Bactrim and Headaches: What Users Say (Page 4)

• Sha...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 8, 2021

For Urinary Tract Infection "Listen! No! Heck no! Absolutely NOT!!! I was prescribed Macrobid, but itching started and my face felt numb just after the 2nd dose!!! So my doctor switched me to Bactrim! I will say the first 2 pills weren’t so bad. Little nausea, slight headache. But baaaabbbby, this 3rd pill is the awful! I’m currently shivering as I type this. I’m in a robe and under covers. Make it make sense. Prior to this, I had a scare... my heart rate increased so high!!!! Talk about a rapid beating out of nowhere, I FREAKED out!!!! I should’ve read the reviews and listened! I didn’t listen... thinking I’d have a better outcome. I had 3 pills left. I’m not taking that!! I’ll keep drinking my water and flushing my system because the symptoms were milder than the antibiotic!!!! We all are different indeed, but dang how can your body handle this stuff? Still shivering, by the way. I was given this twice a day for 3 days."

• 123...
• July 10, 2017

For Urinary Tract Infection "Just thought I'd share my experience with Bactrim. I'm a petite girl. As far as side effects go, I had almost none the first few days, but now on my 4th or 5th day, I am noticing the side effects appearing! Which are (for me) headaches, constipation (watch what you eat with this or else you'll get blocked up), loss of appetite (I'm not hungry almost at all), and oddly enough, pain when I breathe in (possibly mild pericarditis). I also can't seem to focus. But nothing too horrible. I take this on an empty stomach every time, and it is absolutely fine. But, 3 out of 10 pills left, and I still have symptoms of a UTI! Ugh. So maybe it did not work for me."

• Mic...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 5, 2019

For Urinary Tract Infection "I was prescribed to take two pills daily for 7 days for a UTI. Took as directed with plenty of water for a few days with no problem, and my UTI symptoms cleared up. However, I’m on the fourth day, and the side effects have really begun to set in. I have constant fatigue (so much so that I almost fainted in the shower and get tired from just standing), severe headache, dizziness, ringing in my ears, and joint pain. All I can really do is lay in bed and drink lots of water because doing anything else makes me feel very ill. I’m extremely sensitive to minocycline, but didn’t expect to have such bad side effects from Bactrim, considering they’re a totally different class of drug. Seems to be effective at treating my UTI, but unfortunately, the side effects aren’t worth it."

• 28y...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 5, 2021

For Urinary Tract Infection "It cured my UTI! Did give some fatigue, bloating, headache, bad taste in mouth, insomnia/night anxiety? Random, I know. I stayed up until 4 am almost every night I took it, but hey, it beats a UTI. Thank goodness I don’t deal with them often. On the last day (of 5), I did get some heartburn, but I also wasn’t eating much, and my diet was weird, so it could be unrelated. You never know what works for your body!"

• Sid...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 13, 2017

For Prostatitis "I took one pill of a two-week prescription and immediately had a splitting headache. Six hours later, I had difficulty breathing. Body aches and joint pain also kicked in. Two days later, I am finally starting to feel better, but my right knee still hurts. This drug is (almost) banned in the U.K. and should be looked at by the FDA. You need to know if you are allergic to the sulfa class of drugs before even thinking about taking this drug."

• dan...
• June 21, 2021

For Urinary Tract Infection "I’m taking 160 mg every 12 hours for a UTI. And I took my seventh pill this morning. The first day I took it, I felt completely fine, no side effects at all. The next morning, I woke up and felt horrible, my back, where my kidneys are, hurt bad. I had a severe cramp where my liver sits underneath my right rib cage, to the point I couldn’t even manage to walk around. I felt sick to my stomach, dizzy, just plain horrible. I went to the hospital, thinking my liver was failing on me, everything checked out fine. At first, I didn’t know it was the medication doing this, so I continued to take it. I laid in my bed for three days straight. And today, I honestly feel like I’m going to die, it’s making me feel very detached from reality. I feel like I’m going to throw up everywhere, my head is pounding, I feel tired but can’t sleep. I am 27 years old and have been healthy up to this point, NO HEALTH PROBLEMS. I'm stopping this medication, and I'm hoping I’ll feel better in a couple of days."

• Lan...
• August 22, 2018

For Bacterial Skin Infection "I was very hesitant to take this drug after reading the reviews online. Indeed, I was prescribed it for a bacterial skin infection. However, it did little to nothing to eliminate my infection. On day 1 of taking it, I started getting minor headaches. Every time I took a dose after that, it made my headache even worse. It just felt like I was putting something harmful in my body. If you're ever in a situation where you are prescribed it (and it's not a life-or-death situation), tell your doctor no. Do it for your own body's sake."

