Macrobid for Bladder Infection User Reviews (Page 5)

• 816...
• August 14, 2016

"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."

• Anonymous
• October 9, 2009

"This drug makes me very drowsy, headache, backache, severe nausea even when taken with food. The pain after urination is still there after 4 days on the drug. The only positive thing so far is that I have not gotten a yeast infection, which was common with other urinary tract infection drugs."

• Mar...
• June 9, 2011

"It is a very effective antibiotic, but you really have to take it with food. It has relieved all the symptoms of my urinary tract infection, but it gives me heart pains, and on the third day of taking it, I started feeling faint, like I thought I almost was going to pass out. I immediately went and bought a Gatorade drink, and the electrolytes in the drink helped me feel better. Had to stop taking it."

• juj...
• August 24, 2019

"I have taken Macrobid at least twice in the past to treat my UTIs {it had been 10+ years though}. FF >> 4 days into a 5-day script... I started to feel itchy, within 6 hours, I broke out in terrible hives. I changed nothing else. Macrobid was the ONLY difference. Yes, my UTI seemed gone, but I had to deal with hives for almost a solid week. I went to an allergist, and while there’s no way to prove it was the Macrobid, he said with 99% certainty that the antibiotic was the culprit. He also told me that the hives could last and reappear {after my course of steroids} for weeks. :( Here I sit 5 weeks later... with another UTI, about to take Bactrim, and I’m petrified. Who knows if it really ever even cleared up 100% from before? Like mentioned... I did take this a couple of times before a long time ago (I tried to think back to remember if I was itchy or anything - but can’t remember). I will never take Macrobid again."

• Ble...
• January 27, 2018

"Worked great for me, and I did not notice a single bad reaction at all. I was pretty surprised to read all these terrible reviews. Painful and frequent urination eased about 24 hours after my first dose. Seventy-two hours after my first dose, I started to feel back to normal, and now I'm 6 days in and feel completely normal! UTIs are so annoying and inconvenient. AZO was doing nothing for me, and I was hardly sleeping at night. After 2 days of being miserable, I had enough and called my doctor first thing Monday. I think most people leave a review when it's really bad, but I'm sure there are a ton more like me that didn't think twice about writing a review because they're back to living their lives without having to urinate every 5 minutes."

• Ora...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 24, 2015

"Horrible. After two, I came down with a fever (102.6) and awful chills. The worst was the body aches - in particular, my upper back. My gut told me it was the medicine and not a sudden case of the flu. I went off immediately, and within 15 hours felt 100% myself again. Everyone is different, and this drug is not for everyone."

• mac...
• March 31, 2016

"I was prescribed Macrobid for a bladder infection. After I took the 2nd pill, I got severe shortness of breath, chest pain, high fever, and diarrhea. Although not as bad as the first day, the symptoms continued into the second day of taking them. On the 3rd day, out of the blue, my vision was blurred/impeded by what I can only describe as bursts of light/sunbursts for about 20 minutes, followed by severe headache and fatigue. Very scary! My bladder feels a bit better, so I decided to stop the medication after only 3 days. Will ask the doctor for something else with less side effects if it continues."

• Gai...
• October 24, 2015

"I took this medicine for a bladder infection and took it for the full five days prescribed. The first day, I felt immediate relief and reduced discomfort of about 50%. However, with each day that followed, my relief did not increase, and within 12 hours of completing the prescription, my symptoms were back by 90%. So either the dose wasn't strong enough (100 mg) or the prescription wasn't long enough. No way of knowing if either or both of these conditions were changed, I would have experienced more success with this particular antibiotic."

• Am1...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 23, 2015

"Prescribed Macrobid 100 mg for bladder infection. Took the first dose at 5 PM after a full meal (on the advice of my doctor who warned slight stomach irritation). Around 2 AM, I woke up vomiting yellow bile, which lasted for several hours. I was shaking and sweating and couldn't even keep water down. I'm on my fourth dose and symptoms are subsiding. I feel like I'm going to vomit, have a headache, and am extremely dizzy. Please be careful when taking this, it's like a flu in pill form!"

