Drug interaction?

I take a LOT of meds... and they haven't changed much for a long time.. except now I am Keflex for a sinus infection.  Yesterday, after I took the meds and then laid down.. and then I turned red, felt super hot (mostly just my head) and felt really dizzy.  So I checked my bp and it was 155/111.  Because of the meds I take, my bp is generally 90/50... that high if I am lucky.  I am wondering what on earth happened.  Random?  Allergy- how could that be?  Drug interaction? Though I am a cracker jack nurse, I am stumped.  I am wondering if it will happen again because I don't have a clue what caused it.

I knew what I wanted to do immediately, but I wasn't entirely sure... so I called my docs.  That made the process more drawn out than it had to be probably.  Thankfully, my instincts were right.  That gives me more confidence for if there is a next time.  I figured to take about 50mg benadryl and 100mg  labetalol.  That is essentially what I was guided to do after all the phone calls.  I am always afraid to go in because I dont want to be hospitalized.

Any other ideas?  I am a bit lost.

[coribell]

Hi Im highly allergic to keflex and the related antibiotics with my reaction within about 5 minutes of taking it (was in the hospital at the time) i started to itch my hands and feet as if ants were biting then instantly heart pounding that stopped in less than a minute then started to throw up but managed to hit the nurses button they came in took my bp it had dropped so low i heard the nurse say it was so low she was having trouble getting a reading and she said my skin was solid red all i remember after that was begging them to cool me off as i felt my skin burning so they put wet towels on my body and around my neck and then i felt i couldent breathe i asked them if they were going to call the doc they said only if my neck started to swell and they gave me benadryl in my iv and then just monitored my hr and bp but within about half an hour all the symptoms started to go away anyways my point is you could have had a mild allergic reaction but not severe also im not an expert even though iv had many reactions to antibiotics but each time my bp would drop not go up as yours did so im thinking it was likely a drug interaction either way if i were you i wouldent take keflex again there are other antibiotics that might not cause a reaction or drug interaction.I can take cipro without any problems maybe you could try that one instead of keflex or another thats not in the same class as keflex.  

[banglamom]

Yeah,  that is what I am thinking.  It was different from any other allergy problems I have ever had.  Bummer is I'm already allergic to the 'cillins.  A lot of the abx I can not take because of the cardiac meds.  I didn't know this until this sinus infection how many abx prolong a QT interval putting me at risk of ventricular fibrillation of taken with flecainide (primarily).  Flecainide users beware.  It's a powerful good drug, but certainly not without it's risks.  I took the next dose of Keflex and premedicated with benadryl just in case and it worked.  However, I still got so dizzy I could barely walk.  I'm still trying to determine what the heck happened.  I have to know if I am to avoid it in the future.  Thanks for the input.  Anything helps.  My big question at the time too was... I was on the 4th day of a 10 day course... does that happen.  The medical answer is yes, it can.  Go figure.

[coribell]

I meant to add this, Should you decide to change to another antibiotic you should continue to take the benadryl as my doc the next morning before realeasing me told me to take 2 benadryl every 6 hours for the next 6 days and said if i dident it was possible i could have another reaction as the keflex would still be in my system for a few days but also like i said it could have been a drug interaction that caused your problem but also just like my skin turned hot like yours and was dizzy to with the other symptoms i named above i suspect you had a mild reaction to the keflex.

[banglamom]

I suppose if I keep medicating with benadryl I won't be able to know if I am having an allergic problem.  It will help me to conquer the sinus infection though and I can deal with the rest later.  Something had to be done before my head exploded, iy yi yi.  Can you stay awake taking 50mg of benadryl every 6 hours.  I'm not sure if I could still function.  I like a good nap as well as any, but 6 days of continuous sleeping... probably get bedsores in that much time.

I'm a nurse.. and a couple weeks ago I had a pt with a peanut allergy prob.  She nearly respiratory arrested.   She was doiong better and feeling fine... then, without any more peanuts, she nearly arrested again in the morning for having the benadryl and steroids wear off.  It was a dramatic lesson to be learned.  Enough to make a person a bit nervous.