Nitrofurantoin and Tiredness: What Users Say (Page 2)

• LBa...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 26, 2016

Nitrofurantoin for Urinary Tract Infection "I am 6 weeks pregnant and ended up with my first UTI. I was prescribed Macrobid because I am very allergic to sulfa antibiotics, which landed me in a hospital a few years back. Upon reading the reviews, I was so incredibly terrified to take this medication, but I had no choice. I'll consider myself lucky, but so far I have found that Macrobid is actually quite tolerable. I've been a bit more tired and achy than usual and had some mild nausea, but nothing too severe. I have found that taking it with a full meal is critical, and drinking TONS of fluid (water/Gatorade) helps with side effects. But for me, this is really a reminder to take reviews with a grain of salt - you really have no idea how your body will react until you try it yourself."

• Amy...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 3, 2016

Nitrofurantoin for Bladder Infection "Lower back pain gone after 1st day of this medicine. Nausea is horrible - taking Phenergan to offset nausea. I'm lethargic and resting. This stuff must be strong - but I'd take bed rest and nausea over a knife in my back anyway! I'm on 2X daily with food for 5 days. I'm on day 3."

• Inf...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 22, 2020

For Urinary Tract Infection "My urologist put me on this medicine Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for two months. The first week, sick to my stomach, hands and feet numb, no energy, feeling like passing out, terrible stomach pain. I couldn't even get through the first week. Now, today I was not able to pee either. This stuff made me even worse."

• Seb...
• August 24, 2012

Nitrofurantoin for Urinary Tract Infection "I have been using Macrobid for a couple of years now. I am allergic to all other medications, and therefore, this is all I have to work with. It works well, doesn't always work for me. Sometimes I have to take a second week of it. I often feel the same way as others. Headache if I haven't drank enough water, upset stomach if I hadn't eaten enough food when taking the pill. It does make me tired as well. I try to eat well when I am on this medication to help with the energy level since I am allergic to caffeine and can't take that path. I think that if you make sure to take the pill with lots of food like they recommend, the nausea isn't that bad. Also, drinking more water than you're ever used to will help with the headaches."

• Anonymous
• January 18, 2012

Nitrofurantoin for Urinary Tract Infection "I have been on Macrobid for 3 days now. I feel so nauseated. I'm so tired, and I can't eat or drink anything, except for a little water, without getting sick. It gives me a horrible headache, and I feel so weak. I am also allergic to sulfa medications (Bactrim), so the doctor gave me this."

• Nat...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 28, 2020

For Urinary Tract Infection "Been taking this drug for 3 days and not sure if the way I’m feeling is due to the drug or my ongoing stomach issues and anxiety. However, I have been feeling tired, nauseous, and experiencing some dizziness. Also, had a headache for the first 2 days that wouldn’t budge - mainly frontal, behind the eyes! On the plus side, it seems to have cleared the UTI. I’ve completed my course, so hopefully, these symptoms will disappear."

• Cha...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 7, 2019

Nitrofurantoin for Urinary Tract Infection "Awful drug. Took Macrobid for 3 days for UTI, where I couldn’t eat as I felt so sick, slept nearly all day, every day, as it made me so tired. I’m on the progesterone contraceptive pill, it has interacted with that, and I’ve had a period for 3 weeks nonstop since taking these antibiotics (after 5 years of no periods). Three weeks on from taking these, I have been depressed the whole time, not wanting to get out of bed and felt teary, and everything was making me cry. I thought I was going insane as you don’t expect medication to still be affecting you 3 weeks after you have finished taking it!! Gave me twitches in my hands too! Need this medication out of my body ASAP!! Trying to take charcoal, probiotics, and milk thistle to recover my body from this awful drug!! Do not take it, ask for a general antibiotic instead, as it’s so not worth the side effects. I’d rather suffer from the UTI than ever take them again!!"