• Gra...
• July 31, 2016

"The first few doses made me feel like I had been hit by a truck. Things improved, and now I am on the third day and fine. Burning, urgency, leaking GONE, so I will finish my 10 days of medication. I had Cipro for 7 days previously, and after I finished-in three days, I had symptoms again."

• Anonymous
• July 22, 2009

"I had a urinary tract infection (E. coli) and was taking Macrobid, but after a week, I was still having very discomforting symptoms. In previous UTIs, my doctors had given me Bactrim, and symptoms cleared up within days. I researched the medicine as soon as I ran out of it and found that it was more effective in preventing than in treating, and users were prone to recurring infections. I promptly called the doctors the next morning and got a prescription for Bactrim. I was fine not too long after that."

• Mea...
• September 1, 2009

"It works! I do have the wonderful side effect of diarrhea a few hours following ingestion of it (even with food), but it's a small price to pay. I am allergic to sulfas and penicillins, so there aren't many options. I've taken it before, and it works, so I'm happy with it overall. Good thing I only have to take it for 3 days, though."

• SAV...
• July 29, 2016

"I've taken this before with no side effects. This time the doctor recommended me to take it for 90 days, 100 milligrams once a day for recurring UTI. By the second dose I am in bed feeling like I have the flu, a virus at the same time, and vision going. Not going to take any more of this Macrobid. Wish I had only filled 30 days of meds instead of 90 days. Spent too much money on something I can't take. Take with caution."

• Sam...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 6, 2019

"I have a bladder infection, and Cipro didn't clear the infection. Keflex didn't clear it, now I'm taking Macrobid. I've experienced no side effects so far. I already had nausea with the infection - the infection went from urinary to bladder, and then I started having kidney pain - so I can't attribute that to the medication. I feel like it's helping."

• OVE...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 19, 2018

"This is the most awful antibiotic I have ever used. I took it for 3 days and could not handle it anymore, it made me dizzy, lethargic, tired, very spaced out, emotional, and caused bad anxiety. Never again."

• Mzz...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 12, 2016

"I was diagnosed with a bladder infection and had been given the script for Macrobid. Right after taking the first pill, I had the worst headache that NOTHING would help. I did take a 2nd pill, and that about put me down with the headache. I took Advil, Tylenol. I ended up taking a Tramadol, which helped a little. I felt very weak, out of sorts, nausea, NO appetite, gassy stomach, and my neck hurt like crazy. Overall, I felt like I had a real bad case of the flu. I also want to mention that I had extreme anxiety. I am already OCD, and this medication magnified everything. I would rather suffer from the bladder infection than go through this again. I thought Bactrim was bad. The ONLY thing Macrobid helped with was my low-grade fever."

• mee...
• March 7, 2024

"Don't be afraid to try this med. Side effects are rarer than they look in forums, and of all the antibiotics I've tried, this is my favorite by far. I get recurrent UTIs, so I've taken this many times. I take it with a meal and a big glass of water and take some probiotics between doses, and I've never had a single side effect from it. It usually does the job pretty quickly, but of course, it does depend on which bacteria is the culprit. Different antibiotics work better or worse for different bacteria, so if it didn't work for you, it was probably just the wrong one for the job."

• Han...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 5, 2021

"I’ve had a bad experience with antibiotics before and held off on taking this for almost two days after it was prescribed for my mild UTI symptoms, due to fear of side effects and hoping it would go away on its own. Well, it didn’t and got worse, so I had to take it. Woke up at 2 a.m. with lower abdominal pain and awful burning urination, popped one of these pills, and woke up the next day with no more pain, burning, or urgency. It really helped in less than 6 hours. Of course, you have to keep taking it as prescribed to make sure the infection is gone, but it got rid of the symptoms that fast. I’m on my last day of taking these and have had practically no side effects. I always took it with a full stomach and had no nausea. I’m not trying to dismiss the negative reviews. It’s important that people know what can happen and monitor themselves. But this is a VERY commonly prescribed med, and unhappy people are far more likely to leave a review, which is why I left this."

