Bactrim User Reviews & Ratings (Page 5)

• Anonymous
• May 7, 2009

For Bacterial Skin Infection "I was diagnosed with MRSA, a staph infection that is like small boils on the skin. I was on Bactrim for two weeks, and it seemed to clear it up. Actually improved in a couple of days. After a week of being off the Bactrim, I started getting the boils back. Had to take another two weeks of Bactrim."

• MsM...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• November 12, 2019

For Acne "My face broke out with acne at age 15, and tetracycline worked great for years. I stopped taking it around age 19. Things were fine until I reached age 25 or so, and then I started breaking out again. This time around, tetracycline did nothing. I tried minocycline along with a few other antibiotics, and they did not work either. I was on Accutane for about 6 months, and that worked while I was taking it but not so much after I stopped. Finally, my dermatologist put me on Bactrim, and that worked like magic! My face and back have been clear ever since. I have taken Bactrim for 10 years. Now that I’m close to 50, I finally don’t need to take anything!"

• Anonymous
• August 9, 2011

For Bacterial Skin Infection "I cut my finger on a piece of metal under the seat of my car and developed a skin infection. Had the infection drained, but was also prescribed Bactrim twice a day for 10 days. After 2 days, I saw my finger start healing up, and within the 10 days, it was completely healed. I only experienced mild nausea and some insomnia. Other than that, it did a great job! Very satisfied."

• ymo...
• January 21, 2016

For Bronchitis "My doctors would always give me amoxicillin. It never did anything. I used to have bad bronchitis every winter. I had one that lasted months. My sputum turned deep brown, my middle ears were so infected I could barely hear. And I was not a smoker then. I called my ENT office off hours. I got another doctor on the call. He was older and very thorough in trying to diagnose over the phone. He said, let's try a real old drug. It was Sulfa, not the combo Bactrim. He called the pharmacy. A friend picked it up. The pill was huge. I broke it into three pieces to get it down with lots of water. The next day was like a miracle, I felt so much better. It seems Sulfa is an all-around gold standard antibiotic for me for any infection."

• Aes...
• October 16, 2015

For Acne "I am 20 years old and have been taking Bactrim since I was 14. Originally, I started with a twice-daily dose but have since decreased to half a pill every other day. It is not a perfect fix, as I still have to be attentive and wash my face twice a day and occasionally use an acne cream, but otherwise, it works quite well. Before starting Bactrim, I had moderate but painful acne, and I now only get small, infrequent pimples. I am now a pharmacy student and thought I should warn people that extended use of any drug is dangerous. Also, Bactrim is NOT an antibiotic but is a synthetic sulfa drug, meaning it is made from chemicals. Some people are severely allergic to sulfa drugs and should be cautious and talk to their doctor before taking this drug."

• Des...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 15, 2016

For Urinary Tract Infection "They prescribed Bactrim to me, worst thing ever. Ended up in the hospital, body aches, fever, insomnia... & went to the hospital. Ended up with a low blood count, ran all kinds of tests. It was just awful. I will never take this again, and it's been about a month, and I'm still not 100% better. I will never take this ever again!"

• ann...
• July 28, 2019

For Kidney Infections "Took 2 Bactrim daily for UTI after 3 prescriptions of Keflex with no change to the infection. Bactrim did cure the persistent UTI, but I ended up in the hospital, and tests showed my kidneys were not working. So, was an effective cure, but serious side effects. After 4 days in the hospital, kidneys are back to functioning."

• Mar...
• March 18, 2015

For Acne "I'm a 32-year-old working mom of 4, who has dealt with acne for 14 years...extremely long story short. TRY IT, IT WORKS! Bactrim changed my life and gave me back my confidence. I feel good in my own skin now."

• KM5...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• February 1, 2025

For Urinary Tract Infection "I have used Bactrim for many, many years, having had UTIs for most of my life. Yes, some people have side effects. But I can tell you that I tolerated it fairly well. Sometimes better than others. Mostly, the side effects included some fatigue or just feeling blah. But that could also be the infection, or just that I didn't eat enough, or basically antibiotics can make you feel blah! I never had a severe reaction - never had a scary reaction. And I have taken likely hundreds or thousands of Bactrim pills over the 40+ years of having UTIs. If you concentrate on side effects, you could feel them more. That is not to say some people won't have side effects, but for the most part, if you take it as you are supposed to and follow directions/dr. directions, and not go searching on the internet for horror stories, you likely will be fine. There are always exceptions. But for me personally, Bactrim has saved me many times from horribly bad UTIs when I was younger especially."

