Nitrofurantoin for Bladder Infection User Reviews (Page 5)

• Ren...
• January 5, 2019

Nitrofurantoin "Mild UTI, so given Macrobid twice a day for 5 days. Followed instructions to the letter. 1st 2, very slight queasiness for an hour or so. Also felt odd-kind of out of it/drowsy, but only for a few hours. Day 3 adjusted-both stomach and brain were fine. Then came the pain-pelvic, groin, and abdominal-moving around. Sharp stabs and dull throbbing waves. Then in my neck/under jaw and by ears (like stinging gland pain-if you’ve ever had the mumps, you’ll know what I mean). I finished meds and let 2 days go, hoping I’d feel better, but no-I went back to Dr and my urine tested clear. Kidney test-no pain resulting. No fever. Abdomen fine on palpating-yet all these migrating (moving) pains keep at me. I “feel” fine except for the widespread pain. I never know where it’s going to stab next. I don't know if it's something the antibiotic did, but this is very coincidental. I was in good health until this. Be careful with this medication!"

• Anonymous
• August 14, 2010

Nitrofurantoin "Took for a bladder infection. Felt better after a day or so, but got extremely nauseated, even taking it with a snack. It also makes me so tired, all I want to do is sleep. I have stopped taking it, and it feels like I am getting the same symptoms back. I am allergic to sulfa drugs, and this is what the doctor gave me."

• Sam...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 5, 2019

Nitrofurantoin "Going through the reviews. Sounds like most of them are just on the wrong antibiotic. Nausea, fever, chills, etc., are also signs of a bad kidney infection. Not saying they are all like that, but some of them could be."

• Pat...
• April 15, 2018

Nitrofurantoin "I'm 13 weeks pregnant and got my first UTI. I have a medication phobia, so I tried to cure it on my own. Big mistake. After many breakdowns, I finally took the first pill. Within 8 hours of taking it, I was feeling so much better. I'm on day 3 and all my UTI symptoms are gone. I have not had one side effect yet to this medicine. I wish I would have taken it sooner instead of suffering for a week. I have multiple medication allergies, so to find one I can take was a miracle."

• 1Gr...
• January 9, 2016

Nitrofurantoin "I took Macrobid for two and a half days and felt sick. Plus, I'm scared of anything that poses a risk of side effects that are a mile and a half long. Macrobid made me so sick that I ended up at the ER with swollen lymph nodes, a stiff neck, nausea, a migraine that caused eye pain, vomiting, and chills. I felt poisoned. My sister wanted to stay with us because she was so worried about me. I was sick for three days in bed. Never, ever again. I'm only seeing naturopathic doctors and a Chinese medicine doctor unless it is life or death."

• Suz...
• November 21, 2015

Nitrofurantoin "I have been on Macrobid twice for bladder infections. It cleared them up, but the side effects knocked me off my feet for days. Fever of 101-102 and flu-like achiness and wicked headaches the entire time I was on the medication. The first time I took it, the doctor said I must have had the flu too. The second time I called him after three days and had him switch me to another antibiotic."

• Ama...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 22, 2019

"Prescribed this nitrofurantoin for bad cystitis with blood in my urine and took 2 doses spaced out on the first day with food (Tues). Took the morning dose on the 2nd day, again with food, but by the afternoon I was unbearably nauseous. Started vomiting Wed afternoon and evening and had a temperature. Couldn't even sit up because I felt so sick. The doctor came out to me and told me to stop taking the tablets as I was getting side effects, which he said affect a lot of people. He tested my urine and the infection had cleared up already. Wed evening I had loose stools, and all day yesterday (Thursday) I was pooing water. Friday morning now, and I've passed about 10 water poos already. Three days of nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea after only 3 tablets of this stuff. I'll report back when it ends. Still feeling awful right now."

• Anonymous
• August 30, 2012

"I started taking nitrofurantoin today for a bladder infection, first and only pill at about 1 pm. Felt fine till about 6 pm and started feeling extremely tired to the point I could hardly stay awake. Then came the horrible nausea (thanks for Zofran), along with dizziness, chills, shortness of breath, headache, stuffy nose, and not feeling well in general."

• Anonymous
• October 9, 2009

Nitrofurantoin "This drug makes me very drowsy, headache, backache, severe nausea even when taken with food. The pain after urination is still there after 4 days on the drug. The only positive thing so far is that I have not gotten a yeast infection, which was common with other urinary tract infection drugs."