• Anonymous
• August 10, 2009

"I had a low-grade urinary tract infection for weeks that I mistook for a yeast infection, finally went in for a culture, and then took a week's worth of Macrobid. The infection subsided after 3 days, but came back almost immediately after I stopped taking the medicine."

• Bla...
• February 9, 2018

"Had brand years ago for UTI & no problems, but this generic is awful! It was prescribed due to a small number of leukocytes in my urine, but my MD wasn't concerned about infection yet recommended I take it to be safe. Had zero symptoms whatsoever, but took the 1st dose after a full breakfast... mid-morning I was lightheaded with an aching neck. By afternoon I had a dizzying headache, lost all energy, legs felt like noodles, & got winded walking around the house. Night... barely could eat but took 2nd dose & prayed it wasn't the flu. Next day I woke up fine, but after breakfast... 3rd dose & was feeling flu-like again, but with intense cramping on & off the rest of the day (like ball up in a fetal position & just cry until it stops). I let my doc know I refused to take another capsule & left it at that. I've worked in pharmacy for 15 years & know not all manufacturers create their generic meds equally & these shouldn't be acceptable side effects."

• Jbl...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 14, 2018

"After having various antibiotics over the past 2 weeks for recurrent UTIs, a new GP prescribed Macrobid as my previous sample had been sensitive to it. I was desperate as going to the toilet and burning sensations when peeing every 10 mins. I have so far taken 3 pills out of 14. I noticed symptoms subsiding within about 6 hours of the first pill and a few hours after the 2nd, feeling almost back to normal but not quite completely. One side effect at the moment is a slight headache, which is much more bearable than the UTI."

• lmb...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 29, 2016

"I was prescribed Macrobid for a bladder infection. By the 3rd day in med, I developed a horrible dry cough. I stopped taking it at that point. I am now on another antibiotic for an upper respiratory infection. I will be sure to never take Macrobid again."

• Mis...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 23, 2019

"I was prescribed macrobid for a bladder infection. Took the first dose at 10 p.m. and within a 30 mins I started itching. By 11 pm I was covered in a full body rash and hive - allergic reaction. Went to the ER was given steroids to subside the effects. It was the longest discomfort/pain I have ever been through. Usually for other medical conditions there are pain killers, etc. but not for this. Went back home and had another allergic episode at 4. I wanted to jump in a cold pool or jump out my skin. This medication has made me nervous about taking any medications."

• Pus...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 28, 2015

"Was prescribed this for an E. coli UTI but had never received this in the past. Bad choice of color of pill. It forewarns issues. Had what I thought was the flu this weekend. Twelve hours, then the fever broke. Did not know that flu symptoms could be a side effect. Have had headaches (top of head) since beginning. Now have vaginitis of some ilk. Now don't know what route the doctor will suggest: worried, in pain, and not sleeping waiting for the doctor's office to open. I will always put Macrobid in my medical records as an allergy. Took in generic form to keep costs down. Still expensive and now must start over with another drug, delaying both the cure of the UTI and causing the vaginal discharge."

• Ath...
• December 7, 2016

"So I just had a breast reduction three weeks ago, and two weeks into the healing process, I got my first UTI. I consulted friends about the pain after urinating, and they suggested lots of water and cranberry juice, which didn't do much at all. A few days later, after consuming all that liquid, my kidneys started throbbing. I couldn't take it and went to the doctors. They prescribed me Macrobid. I'm currently on day three, twice a day with food. I've experienced fevers, chills, constant abdominal and kidney pains to the point of tears. The only thing that's stopped hurting is going to the washroom. I'm on this medication for four more days and hoping I recover soon. My body's under enough stress with the reduction/infection, so I'm hoping that this medication will clear the UTI up."