Sulfamethoxazole / trimethoprim for Urinary Tract Infection User Reviews (Page 5)

• Ren...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 28, 2022

"While I understand that people who do not have many side effects from meds may think it's a mind-over-matter thing... some people do experience adverse effects that are seemingly unbearable. I am now myself on Bactrim: fatigued, depressed, irritable, and having nightmares. These side effects haven't gone away, even with the best probiotics. I still have another week to go, and so I basically have to just suck it up and do the best I can. However, to those of you who can't relate to those of us who have side effects that aren't related to the infection... please try to be more understanding! Thank you."

• Lu1...
• May 30, 2017

"I had a UTI, finished an entire prescription of Macrobid. I noticed as soon as I finished the meds, my UTI symptoms came back - so it didn't work for me. I then tried Bactrim. The pain went away after 1.5 days of being on Bactrim, which was a huge relief, but it is now day 4 and I am suffering from nausea, cold sweats, chills, insomnia, and anxiety. It works for your UTI, but the side effects are unbearable after a few days."

• Too...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 1, 2022

"I only took 3 prescribed Bactrim pills for a UTI over a 3-day period. By the 3rd day, I woke up in the middle of the night feeling really bad, no idea why. Chills so bad, shaking the whole water bed. My husband woke up, took my temperature, it was 105.4. I refused to go to the ER but did agree to call the doctor's office, and they wanted to meet me at the office at 6 a.m. They walked me straight through the hallways to the hospital to be admitted. After 3 days, I still didn’t know what was wrong with me but knew I had leukopenia, WBC only 300!! So, I also had a bad respiratory infection, nothing to fight off infections. They called in a hematologist, and he knew in 5 minutes. It was the Bactrim. He said he didn’t understand why they gave me such a strong medication for a UTI, it’s so strong, almost like a form of chemotherapy. But I was one of those ones that had the rare type reaction. Be cautious!"

• Anonymous
• January 24, 2012

"I took Bactrim for 3 days for a urinary tract infection. I found relief only hours after taking the antibiotics but experienced severe nausea that continued to get worse no matter how much water I drank or how much I ate. Needless to say, I will be calling my family doctor to try something else."

• Liz...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 30, 2019

"Was prescribed Bactrim for UTI when first med did not work. 3rd day in, feeling better until 2nd dose taken. Began to feel nausea, dizzy, fatigue, terrible anxiety, unable to sleep or relax. Felt like I was going crazy. Also had constipation, back and stomach pain as well. Almost went to ER. This med is horrible. Never again!"

• Jrz...
• July 3, 2015

"I am on the 5th day of my UTI. The pressure and bearing down while urinating is similar to labor pains. I'm out of state and visited an Urgent Care Center. The NP prescribed the generic Bactrim. I went back to the Urgent Care Center after 4 days, and she gave me 3 more days of the SMZ-TMP DS. I told her my symptoms were the same as my initial visit. Promised that the infection would clear with the additional pills, in addition to AZO, an over-the-counter pill to relieve the pressure. It's now day 5, and I feel like I'm on day 1. This medication is doing NOTHING for me. It's Friday, and I'm sure I will be visiting another Dr. on Monday. I just want to feel like myself again."

• Red...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 21, 2015

"I am in my second UTI this month. I went to the doctor the first time and was prescribed Macrobid, and my UTI came back in two weeks. Now I'm on Bactrim, and it seems to work really well minus the headaches. I like it a lot better, and I feel like it's actually gone now."

• Jan...
• May 10, 2019

"Took Bactrim for a UTI. I had never taken it before. At day 3, I started feeling horrible, short of breath, and intense stomach pain. I had never had a UTI before, so I assumed this might be just a bad UTI. Day 6, I was shaking with chills and could not pee AT ALL. Went to the ER, I had a fever, high eosinophils, and a very elevated creatinine. Turns out I had an acute kidney injury from Bactrim. I was given fluids, and I woke up the next morning covered in the most painful drug rash. That rash lasted two weeks. Not to mention, I was put on prednisone for the rash and because I had interstitial nephritis. The prednisone drove me out of my mind. Awful experience."

