Nitrofurantoin and Dizziness: What Users Say

• TMa...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 25, 2020

Nitrofurantoin for Urinary Tract Infection "DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS DRUG. I feel like my feet are plugged into an electrical socket - the worst pain I've ever felt. Side effects mentioned tingling, but I feel like I'm being electrocuted - it's THAT PAINFUL. My vision is blurred. I spent days sweating, with fever and chills. I thought I had coronavirus and a UTI. The first pill delivered the most intense headache on earth - I needed a pain pill to counteract it. Dizziness and fatigue hit me where I slept all day after the second pill. It wasn't until day 3 that I realized it was Macrobid making me so sick, as I was fine before. When my feet began feeling like they were literally set ablaze from the inside out, I stopped taking this stuff immediately. I stopped yesterday and still have an excruciating burning pain in my feet and a tingling sensation in my hands. If this still has me in this level of pain on Monday, I'm calling a lawyer. I've never experienced ANY side effects from medicine, and with this one, I've experienced them all. This is poison! Do not take it."

• Rei...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 25, 2019

Nitrofurantoin for Urinary Tract Infection "After reading all the horror stories, I was dreading taking this, but I’m hoping my experience will help others out! I was diagnosed with a UTI. My OBGYN prescribed Bactrim, in which I had a horrible reaction and found out I had an allergy to, so she switched it to Macrobid. I was afraid to take it since everyone on here seems to complain, however, I read a successful post where one girl said she took it with a muffin, so that’s what I did. I ate a HEAVY meal, then waited about 30-45 minutes. I took a jumbo muffin and ate half of it, then took the pill, and then ate the remaining half of the muffin. No nausea, no diarrhea, no dizziness, nothing! Now keep in mind that all of our bodies are different, and so are our tolerances, but this is not as bad as it seems if you drink plenty of water and eat lots of food prior to taking it, including bread items! Best of luck!"

• Mom...
• December 11, 2019

Nitrofurantoin for Urinary Tract Infection "Started Macrobid 5 days ago. I’ve taken Cipro before and it’s always worked well. My doc was on vacation, so I went to another clinic. She told me that they stay away from prescribing Cipro, so she suggested Macrobid and said it was well tolerated. First, I want to let you know that it did not work for me. I’m on day 5 & the burning right now is just as it was when my UTI started. When I started taking it, I felt nauseous, dizzy, balance issues, weak arms, depressed and weepy. This is out of character for me. I’ve hardly worked due to feeling incredibly weak and tired. I'm self employed and 4.5 of my days have been completely wiped out by this drug. I also have cramping in my feet and today I had bizarre facial flushing, hot ears and high blood pressure for 5 hours. I’ve always had normal blood pressure so this was scary. DO NOT TAKE THIS!"

• Mom...
• December 11, 2019

Nitrofurantoin for Urinary Tract Infection "Started Macrobid 5 days ago. I’ve taken Cipro before and it’s always worked well. My doc was on vacation, so I went to another clinic. She told me that they stay away from prescribing Cipro, so she suggested Macrobid and said it was well tolerated. First, I want to let you know that it did not work for me. I’m on day 5 & the burning right now is just as it was when my UTI started. When I started taking it, I felt nauseous, dizzy, balance issues, weak arms, depressed and weepy. This is out of character for me. I’ve hardly worked due to feeling incredibly weak and tired. I'm self employed and 4.5 of my days have been completely wiped out by this drug. I also have cramping in my feet and today I had bizarre facial flushing, hot ears and high blood pressure for 5 hours. I’ve always had normal blood pressure so this was scary. DO NOT TAKE THIS!"

• Diz...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 2, 2020

Nitrofurantoin for Bladder Infection "The first three days I took 100 mg of generic Macrobid twice a day with large meals because it was causing mild queasiness. UTI symptoms subsided. On the fourth day, I took it with a small breakfast and experienced dizziness and heart pressure. I called the doctor, who said that I had been on it long enough and advised me to stop. A decade or more ago, I took Cipro with no side effects for UTI, but now they say Macrobid is better due to antibiotic resistance and targeting UTIs specifically. The dizziness and heart pressure side effects were enough to make me stop and reconsider ever using this medicine in the future."

• Mar...
• January 28, 2020

Nitrofurantoin for Urinary Tract Infection "I took the antibiotic for 5 days for a UTI. On the first day, it did cause a bit of nausea and dizziness, but nothing too drastic. For the rest of the days, I had no side effects at all. I always took it with a meal to prevent nausea or an upset stomach."

