Side Effects Of Bactrim (Page 5)

I need to know of any side effects that may occur while taking this medication.

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One question I do have that I haven't found an answer to: If I only took ONE dose, when can I expect that it would be out of my system. The hives left as quickly as they came with the aid of Benadryl- but, this spine/neck pain...shouldn't it abate since the drug should be out of my system (it's been 48 hours since I took the pill)

And is there any treatment other than waiting it out?

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I don't know how long it takes to get out of your system. Probably depends on the dosage you took...just don't know. I often wonder about different symptoms I have if it is related to the drug. I guess I won't ever know. It amazes me that my daughter-in-law can take this drug without any side effects at all. QAE

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Sixinthehouse, the drug is most likely already out of your system, what you are dealing with now are the after effects. The nerves in your neck were most likely stressed by the drug, as mine were in my head which has been causing my insomnia. This is week 3 since I stopped taking the drug and I'm happy to say I can sleep most nights now, occasionally even as much as 7-8 hours. But I still have an occasional night where I fight for every hour of sleep I get, Unisom or not. You only took one dose but I would still give yourself a couple weeks, not days, to get over your after effects. Try some advil or a heating pad to your neck.

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Jonathan, thanks for that information. I will wait this out... my neck pain hasn't lessened a bit- i can literally feel the nerve zinging directly under my skull bone about three inches from my spine...can't even put the slightest of pressure upon it. Which, in turn, is causing pain to the entire neck shoulder region.... wondering if chiropractic will speed up the recovery.

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Don't be too alarmed, nerves are tricky and can take a long time to return to normal. Damaged nerves may never return to normal but sounds more like yours were stressed. Everyone I talked to, from my doctor to my pharmacist, said if you're system is out of whack cause of a Bactrim reaction, it will go back to normal. Just give it some time, and good luck. If you want to bring in a chiropractor, I'd ask over the phone first if they think they could actually help you, describing your symptoms and your suspected cause in detail. An honest chiropractor may just say sorry sir, can't help you. In fact my treatments might make it worse.

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i had same experience i was upset with the nurse at the er bec. she told me what i had was not the effect of bactrim...i wanted to tell her who the heck is she to tell me that i know my body more than anybody else does and i never had those symptoms until i took bactrim .symptoms such as tremor, total loss of appetite , stabbing pains on my pelvic areas on and off, and a bit pain on my right forearm,couldnt sleep, i was dehydrated, had loss of breath, my nose was clogged even if i had no colds , nausea, hard to swallow, i was so weak..those all happened on the second day of taking bactrim.....I hate that Er doctor who prescribed me for UTI....BACTRIM SHOULD BE OFF THE MARKET WITH ALL THESE SIDE EFFECTS. why doctors prescribed them especially to a pregnant woman like me? maybe they should use bactrim to those who are diagnosed with severe cases who need a strong dose, unlike us who needs antibiotic for simple allergies or uti...

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I've been taking bactrim twice a day, yesterday was my last day and I had crazy nightmares each night of taking it

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Omigosh..while this is all so horrible,it is also reassuring. I too was prescribed bactrim in the er..started having horrible symptoms like dizziness,headache,vomiting, generally thought I was losing my mind. I too was not taken seriously by nurses and doctors. So I did more research,thought I would see what happened after missing one dose and I slowly started to feel ok...it is till taking a very long time. It has been 3 days and I still do not feel right...any advice is welcomed and I wish all of you the very best

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Hi Katiemae,
Yes if you had a reaction to Bactrim you well feel better after you stop taking it (you've seen the SIZE of those pills right?! They are loaded with Sulfa) but after effects will probably linger for days or weeks afterwards. It took about a month for me to get completely back to normal, and I took it for 5 days. I don't know what your time table will be but it's easy to believe during the worst of it that you'll never get back to normal! But don't stress, if you got hit with side effects, they'll go away. Go to the ER again if you develop a skin rash, they will take you seriously then and give you a steroid probably. Sounds to me like you're ok, avoid Sulfa drugs from now on, they are harsh stuff and are already banned in the UK. They may have been lifesavers back in the 1950's but now more people have bad reactions to them than don't, my doctor says. They def should be banned, there are other drugs out now that are as effective and less dangerous. Best of luck to you Katiemae!

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I agree with Jonathan. There are much safer antibiotics on the market.
My side effects have finally gone away. It was pretty miserable there for awhile.

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Hello,

I just started taking the generic form of Bactrim DS for a UTI on monday. Now I'm not sure if this is because I pulled something in my back and neck somehow, or what, but the second day I took the medication, I got a pain in the back of my head--like the middle of the back of my head--and this was very unusual I've never had a headache in the back of my head before. I took some ibuprofin and it disappeared after an hour or so.
The next evening, I began getting a really bad neck ache on the left side of my neck, tender to touch. By the time I crawled into my bed, I also had pain in the back of my neck, and up into my head again. It's a constant, burning pain. I eventually fell asleep, after taking ibuprofin and cursing my muscles.
The next day, I am still in pain. I went ahead and took the Bactrim DS in the morning, but after reading this thread I decided that maybe it wasn't a pulled muscle. For sure, this is weird not normal feeling pain.
I am definitely not finishing out the Bactrim DS. I'm only on day three, but I'd rather not have any more back pain if that is what is causing it.
I called a nurses hotline, and she acted like it was just a pulled muscle, but to contact the pharmacist and tell them to change the medication.
I just hope the UTI doesn't come back worse, since I barely took my medication. :S

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TiaM- the neck pain was something that i suffered with as well. First hives, then neck/upper back pain/burning. 2 things- (1) ice, ibuprofen, and chiropractic TOTALLY helped to bring that inflamed nerve (s) down...helped tremendously. (2) I only took one single dose of the Bactrim and it cleared my UTI. Your few doses could have possibly cleared yours too. Drink a ton of water and pay close attention, but good chance a few doses would wipe it out.