• i...
• December 19, 2016

Nitrofurantoin "The side effects. Today I went to the doctor with symptoms of cloudy urine and frequent urination. I was diagnosed with a bladder infection, and I was prescribed Macrobid, 2x po daily for 5 days. I've taken this medication before for a UTI, and I was fine, but for some reason, I took this pill 2 hours ago and already I feel the sensation to gag every time I breathe in. This kind of nausea feels detestable. I'm so uncomfortable. I also got severe back pain and tight chest out of nowhere. I can't believe this."

• San...
• September 10, 2015

Nitrofurantoin "I was prescribed this medicine for a bladder infection and would never recommend anyone to take it. Obviously, it depends on your body type, but I usually have a high tolerance. I'm needing to head to the doctor's now because I've been experiencing painful headaches every day, sharp stomach aches, muscle pain, chills (hot to brutally cold: fever-type symptoms), tingling, light-headed, nauseous, eye aches, my urine went from neon green to dark brown, and as gross as it is, I haven't been able to take a proper poo, but every time I pass gas on the toilet, watery diarrhea-like stuff comes out, and I've seen some blood when I wiped. This medicine definitely didn't go well with me and is a painful experience!"

• Tra...
• May 17, 2009

Nitrofurantoin "I have a urinary tract infection and was prescribed this medication along with phenazopyridine, which takes the burn out of urination. They warned me that Macrobid might cause slight stomach upset, but I threw up four times in a row last night and feel nauseous all the time (regardless of how much I eat). I had a UTI a few years ago and was prescribed a pill that caused no stomach upset. Why are they prescribing Macrobid now?"

• Ani...
• October 20, 2016

Nitrofurantoin "The first time I used this medication, it was great. Just now, I was prescribed Macrobid again. It took care of the bladder infection symptoms in two days. Next day, fever was 104, headache, fever high only one day, nausea, fatigue, high pulse (100), stomach pain, neck pain, muscle pain, lack of appetite. Stopped taking this med after 8 days and will never take it again."

• Mar...
• June 9, 2011

Nitrofurantoin "It is a very effective antibiotic, but you really have to take it with food. It has relieved all the symptoms of my urinary tract infection, but it gives me heart pains, and on the third day of taking it, I started feeling faint, like I thought I almost was going to pass out. I immediately went and bought a Gatorade drink, and the electrolytes in the drink helped me feel better. Had to stop taking it."

• Goo...
• January 10, 2016

Nitrofurantoin "Macrobid has always helped me. I have had many bladder infections. I am amazed how many people do not know of the miracle the medication Pyridium is to relieve bladder pain. Also, I don't know why doctors don't recommend it, but please do know Pyridium will not cure but mask the infection. Release pain in about 20 min worked for me as needed for over 30 years."

• Anonymous
• July 22, 2009

Nitrofurantoin "I had a urinary tract infection (E. coli) and was taking Macrobid, but after a week, I was still having very discomforting symptoms. In previous UTIs, my doctors had given me Bactrim, and symptoms cleared up within days. I researched the medicine as soon as I ran out of it and found that it was more effective in preventing than in treating, and users were prone to recurring infections. I promptly called the doctors the next morning and got a prescription for Bactrim. I was fine not too long after that."

• Liz...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 18, 2018

Nitrofurantoin "I had the most miserable UTI/bladder infection. I took a course of Macrobid, and my infection was gone! I try to stay away from abusing antibiotics, so it could be the reason why I had a better experience than some people. I didn’t notice any side effects, but then I am not the type of person to go out of my way to look for things that are wrong. I was so happy that I felt significantly better right away!!"

• pau...
• March 28, 2015

"I can say this medication hasn't worked for me, I still have the infection after taking the course, plus an extra course. What I did find was I became very dizzy, I got blurred vision, and nauseous. I suffer from vertigo, and this medicine made that worse, also, I got constipation and lack of appetite. So it was not a happy experience taking this medicine."

• Ean...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 11, 2019

"I was put on a 3-day course of nitrofurantoin in April and only managed to take 3 of the 6 pills due to vomiting and feeling like I had the flu. I was put on this again recently for 7 days and spent most of the time out of work due to nitrofurantoin side effects, banging migraine on the first day and after that came the excruciating stomach pains, nausea and vomiting, extreme weakness and fatigue, cold sweats, and general malaise. I did manage to fight through the 7 days - the side effects became less manageable as the days went by, though. I congratulate anyone who gets through a week's course and is still able to go to work, as this is the second time I've been off of work due to this medication."

