Codeine / guaifenesin and Headaches: What Users Say

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 5, 2016

Codeine / guaifenesin for Cough "I was prescribed Cheratussin AC for a cough due to acute bronchitis. However, it seems to make the cough worse. My body wants to cough up phlegm, and the medicine tries to suppress the coughing reflex. That makes my body try even harder to cough up phlegm, and just ends up giving me a headache and a throat that hurts more."

• Anonymous
• January 26, 2010

Codeine / guaifenesin for Cough "My daughter and son were both prescribed this, and it didn't work for either of them. In fact, they both complained that it gave them a bad headache about an hour after taking it, and they are both still coughing all night long. Our pediatrician said this was just as good as Tussionex, but much cheaper. I'd rather pay a $40 co-pay for the Tussionex since I know it works. No relief for me or my children."

• Ros...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 19, 2015

Codeine / guaifenesin for Cough "I would have given this medicine a 10 if it wasn't for the dull headache (may not have been due to the drug, I was battling a sinus infection anyway) after I took this medicine. Cough was gone within an hour. Make sure you drink a lot of water. Maybe that's why I got the headache too. Also, I noticed that I was very sensitive after taking this drug. I actually cried a little bit because of the sinus pressure when usually I just suck it up with pain and never cry. Stopped wheezing. Make sure to take a warm shower too after taking this drug, it will also help clear the mucus."

• Ano...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 18, 2023

For Cough "After 3 weeks of a nagging cough, 1.5 bottles of NyQuil later and completed taking antibiotics, steroids, an inhaler, and the pearls, went back to urgent care. He assured me I would sleep with this as I haven’t had a full night's sleep in 3 weeks. The pharmacist mentioned it’s way better than NyQuil and I’ll sleep great. Not at all. I’m coughing so much and not tired at all. My chest and head hurt so badly from all the coughing. It gets to a point that you just cry. I don’t recommend this medication. Back to NyQuil, I guess."

• Sle...
• August 23, 2017

For Cough "I was given this medication after battling a bad sinus infection for 3 weeks now. The med helped my cough for maybe the first day, afterwards, I have been dealing with bad headaches and going on two days without sleep. Needless to say, after going to the doctor numerous times, I'm still coughing (dry cough), sore throats, chest congestion, and painful chest due to all the coughing at night. Looking forward to a quick recovery soon. I'm on my 2nd dose of steroids and antibiotics, I need relief!!"

• Hon...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 26, 2020

For Cough "I took this right before I wanted to go to sleep, and it helped tremendously. I was nervous because I read all these reviews first, and I have a sensitive stomach and didn’t want to get sick or nauseous from it. I took some anti-nausea meds with the first dose just in case, but with the second dose, I didn’t, and my stomach was just fine. I assure you this stuff really helped me. Before my doctor prescribed me this medicine, I wasn’t getting any sleep, but this stuff worked for about 5 hours of sleep, and then I took the next dose and was able to sleep another 4 hours straight. I woke up feeling so much better. The only thing I found that bothered me was it gave me a headache, but I just took one Tylenol 500 mg, and it helped with that pretty quick."

• Tra...
• April 30, 2022

For Cough "I have been very sick for over 3 weeks with my bronchitis, an upper respiratory infection. Could not stop coughing, kept me up all night. The doctor gave me this medication, and it helped with the cough, but it has given me bad headaches. Overall, it really works. I give it a 9 out of 10."

• T_G...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 14, 2017

For Cough "I had been up all night coughing. I took only 2.5 ml of the syrup because I was nervous about codeine. It helped quite a bit. I didn't cough as much. However, I do have a headache in the morning, but it could be a reaction to guaifenesin also."

• Coo...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 21, 2018

For Cough "This medicine is a waste of money. I wanted to cough because of the guaifenesin, but the codeine was stopping me. Kept me awake all night. Gave me a dull, nasty headache. The pharmacist told me to not drink or eat after taking this. I was still coughing. Ended up in the ER because I needed to get fluids to get rid of the headache. Finally, a simple nebulizer treatment three times a day got rid of the cough in 3 days. Don’t abuse antibiotics, you may end up with a C. difficile infection."

• Sti...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 14, 2014

Codeine / guaifenesin for Cough "Was prescribed this med for cough, and it did absolutely nothing except make my head hurt horribly bad and my throat tickle, which made the cough worse."

• Anonymous
• January 6, 2014

Codeine / guaifenesin "Went to the ER this morning with pneumonia. Was prescribed Cheratussin. Has helped cough a lot. Relieved some pain in ribs. But it did give me a headache and looks like no sleep."