• Nor...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 15, 2019

"This has been so scary. I went to doctors for a routine check-up, it turns out I have a UTI for which they prescribed Bactrim. Three days into the Bactrim, I was not feeling good-lightheaded, sick to my stomach, my head and face were burning up on fire, unbearable headache. Day 4, I ran a fever of 102.9 all day. Days 5 and 6 got worse, I couldn't even stand, couldn't sleep, the pain was unbearable from the tip of my head to the bottom of my feet. Day 7, I made it early in the morning to the doctors to see what was going on. Turns out (as the doc called it), a really drastic allergic reaction to this Bactrim. The doctor said, one more day and I would have ended up in the ICU. Today is day 8, and I'm still sitting here in excruciating pain. I called the doctor back and am waiting for an answer. I'm having trouble using my hands, and it's very painful to walk. So my suggestion is, if you feel ill after taking Bactrim, see your doctor soon."

• Mr ...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 22, 2014

"I ended up with a urinary tract infection due to my diabetes. My PA prescribed Bactrim, and I have not experienced any side effects. The burning and urge to urinate, but even after 2 days, still feel like the bladder was not emptied. It is day 5, and I noticed some discoloration in urine in the morning hours. I take it that is due to some bleeding. It went back to clear yellow tonight. I am carefully completing the course of this medication and hope it works for others like it has for me. I feel great!"

• Rev...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 29, 2018

"It helped my simple UTI almost immediately and completely, but I had side effects that I've never experienced with any other drug. My face was extremely red (like a bright, painful red that felt like a bad sunburn) all over for the entire time, plus a week after I stopped taking it. I felt extremely anxious and jittery, and I didn't get a good night of sleep for a week after I stopped this med. I should add that I had all these side effects when I only took the drug for 3 days! I've never experienced side effects with other antibiotics. I believe this is a sulfa-containing drug, and I guess I must have a sulfa allergy."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 28, 2017

"Worst medicine ever! I got this to get rid of my UTI, and while taking it, I had the worst side effects: itching, rash, headaches. And I am off the medication, finally, it's been a week now, and I am still getting headaches. I don't know what to do. I wish I never took it."

• Chu...
• July 15, 2011

"After my first dose of Septra, my urinary tract infection symptoms disappeared, and my urinary system began functioning normally again. So, as far as being effective against UTIs, Septra seems to do a good job. I've been on it for 9 days, and I have one more day to go. However, there might be some side effects. In my case, they were mildly unpleasant. The first night of Septra, I felt extremely tired, and I fell into a light sleep with the weirdest dreams of my life. They were more like hallucinations than dreams. However, they seemed to pass, and the only other side effects were mainly gastrointestinal, i.e., mild diarrhea, bloating, belching, and a transient sense of mild nausea."

• Cut...
• August 21, 2016

"I had 3 UTIs this year so far, first in February, got cephalexin prescribed for 7 days. It returned in June, got prescribed ciprofloxacin for 5 days. It had returned in August. I asked the doctor why this is happening. She said they prescribed me the wrong drug the first time, the first drug was resistant to the bacteria I had. (Really? Why do we pay doctors for?) So I got Bactrim DS prescribed now, I'm on day 3, got it for 5 days. I weigh 100 pounds, so I try to take the pill with Activia and Yakult, that helps with the upset stomach. I felt as side effects, dry mouth (because it dehydrates you), loss of appetite, tiredness, fast heart beating. Hope this works for me, can't be sick anymore because of the doctor’s mistake!"

• Lyn...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 21, 2019

"Started taking Bactrim on a Saturday night for a UTI. I expected to feel better by the morning (I’ve had two other UTIs and I’ve felt better after the first pill). I woke up Sunday morning feeling almost exactly the same. I started to get the worst headaches of my life. Constant throbbing and feeling nauseous. My husband said just keep taking it and let the drugs run their course. Fast forward to Tuesday night, 7 pills in, I’m still feeling awful, still getting headaches. While reading reviews, I was shocked at all the horrible side effects. Like I said, I’ve taken two different antibiotics for two other UTIs and didn’t feel as awful as I did while taking Bactrim. I’m on a different antibiotic now, so we’ll see."

• Kay...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 1, 2019

"Can’t sleep for more than 2 to 3 hours at a time, even after taking melatonin. Pretty severe nausea and even worse restlessness. Seems to be working for the UTI, but at the cost of side effects, which are leaving me exhausted and bedridden with no energy."