• Lyd...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 16, 2019

Nitrofurantoin for Bladder Infection "I had a pretty bad UTI, so I went to urgent care to get some relief. They prescribed this drug, Macrobid 100 mg x 2 for 5 days. I’m very sensitive to medications. Within 2 doses, my constant urge to pee was gone. By the 3rd dose, the burning was gone. I’m ending out my 4th day and 8th dose feeling completely better. The drug does cause some drowsiness, and I have been dizzy as well, which I got after my first dose. I’ve also had some diarrhea, but not too much. After my 8th dose tonight, I do feel a little bit queasy, but all antibiotics have some side effects. I’ll keep taking it. Cipro and Bactrim made me feel way worse."

• Deb...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• January 14, 2017

Nitrofurantoin for Prevention of Bladder infection "I have had recurring UTIs for 5 decades. I've been on Macrobid for a couple of years. I've found it does help prevent the kidney and bladder infections with few side effects. The side effects I do have are: darkened urine, diarrhea occasionally, nausea and dry heaves occasionally, dizziness occasionally, and peripheral neuropathy on occasion. Now, I know you would think that these side effects would deter someone from taking this drug, but for me, those side effects are better than having bladder and kidney infections for 6 months at a time. For me, Macrobid is the lesser of the two evils. Living with the infections is worse than these few issues."

• Dan...
• February 10, 2017

Nitrofurantoin for Bladder Infection "Both extremes of Macrobid are accurate. I've had a lot of UTIs - to the point of having Macrobid prescribed with refills as needed. I never experienced any symptoms, and this stuff was like a miracle. It took 24 hours to kick in, and I felt great. I didn't get a UTI for 2 years and then just got one. I took Macrobid, and it has made me feel horrible! I feel weak, have no energy, am always dizzy, have headaches, diarrhea, bad pain around my lymph nodes, and always feel like I need to throw up. Fortunately, I'm a SAHM (stay-at-home mom), so I'm able to deal with it at home, but I had to have someone take my child to school because I couldn't get out of bed! Also, it feels like it hasn't completely started working. So it can be great and horrible, even with the same person!"

• mom...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 19, 2014

Nitrofurantoin for Bladder Infection "Had a severe bladder infection, passing blood clots in my urine, pain, bladder spasms, and urinating every 5 minutes. I am allergic to sulfur drugs, penicillin, cipro, and levaquin, so Macrobid is really my only alternative. This is the second time I have taken it, the first time I remember no real side effects, this time I have experienced a severe headache after the first 3 pills, then that subsided. Now, on my 12th pill out of 14, I have mild nausea, dizziness, and drowsiness... nothing unbearable and definitely better than the pain of the bladder infection. Hopefully, I won't get another bladder infection, but that's wishful thinking, but I won't hesitate to use Macrobid again."

• Kri...
• October 25, 2019

Nitrofurantoin for Urinary Tract Infection "This medication made me feel horrible. I had a UTI and was prescribed this Macrobid. I took one dose. Within about 15-30 minutes, I felt so miserable. It worsened as the day went on. I felt anxious, dizzy, nauseous, my face tingled, and I couldn't concentrate. And the worst part was it was long-acting, so it took quite some time to feel normal. I will never take this again."

• JLM...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 14, 2019

Nitrofurantoin for Urinary Tract Infection "As other people have said, this is also my first time leaving a review for any prescribed medicine. I went to my UK doctor as I was having flare-up symptoms of a UTI. I was prescribed Macrobid (6 capsules to be taken over 3 days). I am pretty annoyed I didn't read these reviews before I took the first dose because I probably wouldn't have bothered, or I would have stopped taking it immediately and not continued thinking I just had a flu-type bug! I haven't had the dizziness other people have described, but that is probably because I haven't left my bed for 3 days! I have had vomiting, headache, the worst aches and pains in my back and legs, and generally feeling like I am dying! I am so angry about it as I have had to cancel some seriously important meetings, thinking it was just an unfortunate illness, and now I think it's this poison. Not happy!"

• Anonymous
• May 15, 2020

For Urinary Tract Infection "On day 3 of nitrofurantoin and don't feel well at all. Was awake all night, heart is beating faster than normal, night and day sweats, tingling in arm and leg, anxiety, shaking in hands, dizziness, and no appetite. Very nervous as I have never felt this way. First and only time I will be taking this drug. Calling the DR today to see what can be done. I would not use this again."

• Tif...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 16, 2019

Nitrofurantoin for Urinary Tract Infection "I've never done a review but wanted to on it because of so many bad reviews. The Macrobid is working great, no side effects that I’ve noticed from the meds. But before starting the meds, I did have a severe UTI with severe pain in my stomach and back, as well as nausea, dizziness, cramps, muscle weakness, headache, and flu-like symptoms all from the UTI infection. I felt like death. Which has all subsided since taking this medicine. I’ve read a lot of bad reviews but I think everyone fails to realize that UTI and bladder infections cause a lot of symptoms plus everyone reacts differently. I would take this again!"

