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Cephalexin for Kidney Infections User Reviews

Brand names: Keflex

Cephalexin has an average rating of 5.8 out of 10 from a total of 38 reviews for the treatment of Kidney Infections. 42% of reviewers reported a positive experience, while 29% reported a negative experience.

Cephalexin rating summary

5.8 average rating out of 10

38 ratings from 41 user reviews.

Compare all 64 medications used in the treatment of Kidney Infections.

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11%
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3%
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11%
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8%
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8%
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3%
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Reviews for Cephalexin

  • Lilli...
  • September 15, 2020

"Okay, so now after nearly two weeks of getting diagnosed with a kidney infection and of me coming here to read the reviews (a lot of me crying) of how it works for everyone else, here is mine. I was taking one cephalexin pill, 500 mg, twice a day for 14 days. I am on day 13; I didn’t start feeling better until day 4, which scared me because it seemed that I was healing slower than others. I still had kidney pain at day 10, but now I don’t. This pill, after 5 days, made me sleepy and nauseous, but that’s about it. I did find that on day 12, I started to pee out blood again, but I knew it came from my vagina by the discharge with it, so I ended up getting BV with this pill, which doesn’t surprise me; it is an antibiotic. So please know you may not feel better until four or five days; everyone heals differently. I wish you a speedy recovery :)"

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47 Report
  • Flint...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • September 13, 2015

"I had back pains for three days and was unable to sleep comfortably. By the fourth day, I couldn't even take a deep breath. I tried Salonpas along with back massagers and soaking. Nothing helped! I went to the E.R. A urine test revealed elevated white cells. They prescribed me cephalexin 500 mg three times a day. I was in so much discomfort I started the medication immediately! I felt 100% better the very next day. I have been drinking water and cranberry juice."

9 / 10
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60 Report
  • Painful...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • January 11, 2013

"Taking two 500mg twice a day for a kidney infection. 28-year-old female. I normally get extremely nauseated and dizzy on antibiotics. I do not with these. No side effects as of yet (day 3). I feel an improvement in my kidneys but not as much as I had hoped at this point. I'm just happy I am not nauseated on these. I am eating Greek yogurt daily to avoid a nasty yeast infection from taking antibiotics. I do have to warn you, every time I open the pill bottle I get a strong bad smell. It's worth it to get some kind of relief from my angry kidneys!"

9 / 10
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72 Report

Frequently asked questions

  • Lance
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • March 7, 2023

Keflex (cephalexin) "This is an incredible medication, I regret not taking it sooner due to listening to bad reviews on this website. It is a great medication and very effective on getting rid of bacterial infections of the urinary tract, skin, even ear infection. I had only one side effect and it was slightly full stomach I did not have nausea nor did I vomit or anything of that nature. How I experienced NO discomfort. I’m not a doctor but many people including myself have used real life experience to conclude the way to use this medication with no side effects. Not telling anyone what to do but this is what I did, I ate a cup of rice before every dose so that my stomach did not become irritated and it worked. I also drank 8 oz of water with it. Lastly, 2 hours AFTER dosing I took a probiotic called Culture from CVS, it contains LGG which is a bacteria that is helpful for the gut and keeps you from having diarrhea very effective! You guys need to get this probiotic it works so well."

10 / 10
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16 Report
  • BreStar
  • November 20, 2014

"I am on day 2 of Keflex for a kidney infection from an untreated urinary tract infection. I am allergic to most antibiotics, such as amoxicillin and erythromycin, so I was hesitant to try this. I am so happy to say I have no allergic reaction and no diarrhea! I do feel some tingling sensations in my head and a tiny bit of anxiety (probably all in my head), but nothing compared to an antibiotic like Levaquin. I think I found my new go-to antibiotic!"

9 / 10
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49 Report

Are you taking this medicine?