• ilo...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 18, 2022

For Urinary Tract Infection "I took it for a UTI, and it definitely makes me feel better a few hours later. But every single time I took it, it makes me throw up even with food. Couldn't sleep, really bad headache, and extremely sick. Had to go to the ER, and they prescribed me ondansetron, which helps with the vomiting. Macrobid is way better. If you have to take it, ask your doctor to prescribe you some type of medication that helps with the nausea."

• Cmp...
• December 6, 2019

For Urinary Tract Infection "I was prescribed Bactrim for a possible UTI, and it seemed to relieve my symptoms after a few days. However, on day 7 out of 10, I started noticing red dots all over my skin. Over the period of the next day or so, the dots multiplied until it was a complete red rash all over my body. Not very itchy, but definitely unpleasant to look at. I also developed a low-grade fever of 100.6 and got headaches and felt very out of it. Went to the doctor and was told to stop taking the Bactrim because I was having an allergic reaction. Rash and other side effects went away within a few days. Looking back, there were probably other symptoms I should have noticed that pointed to me being allergic, but I didn’t think anything of them. Most people will have different experiences on this medication, so don’t start reading reviews and assume the worst. Talk to your doctor. I will say the Bactrim did seem to do its job, though, and I no longer have the UTI I was originally prescribed it for."

• sca...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 25, 2021

For Prostatitis "I went to the doctor for prostatitis and was prescribed Bactrim (sulfamethoxazole). Some background, I have high-functioning anxiety and decided to write this review while I wait for my doctor to call me back about changing antibiotics. These other reviews are 100% accurate about severe anxiety (heart rate over 90 BPM 24/7), headaches, loss of appetite, and nausea... nothing better than throwing up stomach bile because you can't eat. I thought I had COVID but tested negative... On the bright side, after 3 days, my prostatitis went away, I guess it's a double-edged sword."

• Hog...
• November 7, 2017

For Urinary Tract Infection "I was on 3 different antibiotics, none helped to rid the UTI. I was then given Bactrim. My second dose, I felt so bad I felt like going to the ER. My head hurt day and night, I was nauseous, just couldn’t function. I called the doctor, he told me to continue taking it. It is a strong medication. He said if I couldn’t take the pills, he would have to give it with an IV antibiotics. I am being told I have this UTI, and it is so bad that’s what I have to take. I have no symptoms of a UTI."

• Anonymous
• January 27, 2011

"Bactrim was prescribed to my 3-year-old for a boil. Although the boil went away after 4 doses, she got a super high fever and complained of a headache and was very lethargic. I called her doctor, and he directed me to continue the medication for a few more days to complete a 7-day regimen. Eventually, she broke out in hives, head to toe, and I rushed her to the emergency room. Allergic reaction to sulfa drugs."

• HWa...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 2, 2021

For Urinary Tract Infection "I was prescribed Bactrim DS, 1 pill 2x a day for 10 days for a UTI. Previously, a 5-day course of amoxicillin failed to rid my UTI. I don't think I started to feel better until day 7, but even though I'm now done with the course, I still have slight UTI symptoms and test strips still show slight traces. I'm guessing I have a resistant strain of bacteria, so I'm going to call my doctor for yet a 3rd antibiotic (I'm guessing Cipro will be next). Overall, I did not have any scary symptoms. No upset stomach, no rashes or hives, no headaches. I usually ate a small snack beforehand but always drank a full glass of water with each dose (and tried to drink more throughout the day as well as recommended). I did my best to stay indoors and wear sunscreen too. I will say on the 7th day, I did feel like the skin on my arms was a little sensitive and itchy. Like maybe the start of a rash, but it's possible my seasonal allergies were kicking in (I avoided taking Claritin since I didn't know if I could)."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 12, 2022

For Acne "I (18F) was prescribed DS (800/160) twice a day with lots of water. I didn't know I was allergic to sulfa and was nervous to take such a high amount, so I only took one a day instead. After two weeks, I felt fine and there was small acne improvement, so I took two yesterday. Turns out, I'm allergic; I got rashes all over my body, the worst sleeping experience I've ever had, dizziness/fainting, swollen lymph nodes (I can't turn my neck much without pain), really aching muscles, tight chest, flushed/swollen face, and headaches. I asked my doctor and my mom (an RN) and was told sulfa allergies are commonly seen. The only good thing from it was I did see more improvement with the higher dose."