• Anonymous
• Taken for 10 years or more
• May 30, 2012

Nitrofurantoin for Prevention of Bladder infection "I am a paraplegic due to a gunshot to my spine incurred in Vietnam. I had taken Macrodantin for over forty years, and it helped to greatly curb my infections due to the need for intermittent catheterization three times daily. It caused side effects as I got older. I hadn't realized that this medicine was causing me to be continuously dizzy and generally unwell. I have since stopped taking it."

• Mrs...
• March 21, 2014

Nitrofurantoin for Bladder Infection "This medication cleared my urinary tract infection symptoms within 24 hours, but left me feeling super sleepy and dizzy! I guess it's a small price to pay for relief. I'm glad I have a few days off work, though, because I would not be able to work like this."

• Ale...
• August 8, 2016

Nitrofurantoin for Bladder Infection "I got a pretty bad bladder infection and got prescribed this medicine. I didn't bother to check reviews, as my infection was so bad that all I wanted to do was be able to pee. I'm on day 3. Symptoms barely better. On top of that, I now have bad pain in my lower back, a swollen stomach that hurts really bad, gas, constipation, and worst of all, I can barely stay awake. I'm exhausted. I have zero energy, and I've been bedridden since the first dose. My joints hurt, my shoulders hurt, I am dizzy and nauseous. And I take the dose with a decent meal to prevent stomach upset, but it doesn't work. The worst part is that I keep having bouts of diarrhea, but nothing comes out. I don't know if the medicine is worse than the disease, but I'm miserable."

• Kat...
• August 5, 2014

Nitrofurantoin for Bladder Infection "I took Macrobid for two days. By day three I was nauseous, dizzy, and had diarrhea. I felt weak and dizzy and almost passed out. My doctor told me to stop the medication. It turned out that my culture was normal, and I didn't need antibiotics! I am now without the meds, and I feel like I have a virus!"

• Anonymous
• April 28, 2015

Nitrofurantoin for Urinary Tract Infection "Prescribed Macrobid for a UTI. I took my first pill last night with rice and bread, felt fine. Woke up this morning to get ready for work and had to sit down in the shower, I got so nauseous. Couldn't even finish washing out my shampoo and had to lean over the toilet because I thought I would throw up. Held it in and almost passed out walking back to my bed. Slept another three hours, then got up to try to make toast and got too nauseous and dizzy to even wait on the toaster. The UTI already feels much better after one pill, but I have never felt so miserable, am missing work, and have called my doctor to try to get off this medication."

• Jcb...
• June 23, 2016

Nitrofurantoin for Bladder Infection "Recurring infection and two courses of different medications prior to Macrobid. It started working in 24 hours but did have a headache and a visual episode, plus a dizzy spell over the course of five days. Relief of the infection outweighs side effects."

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

Nitrofurantoin for Urinary Tract Infection "I didn't appreciate the fact that you need to eat a proper meal or a sandwich when taking them. I had half a banana with the first dose, and throughout the day, I thought I felt so sick. Sick 5 times, chills, sweats, stiffness, dizziness, tiredness, and many other things. I called the surgery as I thought I might be allergic to them, but they told me I hadn't eaten enough. Relief!!!"

• Ang...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 5, 2023

Nitrofurantoin for Urinary Tract Infection "I had a feeling I would react to this medication, but I wanted to be a good patient. After one pill, I feel severe restlessness, headache, disorientation, fatigue, dizziness. I would never take this again."

• Mar...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 2, 2021

Nitrofurantoin for Bladder Infection "I am halfway through my 5-day script, and I have had minimal side effects. My UTI symptoms are improving, so I have less discomfort when I pee. I have noticed a little dizziness at times, or a bit of nausea, but nothing that stays with me."

• sun...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 9, 2018

Nitrofurantoin for Bladder Infection "OMG, was given this yesterday by GP for bladder infection, NEVER in my life will I take this again. Took first one, felt like I wasn't on this planet. Felt very dizzy, tightness in my chest, felt sick, tingling arms. I had to just wait it out till it was out of my system. I nearly called an ambulance, I felt so ill. Went back to GP today, told him, and got a drug I have used before. With so many negative comments about this drug, why is it still available? BE WARNED!"

• Han...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 21, 2020

For Urinary Tract Infection "I was showing symptoms of a UTI and went to an urgent care where I was prescribed a 5-day supply of nitrofurantoin. Within 24 hours, in which I had taken two doses, I was experiencing a feeling of being “off.” By day 3, I began experiencing further side effects. I was experiencing fatigue, dizziness, nausea, headaches, and loss of appetite. On day 4, the dizziness and nausea had increased, and there was a complete loss of appetite. I was unable to make any sudden movements without becoming extremely dizzy, nauseous, and disoriented. The only time I felt okay was when I was lying down and remaining still. I decided to stop taking the medication, which was only missing the remaining 2 doses. This medication did clear up the UTI, but I do not recommend it due to its side effects."