• Ana...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 17, 2019

For Urinary Tract Infection "This is my first and last time I will ever take it. Now, firstly, some people have good experiences with this med, so it's all up to your body. My body said no. The headaches are bad, the rapid heartbeat scared me, and the restlessness was awful, and it made me jittery/nervous. I took the whole dose. You will not know how your body will react to this med until you try it. I have a friend that took it, and she was fine and swore by it, her body makeup is different than mine."

• JDK...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 7, 2021

For Urinary Tract Infection "Okay, here is my story..... I'm 3 days in, and after the first dose, I felt amazing. The next day, even better. Today, not so good, I have had sweats at least thrice and stomach pains with burping constantly. My tongue is actually peeling. I have had no appetite throughout the course of 3 days thus far!!! I'm stopping it in fear of something even worse happening!! I cannot take my daily runs on this medication. Anxiety is high, and my mouth hurts!!! I had sepsis 21 months ago, which started with a UTI, and several antibiotics do not agree with me!!! I will update as time goes on. Right now, I want my mouth to stop hurting!!! I would be very cautious if you are prescribed this medication!!"

• bre...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 13, 2023

For Urinary Tract Infection "Bactrim is a very good antibiotic in my experience. At first, I was so scared to take it because of all these negative reviews. My UTI was antibiotic resistant, and Bactrim cleared it up within 3 days. Don’t let these reviews scare you. The people who have bad reactions usually don’t follow the instructions: stay out of the sun, drink tons of water, eat a full meal before taking your dose! :)"

• Bek...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 27, 2019

For Urinary Tract Infection "Cured my UTI but gave me insomnia, anxiety, swollen lymph nodes, headache, muscle and joint pain all over my body, and pins/needles feeling all over my body. Ended up going to the hospital for the side effects. So I would not, in any circumstance, recommend this antibiotic."

• BWa...
• February 19, 2020

For Meningitis "The ER doctor prescribed him Bactrim to help with the forever ear infection. My son was taking the antibiotics for 2 weeks when he began experiencing symptoms like meningitis. He complained of his head hurting, stiff neck, back pain, sore throat, fever, and stomach ache. Took him to the ER, they did blood work and different tests and found nothing wrong. The doctor sent me home, told me to continue the antibiotics. I gave it to him again, and again the same reaction. I stopped giving it to him, and he broke out with this massive rash that burned and itched. He itched for a week. I did research on this drug and found out this drug can cause aseptic meningitis, I was poisoning my kid! On further research, I found this drug can alter blood tests so that they would not know to look for meningitis. The scariest part is the medical professionals missed this and told me to keep giving this poison to my child. I hate this drug! It is the worst drug to give anyone! I paid $151 to poison my child."

• Bre...
• August 16, 2016

For Urinary Tract Infection "I called the doctors due to weird symptoms after my 5th day of taking this medication. This concludes (chills, nauseous, diarrhea, headache, and even numbness throughout my entire face, lips, and mouth, and the shakes). The pain I get from my UTIs (burning sensation, hard to pee, and hurts). I felt like Bactrim made my pains worse, the burning was 100x worse! I felt as if I was dying!!!! I even had severe insomnia up until 6-7 am! Called the doctors and they said I should have called when the headaches and shakes came along! Cut me off it immediately and prescribed me Macrobid instead. Hope it helps!!"

• Gat...
• May 27, 2015

For Urinary Tract Infection "This treatment is the best to kill any bacteria in your body. I treat my urine tract infection. Started taking the medication at 5 pm, by 9 pm, it was a relief. No pain at all and able to urinate without any discomfort. Always, you have to follow up all steps after this treatment: drink lots of water. Very happy, no upset stomach at all."

• Ste...
• December 16, 2014

For Acne "I am a 40-something woman with moderate hormonal acne. Did one round of Accutane with good results-but acne returned. Tried every other medicine and cream with no luck. Finally tried Bactrim and saw results in 2 DAYS! Been on it a week and have results better than Accutane."