• Jen...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 9, 2021

For Urinary Tract Infection "I was prescribed Bactrim DS 2x a day for a UTI that wouldn’t go away after trying to treat it with cranberry. I became horrendously ill after the 2nd pill, muscle aches, muscle weakness, dizziness, rapid heart rate, feeling faint, and feeling like I couldn’t concentrate. Tried calling my doctor to ask if I could go down to one pill a day as 2 felt too much, they didn’t call me back until 3 days later because of the weekend. By then, I took it upon myself to only take one pill a day, and my doctor said that was a good decision. With one pill a day, the most I felt was a slight headache and slight loss of appetite, but my UTI symptoms continued to get worse, so I was put on Cipro. Praying the Cipro works for me now."

• Ver...
• December 18, 2017

For Bacterial Skin Infection "I had what I thought was a boil on the back of my leg, so I went to the ER. The worst pain of my life, cutting it open. I left, they gave me Bactrim. OMG, I woke up with the worst headache. My body dried out because of the medicine. My lips cracked and bled just by moving my lips. I went to a different ER, blood pressure is 181/164. I have shakes, blurry vision, pain all over my body. I have HIV and diabetes, so I'm scared. They gave me tramadol and sent me home. I've got my husband writing this because I'm so weak. So please, doctors, if you read this, we know our bodies better than you, and I should have been admitted, but the only excuse is I might pick up another infection. I can do that being out in the open. SMH, I feel like I'm dying and nobody is listening."

• Luc...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 3, 2023

For Sinusitis "I was put on Bactrim for 10 days and ended up at the ER. I have terrible headaches, I passed out, dizziness, so weak I could barely get up. Thought I was going to die before the doctor figured out that I was reacting to the medication."

• Csm...
• April 6, 2016

For Bacterial Skin Infection "I was given Bactrim for vestibulitis, a sinus infection, and bronchitis. The medicine was hardly effective. I just finished it. While on it, all of my symptoms got worse, and I had severe headaches, neck stiffness, and I was so tired all day. I tried dealing with the side effects because I wasn't sure if it was the medicine or just being sick. Went back to my doctor today, and because I'm not better, he switched me to azithromycin and gave me some steroids for my energy levels. This medicine was awful. By the 7th day, I was smelling and tasting the medicine all day. Really, I could've dealt with the side effects if the medicine helped me, but it did not."

• Hon...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 2, 2017

For Bacterial Skin Infection "I went to the emergency room due to a hot, burning, stinging, itchy rash on my hand with what seemed to be white welts. I was also experiencing some nausea and felt weak. The doctor examined my hand and diagnosed me with cellulitis. He prescribed me Augmentin, which he knew I was allergic to. At least I noticed it before I took it. He had to change my antibiotic to Bactrim. I was given one dose at the hospital because no pharmacies were open on New Year's Day. That night I felt a slight headache. The night seemed extremely longer than usual. Each hour seemed like two or three. I didn't think the night was going to end. I was up every few hours with a dry mouth. I also had a dream that was frightening, it was of a friend stabbing me."

• Chr...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 3, 2015

For Acne "Started taking Bactrim about 3 weeks ago. It cleared a lot of my acne in the first and second week, but I started to break out in the third week. Yesterday I noticed a bump on my neck just below the ear. Turns out it's a swollen lymph node, and it's the size of a golf ball. That same day I got a severe headache, and today my neck is extremely stiff, so I'm going to the ER in the morning. Bottom line is don't take it, the side effects probably aren't worth it, just get a hold of Accutane."

• Anonymous
• September 7, 2011

For Bacterial Skin Infection "Awful nausea and headaches that last all day! I'd rather have those side effects than suffer from MRSA, but it has still been rough to deal with as I'm trying to go back to work."

• Anonymous
• October 12, 2011

For Urinary Tract Infection "I took it with almost no side effects. I did have a headache one day, but that could have been from anything. My only complaint was that the pills were huge and hard to swallow."

• Anonymous
• February 3, 2009

For Sinusitis "Horrible headache and stomach ache. Had to discontinue."

• Anonymous
• March 3, 2009

For Urinary Tract Infection "The reason why I gave a 4 was because I had a lot of stomach pain, back pain, sore throat, headache."

• LMT...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 18, 2022

For Kidney Infections "I took my first pill at night, and it gave me visual hallucinations, nightmares, insomnia, headache, restlessness, and heart palpitations. I didn’t take any more and switched to another medication."