  • Tayta...
  • December 30, 2015

"I got put on cephalexin for an untreated UTI, which obviously spread to my kidneys. I am currently on day 3, and I do feel so much better kidney pain and urinating wise. But it gives me insane diarrhea, makes me feel very nauseous, makes me confused with really bad anxiety, and gives me killer heartburn. I am currently on 500 mg, 4 times a day."

4 / 10
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38 Report
  • Kjano
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • November 20, 2019

"Taken two rounds of antibiotic cephalexin for a UTI. Whilst it does appear to be helping the infection, I’m depressed, jittery, severely anxious, joint and muscle aches, dehydrated, and sunken eyes!!! Nightmares and adrenaline. It is so awful. I cannot wait to finish this drug."

2 / 10
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23 Report

More FAQ

  • green...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • June 13, 2024

Keflex (cephalexin) "This is a medication that I had a bad time with and didn't want to take again until I was told to take a probiotic with it. I had taken Bactrim for 6 days and still was sick, if not worse off than before the Bactrim. I received 3 bags of Rocephin in the hospital and every day was given a probiotic. I came home with Keflex and no side effects with a probiotic. I can tell with another week as prescribed that how I feel now is how it would have felt if I caught this sooner than I did. God bless the nurse who told me this. No yeast infection. Minimal nausea. I can still eat. The pain is finally getting better. Yes there can be nightmares which is odd. However, with a probiotic I rate this as effective as Cipro, which is great because that one has a black box warning."

10 / 10
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  • anon
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • February 24, 2020

"I’m a healthy 20-year-old female who took this drug for about 4 days before having to call it quits. I’m 9 weeks pregnant at the moment. Not sure if that was making this worse or not, but I had the WORST fatigue I’ve ever experienced. I was physically unable to get out of bed other than to use the bathroom and shower. My body felt extremely heavy, and I was very confused and out of it. It made me nauseous, I was already experiencing 10 times worse. I ended up having a severe episode of heart racing for about 10 minutes on the 4th day. Blood pressure shot up to 150, and pulse got high. I threw this away. Listen to your body. I know it’s important to finish medications, but when the side effects are this bad, this is dangerous. Since my urine has completely stopped burning and it’s clear again, I have made another appointment with my doctor to confirm my infection is gone. Home tests came back negative. If not, I will request something else because this was AWFUL."

1 / 10
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20 Report
  • Moni
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • October 6, 2019

"I drove 2000miles pain in my side, back and groin. I thought I was just feeling the effects of the drive.Then the pain got so bad I could barely move without screaming out. I was rushed to hospital and found out one of my kidneys was severely infected. They told me it was most likely from an untreated UTI. I never had any symptoms of a UTI and said it was a very small part of my kidney. They kept me overnight. I never had a fever. They gave me a strong dose of cephalexin twice through my IV, ,and sent me home with 500mg 4 times a day. By day 4 I was completely out of pain, but had a real bad rash covering my torso. It didn't bother me much. I'm into day 5 stopped taking it yesterday, but the rash has now spread to my legs. I'm going to give the drug time to get out of my system to see if that improves my condition."

6 / 10
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20 Report
  • Anonymous
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • October 13, 2017

Keflex (cephalexin) "I had a bad kidney infection and was prescribed this in the ER to take 3 times a day for 7 days. I hardly had any side effects at all. The only ones I had were a yeast infection, really bad nightmares, and some sneezing. Other than that, I love this and would definitely take it again, kidney pain was gone within 2 days."

9 / 10
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25 Report
  • Jana
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • June 25, 2020

"I took cephalexin to treat a UTI. I started to get really bad anxiety out of nowhere. It started on the second day (I took this antibiotica over 7 days) and the panic attacks stopped after about 3 weeks since I took them for the first time. I even got them at night. Besides that I started to shake in my upper body after a couple hours of taking a pill."

