce/ceCourse.aspx?s=ND&cs=&pm=5&pc=11-108&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

Hope this helps! 

PS--I typed in Google:  Keflex nutrient deficiency

Thanks for the information!  I do take magnesium every day ... that is one I dont miss.  DR said I could stop taking the keflex today, and I already feel better.  After 2 doses not taken, my neck unstiffened and the headache literally has disappeared over the course of the day.  I feel so much better.  I'll definitely look up the keflex nutrient deficiency.  Hopefully I am out of the clear and dont have any problems from being on it. 

Melissa.

Glad to hear you've been feeling better since Friday.  In the future, when prescribed anything new, if you're curious, type the drug name, plus the words nutrient deficiency to see what you may/might consider taking more of...I just discovered this on Friday when I wrote to you!

Good idea!  Thanks.

Melissa.

Update:  the stiff upper neck has not left.  Head pain is tolerable, but when my neck "flares" up, so does my head.  The headache did go away at first, but what I came to realize was that the tension in my head went down (making it feel less "clogged"), not the actual pain.

Melissa.

Oh no, that sucks to hear.  Do you think it's from the Keflex, or maybe you slept wrong?  Have you tried therapeutic doses of magnesium, our favorite supplement?  i.e., 800-1000mg? 

I have now found that 600-800mg a day works for me, but it took a while for me to actually feel better--about a month of taking it religiously.  Now I'm more consistent than ever, so I'm feeling better--less pain.  I need to stay consistent!

Magnesium oxide is the least absorbable, so try to find a supplement that has other names, like citrate, etc.

Also, does stretching, heat, or cold help at all?  I hope it goes away soon!

Thanks.  Me too.  Idk if it is from the Keflex, but I know it isn't from how I sleep because it is the same every day (in general), and I've tried sleeping on my back, side, upright,  so I've tried different ways of sleeping and none seem to work/help.

Yes on the Magnesium!  I take 2 or 3 -400mg Magnesium a day, plus a multivitamin, and vit D.  I have this (at least 400 mg) every day for a long time.  It is like a muscle relaxer, and I can tell my heart appreciates it.  It beats better/steadier with 2 magnesium/day.

Stretching is out of the question.  That would be extremely painful.  Warm heat vs cold I would take the cold over the heat; heat makes it slightly throb ... not too much, but enough for it to be uncomfortable.

Melissa.

Well, hopefully your neck pain goes away sooner rather than later.  Ever since taking magnesium, especially on a regular basis recently, my tachycardia episodes have been non-existent!  If I feel a slight flutter, like it's itching to happen, I take extra magnesium and it goes away (who knows if that's a placebo effect, but who cares, it works). 

In the past, if my heart suddenly skips a beat and goes into overdrive, I would go down to my kitchen, take out magnesium and acetyl-L-carnitine (an amino acid supplement that supposedly helps with arrhythmias, again, it could be a placebo effect), and take them with a tall glass of OJ (potassium!), and my heart regulates fairly quickly.  I don't even have acetyl-L-carnitine in my cabinet anymore (because it's kind of pricey, and right now things are tight).  Just taking mag consistently along with keeping track of my K through food and drinks has been keeping my heart beating regularly!  Knock on wood.

M- My apologies for not replying sooner, but the hard drive on my computer died/fried/crashed (take your pick!), and I have been waiting for over a week for the repairs to be made (it's a long story, that I won't go into now!).  I am borrowing a lap top until my desk top is fixed, just so that I don't lose touch with the rest of the world for too long! 

Anyway, my sister does not specifically remember whether or not she has taken Keflex in the past, because she has been on SO MANY different meds. over the years (she has had SEVERAL back surgeries, as well as other medical problems, and was "heavily medicated" for quite some time; we 'laugh' about it now, but she seriously cannot remember large blocks of time, due to all of the "drugs" that she was taking for her various ailments!). 

But, she has also worked in different medical offices in the past as well (OB/GYN., Orthopaedic), and said that she used to see this all the time, where the "cure" sometimes ended up being worse than the original problem!  So, I hope that you are feeling better by now, and I'm sorry that I can't offer any more insight into the side effects of Keflex.  Take care!

Thanks Lucy ... I am doing ok for the most part.  Only thing that might be related is the head pain; it has kind of left but at times feels like someone is shoving my spine up into my brain.  DR know about this and has me on a muscle relaxer for it.  But, right now don't know if is related.

Melissa.

Melissa,

Just be careful with the muscle relaxer...I went for a walk-in appt for something unrelated to pain and the doc, who's not my doc, noticed I was in pain from sitting in the waiting room soooo long, I was squeezing my shoulder and neck to relieve the pain...she asked what was the matter and I told her I have a terrible muscle spasm in that area and she prescribed me Baclofen, 30 pills...it says on the container as a warning: "May cause seizures if stopped suddenly."  Well, those 30 pills lasted me almost one year!  I took them only during severe pain.  I was scared to take them every day for a month straight!  Seizures?  I've never had a seizure in my life, and I don't want to start getting them :)

Thanks for the heads-up about the muscle relaxer.  I don't take them on a regular basis, so I think I should be fine (I am on orphenadrine).  But yeah, I wouldn't want a seizure either!

Melissa.

Hello yet again, Melissa!

Lately I've been reading more on magnesium, and most experts on the subject suggest equal parts calcium and magnesium (just like in our paleolithic days, they say), and to work your way up slowly so that you don't have any bathroom issues.  They say that the 2:1 ratio of calcium to magnesium is flawed.  I now take 800mg magnesium to 1000mg calcium, and I don't have any bathroom issues.  They say that the RDA is too low (400mg) and that an imbalance of 1000mg calcium to 400mg magnesium means that even more of that 400mg magnesium is not being absorbed!  I'll write a blog about this in more detail next week, but it's something for you to consider...especially since your severe muscle related pain wasn't going away with just 400mg of magnesium...do more research on this if you're up to it, and I'll write more next week.

I was taking amoxicillin and got tummy troubletrouble