• Jam...
• May 2, 2019

For Bacterial Infection "I took Bactrim twice a day for 10 days. After completing the script, all the side effects started: dizziness, confusion, cramps in legs, swelling of glands-one on the back of my head, two in my throat, my thyroid swollen too. These are just the glands I can see. I also have problems urinating, burning from the kidneys down. It's been 7 days since my last dose, I'm still having side effects. When will this be over? I wish I had never taken this medication."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 13, 2014

For Urinary Tract Infection "It's currently 12:30 am, and I'm wide awake on a school night typing this. I didn't exactly have all the symptoms of a urinary tract infection, but I always have the urgency to pee. I went to urgent care, and the doctor prescribed me Bactrim. I've been on it for 3 days (today will be my 4th), and I have yet to see results. According to some of you, it doesn't start working until the 5th day, which still gives me hope since the doctor told me it would work within 2 days. What I have been seeing is nausea, diarrhea, shakiness, insomnia, extreme headaches, and loss of appetite. I really hope this works. The constant urge to pee pretty much ruins what little social life I have. Having to make constant trips to the bathroom doesn't fit well with football games."

• Suz...
• September 15, 2020

For Urinary Tract Infection "I went to urgent care for unbearable pain from a UTI, and they put me on Bactrim. This made me feel awful. Lots of anxiety and panic attacks, and constantly feeling dizzy like the room was spinning and like I was going to fall down and pass out. Felt very shaky on day 5. Also experienced neck pain and pain in my lower back. Also experienced headaches. It cleared up the UTI but had horrible side effects. I’m someone who also has neurological Lyme disease, so the left side of my jaw just goes into spasm when I have a flare-up, which is another painful condition I live with, and I’ve taken many other antibiotics for Lyme and for sinus issues, but I’ve never experienced symptoms like this."

• Jam...
• June 28, 2017

For Bacterial Infection "I'm currently 15 months out from taking 2 pills of Bactrim, and it was the worst side effects of my life. It started with uncontrollable anxiety and depression. I didn't feel connected with reality, and I felt very confused. By the second night, I was unable to sleep, and that is still plaguing me. I shook the anxiety and depression within a few weeks, but my sleep didn't become bearable for about 7 months, and then it was still terrible. To this day, I have poor quality sleep, confusion, and occasionally onset insomnia. Avoid this drug. I also had a similar reaction to Levoquin. It gets better, just ridiculously slowly. Others recover within days."

• not...
• February 20, 2016

For Urinary Tract Infection "Bactrim doesn't seem to help, have a UTI and the doctor put me on Bactrim, even after I told him it didn't work for me in the past. Been on it for a week, and I can barely urinate. (Cipro has worked well for me). Now the doctor wants me to make another office visit because he gave me an antibiotic that I told him has not worked for me in the past. I asked him to call in a prescription for Cipro, he won't. He is convinced that if Bactrim didn't work, I need another visit. So now I have to pay for another visit. I almost always test negative for UTI, which makes me wonder how inclusive their culture test is. Anyway, ask for Cipro if Bactrim doesn't work."

• Dan...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 16, 2020

For Kidney Infections "I was prescribed this after having kidney surgery. I took one pill and felt fine. But the next day, I took a second dose, and within an hour, I had the worst vertigo that I have ever experienced. Everything was spinning. Even when I lay down, if I moved even a little, I felt like the pillow was falling. It's been 24 hours, the vertigo passed, but I am very tired and have a headache."

• Ben...
• October 15, 2013

For Acne "I have been taking Bactrim for about a year and a half now. Prior to Bactrim, I took everything else. I've had acne since I was roughly 15 and am now 23. Everything I took either left me feeling crappy or didn't work. In my experience taking Bactrim, the first 2-3 months my face breaks out horribly. Then, at some time in that period, it just goes away. It is absolutely the best acne medication I've ever taken! I have taken it twice."

• LGG...
• January 10, 2012

For Acne "I've had acne for years. This is the only medicine that works. Weird thing is, the new dermatologist tried to talk me out of it but wouldn't tell me why. I basically told her that if she didn't want to prescribe it, I would just go back to the doctor who did. At 41 years old, I know what works for me. Another interesting side effect - I used to get ear infections and strep throat on a regular basis until starting this. Haven't had either in years!"