2 / 10
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17 Report
  • LivLi...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • April 21, 2016

"Have been using cephalexin for 2 days now due to a UTI which started on a Monday, then got worse and spread to a kidney infection by Tuesday, then had all the symptoms by Tuesday night and started taking cephalexin Wednesday afternoon, started working the next day, although I get random severe headaches, feel dizzy when standing, feel nauseous in the morning and with no appetite, but that will go once I've finished these antibiotics. I'd much rather be feeling like this than how I felt with no treatment on the kidney infection :)"

10 / 10
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28 Report
  • Dinne...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • April 19, 2020

Keflex (cephalexin) "Had bad kidney infection, given MacroBID for 3 days, after 2 days wasn't working given another 4 days worth. After another 2 days still wasn't working called online private doctor prescribed Keflex 500mg 3 times day 7 days. Kidney infection calmed down after 2 days wasn't sure if it was doing anything for bladder infection, still had pain and discomfort throughout 7 day course. Side effects severe itchiness particularly torso. When finished course still had bladder discomfort but worse was itch! 2 days later the itch on body gone but hands and fingers were still really bad constant itching, scratching skin raw. Read that Keflex stays in system for 72 hours. Have had muscle pain throughout course which confused about whether kidney infection getting better as back muscles hurt. No stomach problems. Can say Keflex sorted kidney infection not sure about bladder infection"

8 / 10
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17 Report
  • Misdi...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • April 30, 2014

"I had just taken Diflucan for what I thought was a yeast infection. Then I got a sinus infection and I started taking cephalexin. I noticed, 3 days in, some back pain (flank pain just to the left of my spine) I had been having for a few weeks suddenly went away. I went back to the doctor, who agreed that I probably originally had a bladder infection that spread to one of my kidneys. Glad I got the sinus infection, or who knows what would have happened. The medication made me feel a little nauseated after the first few days, but it's possible that feeling was related to the sickness."

8 / 10
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28 Report
  • Sam
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • April 9, 2020

"Absolutely horrible experience with this cephalexin medication, I was prescribed a dose of 500mg 4 times a day, for 10 days, for a kidney infection. After the first 2-3 days I started to have some chest pain and shortness of breath, I chalked it up to my asthma and tried to power through. But on the 8th day my chest pain was so bad I had to make a trip to the ER. On op of that it made me extremely nauseous."

1 / 10
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15 Report
  • Miss...
  • August 27, 2018

"I felt woozy for a couple of days. Then, I had stabbing pain in my side that radiated to my lower back. Doc diagnosed me with a kidney infection and put me on Cephalexin. Despite the meds, back pain and side ache felt horrible. I continued to take the meds despite feeling tremendously nauseous, even dry vomiting once, feverish, cold chills and no appetite. The thought of food made me retch. Kind of thought I could die. I drank lots of lemon infused water. After the 7th dose, 36 hours from the first pill, I was no longer in pain or nauseous. I had a migraine but the doc told me to avoid coffee and and once I had a cup of coffee the migraine went away, too. Four days later and I'm good as new but I'm going to continue taking the meds. I'm on 250mg 4x a day for 7 days. I suspect the medication is making my muscles tense and I am not sleeping well, just 5 hours a night. 4x a day is a hassle. I was tempted to take 500 mg 2x a day but I didn't want to risk a set back."

8 / 10
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  • Master...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • August 23, 2020

"56 year old male, I unknowingly had a kidney infection, my first symptom was aural hallucinations, that became more frequent and louder over several days, before I went to ER. While hospitalized overnight, and the doctor thinking I had a “mental” issue, the infection finally caused me having difficulty being able to urinate, and pain when I finally was able to get some flow going. The doctor then said I had a UTI/kidney infection (rarer in men that women) pretty common in elderly women including the hallucinations. I was sent home with Cipro, it somewhat stabilized the infection, but and reduced it’s symptoms, but didn’t rid me of it. Then went on Keflex 500mg 3x a day, for 14 days. By day 2, hallucinations were gone, day 3 no obvious symptoms, I took the full course of 14 days, and everything is great. I had some mild side effects, but compared to aural and some visual and tactile hallucinations, side effects were nothing."