• Bum...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 23, 2012

Nitrofurantoin for Urinary Tract Infection "I suffered severe headaches and nausea for hours from the very first dose and every dose thereafter. I would feel faint, overheated, extremely tired; I slept with the windows open and the heat off (it's winter). Four days of taking Macrobid, I began to have loose stools and severe muscle aches and neck stiffness. I began to have a sore throat and a dry cough on day two. After stopping, within 24 hours, I began to itch severely. I've been off of it for 48 hours and I still have a headache and I use Benadryl for the itching. I was given Levaquin in one dose, then Macrobid 100 mg two times a day for 10 days by the ER doctor. But my primary doctor thought it was overkill and should have just used the Levaquin."

• Pix...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 3, 2014

For Urinary Tract Infection "I'm taking nitrofurantoin (Macrobid) 100 mg, currently on day 4 of 7 for urinary tract infection (UTI). My urinary tract infection was more than painful pee - I had the whole set of flu-like symptoms like chills, nausea, aches, and of course, painful pee and blood in the urine. I would say about 80% of my symptoms - especially the pain! - were gone within 24 hours, and the only thing I feel now is a bit of itchiness in the urethra when I pee. No big deal. On the downside, I am VERY tired (day 2 was the worst, felt like I was 90 years old), a bit dizzy, certainly nauseous, I feel like I have to breathe really hard, and muscle pain. Overall, very effective for treating urinary tract infection, but I feel like crap and I can't wait to finish the 7-day course."

• sic...
• September 23, 2014

Nitrofurantoin for Urinary Tract Infection "After having a lot of urine infections for the past year, I am now back on Macrodantin 50 mg, 4 times a day for 7 days. Makes me feel yak, headaches, keeps me awake, slightly dizzy, feel tired a lot. Then doctor wants me to take a low dose of it for 6 weeks. Will keep you posted if it actually works this time. I have my doubts."

• Hal...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 13, 2019

For Urinary Tract Infection "I really felt like I should state my experience with this drug. I had done a lot of research, including reading these reviews, and I was terrified of taking nitrofurantoin. I almost decided to deal with a UTI rather than take it. Well, I wanted to share that I didn't have any negative effects. It did make me feel a little tired, but I'm not sure if that is from the medication or from waking up earlier than usual. I will say to make sure you take it with a meal. I had half of an English muffin and oatmeal, and I didn't have any nausea. I would also say to drink plenty of water to help the medication work. And finally, don't be afraid like I was. I was having really bad anxiety after taking the first pill, and I am totally fine."

• Anonymous
• August 14, 2010

Nitrofurantoin for Bladder Infection "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."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 5, 2020

Nitrofurantoin for Urinary Tract Infection "This drug was fine at first. By the second pill, it seemed as if my UTI was gone. If you don’t take this drug with TONS of food, it will mess you up. This drug also gave me severe stomach gas and diarrhea every morning. It also increased my appetite so much when I woke up that I had to eat something immediately or I felt sick. I really did not like being on this medicine. It messed up how I felt and just made me super tired and uncomfortable. I hope I never have to take it again."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 23, 2015

For Urinary Tract Infection "This medication made me feel awful. I woke up every day with a bad headache, experienced nausea, dizziness, and extreme tiredness throughout the week (every day). I don't think I can finish the full week as I need to resume my life. I wouldn't take this again. However, the infection seems to be gone, so it worked for that."

• Oki...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 28, 2024

Nitrofurantoin for Urinary Tract Infection "Given Macrobid (100 mg, twice daily (every 12 hrs)) for UTI (I had urinary urgency and frequency for a few days, started getting nausea and lower back pain). 1st dose: 30 mins in got a headache, heat/tingling at the top of head, moved forward and turned into pressure in forehead and temples—felt similar to a fever, but no temperature (was only 97°F). Felt lethargic, started getting a sharp pain above the pubic bone/in my bladder, and a bit of ache in back; the lower abdominal/back pain was manageable with heating pad, but headache remained for almost 2 hrs. Felt good when it was gone though; relief from urgency, more energy, thinking clearly. But an hour before the next dose I felt sick, back pain came back, felt emotional. 2nd dose: same headache again, felt fevered but wasn’t, was cold; slept through it, awoke with random body aches, knee and chest sore, felt ill. Talked to the doctor, new urinalysis said no UTI, so it works, but was advised to stop because of side effects. Take at your own risk."

• chr...
• August 25, 2014

For Bladder Infection "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."