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I'm so grateful to boards like this one. I was feeling a little bit crazy with all these random and intermittent symptoms after taking Bactrim for 7 days: dull, tight headache that has lasted all week, nausea, abdominal cramping, itchiness all over, and super weird and vivid nightmares. I don't normally remember my dreams so that is very out of the ordinary for me. I woke up today with a prickly rash from the neck down. It looks a lot like a heat rash but it super itchy. I have a call in to my doctor and did not take another dose of the bactrim. I took a zyrtec straight away when I woke up and hope that this doesn't get worse today. I really feel for all of you that have had much worse reactions than mine. It makes me so upset that so many doctors and nurses don't put 2 + 2 together with medication and side effects and treat their patients like they are hypochondriacs. May better health soon be with us all!

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I broke out with a severe rash on the 9th day after starting Bactrim. My dosage was 800mg. twice a day. I didn't know what caused the rash, but it kept getting worse by the hour. At first I thought it was measles...it was mainly on my chest and forearms. It itched and burned like a sunburn. I took myself to the ER the next day as it was in my face, scalp, and down to my toes. I was getting scared. I was thinking of everything I had taken, (even hair dye on my hair) and the only thing I could come up with was the Bactrim. The steroid shot the ER dr gave me helped a lot, along with a prescription for steroids and also Benedryl.
Sorry this is a repeat of my story, but I am just writing it in case you haven't gone back to read all comments.
The ER dr was concerned and said if my tongue started swelling, to get back to the ER right away. As far as the UTI, the Bactrim cleared it up. But so would a lot of other antibiotics with a lot less side effects. I reported the drug and side effects to the FDA. They sent me forms to fill out.

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Sixinthehouse, it's amazing that this medication can do this at all...I haven't had hives, a fever, or a rash. I'm sorry to all who have, though. That sounds miserable!
I didn't take the Bactrim last night, and I woke up this morning and my neck/back pain seems to be much better. I have a headache though.
I am slightly worried about the UTI because it feels like it might still be there. I called my doctor and requested another antibiotic--something that doesn't have Sulpha in it, as I think this is the main problem with Bactrim.
I hope everyone is doing ok, hang in there. We should petition this thing off the market!

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Also, thanks for this thread, everyone. I thought I was going crazy...
Everyone kept telling me it was just a pulled muscle, but every time I would lay down this weird burning pain was in the back of my head. Definitely not normal, and I hadn't even done anything to pull it.
Of course, a day off of the medication and my neck, spine, and head are feeling better.
Hmmmmm, right?

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Hi sixinthehouse. I too was on Bactrim for a UTI and went several rounds of it, weeks apart of course. The reason I am posting is to make a suggestion that worked for me. It may be one of those funky home remedies, but within a few hours...Bam...no pain..no UTI.
Here goes: I got this recipe from my sis who also suffered w/frequent UTIs. You take a bottle of water, add in a TABLESPOON of CINNAMON, mix up really well, then drink the mixture. Make sure you are in the bathroom when you drink this, in case you get sick. Yes, I did get sick and vomit, but during the gut-wrenching heaves, I felt a pinch in my right lower abdomen. A few hours later, I went to empty my bladder, and lo and behold, a spot of blood was in my underwear. When I was cleaning myself after pottying, I noticed blood on the toilet paper. From that moment on, all pain, all burning was gone. I had a CT scan done of my abdomoninal area because I had thought something was wrong with liver/gallbladder etc to be causing so much pain and a diagnosed UTI. I came home from the scan and was crying, upset, because here I go again with no answers. Then my sis called, gave me this remedy and it worked. I had had this UTI for 7months and once I went off antibiotics...the UTI came back. hope this helps. I apoligize for the lenth of post.

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FYI to frequent UTI sufferers- to prevent.... acidophilus daily. Not only good for the urinary tract, but great for the digestive tract and skin :)

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Well,
finally got a new prescription. Going to pick it up. Hopefully it kicks the UTI. Felt like it was starting to come back because the doctor took so long to get back with me to prescribe me something else to take care of it (I called three times, left three messages with his nurses).
I just want to be healthy!

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Okay I was seen by a doctor that I usually don't see, only cause my dr wasn't in that day. Described my pain that I don't normally have, the young med student prescribed me bactrim. Never heard of it but I was so excited to take it so I proceeded to take it the following day, which is only twice a day for 3 day. Omg after like 5 mins of taking it, my vagina started iching and tiggley then my eyelids then my lips and around my lips then my neck only after 5 to 10 mins all this happened on the 1 st day of taking this med. Not let's remind you guys I am in such discomfort right now.!!!!!!

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