• chr...
• August 25, 2014

"I have given this medication 1 because of the side effects, which actually only flared up on my final day of taking them. I felt really ill for about two days, which totally knocked me for six. Tiredness, loss of appetite, and shaking, later in the day, a rash on my legs, which was worse on my feet and ankles, then my face went a bright red color. Two days later, the rash is still there but starting to fade, next came some tightness in my chest, which is easing. As I said, these came at the end of the 7-day dosage period, so there was no point contacting a doctor, so I'm just riding it out. Hope they clear the infection."

• Iha...
• October 17, 2014

"First time taking Nitrofurantoin. I have a urinary tract infection about twice a year and have been on a few different things. I cannot take sulfur-based medicines as they produce a rash and can no longer take Cipro as it has caused panic in me before. I am taking a 10-day course 4 times a day of Nitro. On the positive, I felt almost immediate relief from the urgency of the UTI after taking the first pill. It changes the color of urine to a bright yellow, and from the first urination after taking the Nitro, the urgency was gone. This medicine did cause me to feel slightly sick the first few times I took it, and also causes me to be in bed at 8:30 pm every night, other than that, it works fantastic."

• juj...
• August 24, 2019

Nitrofurantoin "I have taken Macrobid at least twice in the past to treat my UTIs {it had been 10+ years though}. FF >> 4 days into a 5-day script... I started to feel itchy, within 6 hours, I broke out in terrible hives. I changed nothing else. Macrobid was the ONLY difference. Yes, my UTI seemed gone, but I had to deal with hives for almost a solid week. I went to an allergist, and while there’s no way to prove it was the Macrobid, he said with 99% certainty that the antibiotic was the culprit. He also told me that the hives could last and reappear {after my course of steroids} for weeks. :( Here I sit 5 weeks later... with another UTI, about to take Bactrim, and I’m petrified. Who knows if it really ever even cleared up 100% from before? Like mentioned... I did take this a couple of times before a long time ago (I tried to think back to remember if I was itchy or anything - but can’t remember). I will never take Macrobid again."

• 816...
• August 14, 2016

Nitrofurantoin "Was prescribed this antibiotic for a bladder infection at emergency care. Doctor said there were few side effects when I asked - was hesitant to take it because I'm very sensitive to antibiotics, but was assured this was the best medicine for me with the least side effects. Wrong! By day 2 I was totally lethargic, feeling very irritable and running a low-grade fever on and off. Thought temp was from bladder infection. Finished 6-day course, went to my doctor for a urine recheck, and since my culture appeared clean, was told I could stop a day earlier. Two days off the medicine and I'm still feeling like crap, extremely tired and lethargic with a low-grade fever of 100.5. Feel like I have a minor case of the flu, but since reading other articles I believe it's from the antibiotic. Never again will I take this."

• Ash...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 31, 2022

Nitrofurantoin "Started taking Macrobid last week, and after the first dose, I felt off. I ended up leaving work early that day because I had intense nausea, chills, and general lethargy. Later that evening, it had progressed to a fever, balance issues, and it's like I had no legs under me. Took one more dose, and it was the same issues. Decided to discontinue the meds, and the side effects went away almost immediately. But that didn't help the bladder infection. I started to think maybe it was the infection that had caused all of the side effects, despite not having any now. So I took another dose this morning. You guessed it, ALL of the side effects from before. So I contacted my NP who prescribed Cipro instead. My pharmacist says that the adverse reactions are pretty rare, but I can't imagine taking the full course of Macrobid. The nausea was the worst! I honestly felt terrible!"

• CGa...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 16, 2019

Nitrofurantoin "For everyone that thinks the drug doesn’t work, make sure you have had a urine culture done! It is not for all bacteria. Because I had an indwelling catheter and signs of a UTI, the doctor had me give a urine sample, but it takes 72 hours for the cultures to grow. Then he put me on Macrobid twice a day. By the time the culture got back, they realized that it was not going to work on the type of bacteria that I had (group B strep). So I was switched to Keflex. When I was done with that, I was put back on Macrobid to prevent an infection because I am now catheterizing intermittently. So, make sure you are getting cultures done before blaming the doctor or the drug for not working well for you. Also, Azo (Pyridium) can be bought over the counter to help with bladder spasms and pain. As for side effects, I have had an incident of dizziness, low blood pressure, and racing pulse, but I am not sure if that could have just been attributed to the infection and the fact that I was postoperative."