• 816...
• August 14, 2016

Nitrofurantoin for Bladder Infection "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."

• Jco...
• November 17, 2019

Nitrofurantoin for Urinary Tract Infection "Cleared up the UTI pretty quickly. But on the second day, I started to have some side effects: nausea, upper abdominal and back pain, feeling very weak and tired. Eating a larger meal with the pill seems to help a little. Not the worst medication, but not great either."

• Kri...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 4, 2019

Nitrofurantoin for Urinary Tract Infection "I started this 11 hrs ago... Let me tell you, it has made me feel horrible. Dizzy, trouble concentrating, exhausted, my face feels odd, hot/cold, and I'm nauseous. I am terrified to take another dose. Unfortunately, my culture showed this antibiotic to be most effective. But there is no way I can take 5 days of this. I just looked up reviews and saw that I'm not the only one feeling this way. I have only had a bad reaction to Erythromycin (vomiting) many years ago. I don't recall an antibiotic ever making me feel this way before."

• Bum...
• July 18, 2019

For Bladder Infection "I was prescribed this for a bladder infection, 100 mg twice daily. The first couple of days was okay. Then on day 3, I felt like I was on a different planet! I felt dizzy, disorientated, nauseous, my face felt puffy, my mouth felt tingly, I felt like I was on a rough boat crossing, and felt unbelievably tired. My chest feels tight, and my mouth is so dry! I’m glad I’ve read other people have had these symptoms. I am not taking any more and will go back to my doctor."

• Zoe...
• February 17, 2017

For Bladder Infection "Only hours after taking this medication for a UTI, I had severe pain in my chest! I thought it was gas, and it wasn't until day four of having extreme shortness of breath and lethargy that I decided to research what the side effects of this medication are. It looks like many other people have experienced breathing issues as well from taking this. I am stopping it ASAP and never taking it again!"

• Est...
• May 9, 2019

Nitrofurantoin for Urinary Tract Infection "I got a UTI and was prescribed this medicine. At first, when I would take it, it was fine. However, after the first day, I started to get extremely tired and would sleep SO MUCH. Then I started getting a bit of heart palpitations, but I disregarded it. After about 3 days in, I took it at night (with food, of course), and a little after, I started to feel TERRIBLE. I got heart palpitations, a fast heart beat, shortness of breath, and major anxiety. I knew it was this antibiotic since I was feeling just fine before taking it. I barely slept that night, and when I woke up, I still had the terrible symptoms, so I finally went to my doctor, and she took me off it, and we're getting my urine tested again to see if it went away. In just 3-4 days of taking it, I had such bad side effects, and it’s been a day since taking my last dose, and I’m still feeling sick."

• Dan...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 11, 2014

For Urinary Tract Infection "I used to use nitrofurantoin when I would get recurrent urinary tract infections as a low dose, and that seemed to work well. I hadn't had a UTI in 7 years, then got one. The doc prescribed nitrofurantoin, and after 3 pills, my symptoms were worse. Usually, when I get antibiotics for a UTI, my symptoms stop almost immediately, so I knew they weren't working. The doc then prescribed Bactrim, and I felt better within hours. I must have a nitrofurantoin resistance from taking so much? My side effect was I was very tired. I could have slept all day."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 21, 2018

Nitrofurantoin for Urinary Tract Infection "I was prescribed this medicine for a possible UTI. Didn't work because I believe I have cystitis, but this was precautionary. Almost didn't take it because of the reviews! The only bad side effect I had was stinky gas and maybe a little tired. I don't understand how this drug has so many bad reviews. (Maybe people who have bad experiences are more likely to review something and the ones who have good experiences just move on with their lives.) Drink it with a glass of water and food. I was fine."

• Suf...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 30, 2019

For Bladder Infection "I previously took this for a UTI, and it worked fine. This time I had UTI symptoms and went to the doctor, as I constantly have an ache/pain and pressure and need to urinate a lot, so I was put back on it for 1 week again. I've felt the urge to pee a lot more on this medication this time, very tired, sick feeling, and flu-like symptoms. I'm hoping once it's out of my system, I won't have this feeling, and it's just the medication making my body worse. I just constantly need to wee and feel awful!"