10 / 10
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13 Report
  • Emmie...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • July 21, 2016

"Had cephalexin through IV and now on day 3 of ten days of twice-a-day oral tablets. 500 mg for kidney infection. I'm also pregnant. I usually react horribly to antibiotics, this one, so far, is not so bad. All my symptoms relieved after the second day. I do have headaches from this med and sensitivity to light. But so far, so good. I recommend it, but it gets a lower rating due to my headache :("

7 / 10
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21 Report
  • Angel
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • April 22, 2019

"I was recently prescribed cefalexin 500mg for a kidney infection and 3 days into taking it the skin on my face has gone extremely dry and my eyes are really puffy and swollen. Though they have cured the Infection I'd feel very apprehensive about taking it again."

6 / 10
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15 Report
  • Kea
  • April 14, 2019

"Was put on cephalexin for a UTI 500mg twice a day for 7 days have just finished it after a horrendous experience. Very bad indigestion, anxiety, diarrhoea first day then constipated. Fatigue and headache. Shakes with hot and cold periods. After a day of finishing the diarrhea has returned will never take this medication again."

1 / 10
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14 Report
  • Dmvgs
  • May 14, 2017

"I am a 59 yr old female and was diagnosed with a kidney infection. One week prior I had minor UTI symptoms two random days for an hour or so. One week later I was rushed to ER temp 103.2 severe shivering and shakes and flu like pains. Now I'm on On cephalexin 48 hours. No fever at all. Extremely bloated. Slightly nauseous, abdominal pain, minimal body pain. Knocked fever right out. This stinks, but I think this was a great call on the antibiotic. I'm taking it 3x daily 500mg"

9 / 10
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17 Report
  • noano
  • April 15, 2020

"i was in terrible pain in my kidneys, so I had to go to the ER and I got diagnosed with a kidney infection. I got prescribed with cephalexin (500mg 4 times a day) (mind you, I'm a 19 year old girl) it made everything worse. I don't wanna get out of bed because of how much pain I'm in. This med has been terrible. I've got a UTI, tired 24/7, not feeling any better."

2 / 10
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11 Report
  • Laura
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • August 16, 2020

"I went to the ER for a kidney infection and they prescribed me Cephalexin for 14 days. I am currently on day 10 and my kidneys still hurts my side effect symptoms are diarrhea and feeling light headed at times also stomach bloating and pain. I reviewsed it with my doctor and she said to continue to the 14 days. I will come back for a final review"

4 / 10
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10 Report
  • Auttie
  • Taken for 5 to 10 years
  • May 16, 2020

"I’ve been taking this medication on and off for about 5 ish years for bad UT/kidney infections. I’ve had it in liquid form and in pill form however I can’t take pills so I crack them in apple sauce. Smells like rotten eggs but I can tolerate it. Doesn’t taste that bad. I don’t have dizziness, no diarrhea. When I have an infection, I always feel better while I’m on this medication. I don’t feel bad while on it. It’s a big relief. I can take this on an empty stomach with no stomach issues and let me tell you, I’m SENSITIVE and I have a screwed up gut and it doesn’t bother my gut. I’m a small girl 4’11 petite and I usually take 1 pill 4 times a day. Now the only issue I get is yeast infections but that’s common. I’d take yeast infections over having stomach problems any day. This is my go to antibiotic because it just does the job."

9 / 10
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10 Report

Reviews may be edited to correct grammar/spelling or to remove inappropriate language and content. Reviews that appear to be created by parties with a vested interest are not published. This information is not intended to endorse any particular medication. While these reviews may be helpful, they are not a substitute for the expertise, knowledge, and judgement of healthcare professionals.

Learn more about Kidney Infections

Symptoms and treatments