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

"I woke up with a really bad UTI. I called a doctor with WebMD. He prescribed Bactrim for three days. I took a pill, and the first day it got better. By the third day, it stopped working. I went to work, and I started shaking really hard and felt like I was going to faint. I went to the clinic in town, and they tested my urine and said I had a pretty bad bladder infection still. So they are putting me on another antibiotic. The nurse said that they don’t ever prescribe Bactrim because it is so awful, and the side effects are terrible. I was going to give this a chance, but it is bad. I read all the reviews, and I was like, 'Oh, that won’t happen to me.' It did. This is a horrible drug, ask for something else."

• Rai...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 17, 2019

"I thought I had a UTI, the doctor put me on the antibiotic Bactrim DS. By the third day, I thought I was having a heart attack, heart palpitations were so bad the doctor called and took me off the meds. Apparently, I did not have a UTI, instead, I had a kidney stone. The problem now is heart palpitations never got better when I stopped the Bactrim, and it's 5 months later. Some days are so bad with palpitations, and I have trouble breathing when it happens, I have jitters when it happens. I hope it goes away soon, it's a horrible feeling. I will never take it again."

• All...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 22, 2023

"I was on a high dose of Bactrim for 3 days for a UTI, and it worked amazing! You probably looked this medicine up and are terrified from the reviews, but… if you take it with a heavy meal and drink lots of water and take 2 probiotics a day, you’ll be fine. I had no side effects from this medication."

• Ree...
• October 15, 2015

"I have been suffering with a UTI for at least a month and a half. I have been prescribed nitrofurantoin and Cipro 2 times. With those drugs, I still had the urge to urinate, and immediately when I stopped those two antibiotics, the symptoms came right back. Doctors were getting ready to send me to a urologist until I mentioned Bactrim. After one dose of the antibiotic, I was feeling 80% better. I haven't had any side effects yet, and it's day 2. This drug is God-sent!"

• SAa...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 25, 2020

"This is the second time for me that this has been prescribed for a UTI. The side effects are beyond terrible. Every joint in my body ached, major fatigue, rash, eyes very bloodshot. The worst thing, though, was the dry, cracked lips and loss of mucus membranes in the vulvar, vaginal area. I have never heard of this kind of side effect, and neither did the urologist. This has happened both times I was on Bactrim. I stopped taking it and never will again."

• Jta...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 29, 2020

"I took the first dose of Bactrim and developed a headache, which I treated with ibuprofen. I took pill #2 at bedtime. I woke during the night with an excruciating headache from my face to the back of my head. I made my way to the bathroom and took a couple more ibuprofen but had extreme nausea. The left side of my neck began to hurt and spread down to my upper back and shoulder. The pain was so severe I couldn’t stand to touch my neck or head. My temperature was 99.2 after taking ibuprofen. The pain began to let up the next day after stopping the Bactrim, but my abdomen became bloated and painful. Now, two weeks later, I’m still suffering with bloating, gas pain, rumbling, and discomfort. I texted my doctor and asked her to write in my chart that I will never take Bactrim again."

• mae...
• October 30, 2019

"I broke out with a rash just after day 10 of Bactrim, it was sudden and scared the heck out of me! I had a million red spots covered from head to toe (neck, stomach, back, and legs were the worst). I went into the clinic and they told me to stop taking it right away. So apparently, I am one of those 3% with a sulfa allergy. The funny thing is the nurse told me she also has an allergy to it. I then told a coworker about it, and she also had an allergy. With my follow-up appointment, I asked about the small percentage of patients affected-she told me it is rising and is much higher than it used to be (related it to the kind of rise we're seeing in gluten allergies). No reason! So if you get a rash, stop taking it! Day 1 rash recovery-slightly better, fewer red spots on ankles and feet. Day 2-much improved, fewer on shoulders/neck, and lower legs were cleared. Day 3-thighs are starting to clear as well as back/stomach. My temperature never went up during this process."

• Anonymous
• June 19, 2009

"Any antibiotic used will put you at risk for a yeast infection. It depletes the normal flora in the vaginal area. Bactrim DS is a great antibiotic to get rid of many forms of infection, though. Weigh your pros and cons. You can always add yogurt to your diet, which assists in helping to prevent yeast infections."

• Anonymous
• September 7, 2009

"Little did I know, I am horribly allergic to sulfa. After two pills, I began experiencing horrible leg and arm cramps. They were so bad that I was unable to stand for longer than a couple of minutes. These symptoms took about a week to fully disappear, and this was from taking only 2 pills!"