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Bactrim DS User Reviews & Ratings (Page 3)

Bactrim DS has an average rating of 4.8 out of 10 from a total of 356 reviews on Drugs.com. 33% of reviewers reported a positive experience, while 45% reported a negative experience.

Reviews for Bactrim DS

  • tano
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • June 16, 2019

For Bacterial Infection "I took Bactrim 800mg for acne. 30 mins after taking it my vagina started burning intensely. I did take it and then get into my pool, so I thought it was from the chlorine. I got out showered and after a few hours the burning subsided. I took another pill and once again the burning started intensely. I went to bed slept through the night woke up and still have the symptom plus itchy eyes, face, and arms. I took benadryl and I am praying for relief. When I spoke to my mother about these symptoms, she said she had the exact same reaction. Beware!"

1 / 10
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  • nhappy
  • June 12, 2015

For Bacterial Skin Infection "I was diagnosed with a staph infection and prescribed bactrim DS. It has not had any effect on the infection after five days. In fact it has gotten worse. It makes me shake and I can't seem to think straight."

1 / 10
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  • Lyn
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • May 12, 2019

For Urinary Tract Infection "Have taken Bactrim for frequent UTIs in the past with no side effects. Last night I took the first dose of Bactrim DS for yet another UTI; within 10 min. my vaginal area & lips were itching. Took antihistamine & went to bed. This morning my lower lip is very swollen/red, eyes are bloodshot, & have a round red rash on my upper arm. As the morning continued I felt major flu-like symptoms: chills, fatique, muscle/joint pain, headache - like death warmed over. Took aspirin for the pain and went to bed until the intense cold feeling left. The symptoms have abated except for the swollen lip, itchy eyes, and red rash. No idea why I had a reaction this time but will discuss it with my Dr. UTIs are bad enough without then getting very ill from the med."

2 / 10
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Frequently asked questions

  • Batty
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • March 27, 2020

For Bacterial Skin Infection "I have MRSA from a piercing and was put on Bactrim (2 in the morning, 2 in the evening) 4 days ago, after 2 days on it I took myself to the hospital. I have never felt this horrible, I swear I feel like I'm going to be the end of me. It started out with a bad headache, no appetite, a little dizzy. Right now I'm sitting on the bathroom floor waiting to throw up, I didn't sleep for even a minute last night even though I was exhausted. I can't stop shivering and shaking, I'm so hot but not running a fever, unbelievable headache. My doctor said this is the only medicine that will help MRSA and I'm dumbfounded. Is this medication even worth it? I don't know if these feelings are the medication working, or not."

1 / 10
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  • Imacble
  • July 9, 2017

For Urinary Tract Infection "Bactrim has always worked for my UTI. I do see a pattern in the complaints about. The bottle doesn't say not to consume. If you mix bactrim with the smallest sip of wine you will get those side effects that I see mentioned. If you take bactrim do not consume any wine, beer, or hard liquor."

10 / 10
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Are you taking this medicine?

  • Lilly
  • July 29, 2019

For Bacterial Infection "This is my 2nd time on Bactrim. I contracted MRSA after my c-section and although it does the job it’s prescribed to do I have never felt so lethargic, nauseous and just extremely sleepy. The nausea comes in waves all day long and I can hardly stay awake. I couldn’t figure out what was going on with me until I thought I bet it’s my antibiotic! Bactrim does the healing of staph infections but it reeks havoc on your body as well."

8 / 10
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  • Msale...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • September 29, 2020

For Urinary Tract Infection "I was authorized to take Bactrim 2 pills a day for 5 days, to cure my UTI . This by far has been the worst side effects I’ve ever experienced while taking antibiotics. I did eat right before taking the pills and I got terrible nausea, light headed spells and muscle cramps. I drank plenty of water to help dissolve the meds that was all that seemed to subside if for a little while."

2 / 10
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  • Nary
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • January 18, 2013

For Bacterial Infection "I have been on Bactrim DS for 6 days (4 more to go) and was diagnosed with MRSA. I feel the medicine is working VERY WELL but my side effects are bad! I feel nauseous ALL day. I have a hard time eating. I feel like I'm pregnant. My stomach cramps, sometimes bloated, a little bit of dizziness here and there, and always feeling like I am going to throw up. I'm just really glad that Bactrim DS is working for my MRSA because I really don't want to go through different meds and then having to end up being hospitalized because I couldn't find the right antibiotics for treatment."

7 / 10
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  • Zoe
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • November 18, 2017

For Urinary Tract Infection "Loved it! It did its job. On it for 10 days. This drug has been around a long time - Nurses use it all the time for "older" patients. You MUST take it properly with a disciplined regimen. 1) Take some multi-strain probiotics to add back in more good fighter bacteria. 2) Strains should include yeast to prevent yeast infection. 3) Flush (drown) your system with water - shoot for 12 8oz glasses a day. Add lemon to some of the water for kidney health. 4) Take psylliym fiber, prune juice when necessary. Your gut will be very unbalanced while the army of good and army of bad are fighting and you won't know how many "soldiers" you have on each side at any given time."

10 / 10
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  • Chris
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • June 25, 2019

For Bacterial Skin Infection "I am on the eighth day out of the total ten day course of sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim I was prescribed, and my boils have not gotten any better. They have gotten larger and more hard. I assume the bactrim is doing something, because they are not draining at all, but they are definitely not going away. The doctor told me this medicine kills MSRA, which can be resistant to antibiotics, but like I said, I haven't seen any improvement, they also still hurt! I will finish out the ones I have and go back to doctor to see what the problem is. I have not read about this medicine not working for people, so I'm confused to why it's not for me."

1 / 10
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  • Alex
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • January 5, 2020

For Bacterial Skin Infection "I had a horrible infection under the skin in my leg as a result of an encounter with a poisonous spider. The pain shoot throughout my leg, to the point where I couldn't walk. Went to the ER and part of the treatment was 7 days on Bactrim one pill twice a day. It definitely helped clean the infected area, and prevented additional tissue loss. I didn't feel any side effects, other than increased dizziness when I mixed with alcohol once, but that was my fault. Overall, a good experience for me."

9 / 10
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  • Marilyn
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • December 31, 2019

For Sinusitis "I’m currently taking Bactrim twice a day for a sinus infection. I've taken it before for the same thing and I seem to recall its just about the ONLY antibiotic that doesn’t feel like it’s is really bad for me in the process! I’m also taking a steroid pak at the same time. Don’t be afraid to take it; everyone’s body reacts differently."

8 / 10
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  • Iminn...
  • Taken for 1 to 6 months
  • April 26, 2020

For Prostatitis "I’ve been on Bactrim for over 5 weeks- prostatitis. I have 5 days left and my prostate is still swollen as it was when I was on other stuff. I was on Cipro at first but after the 3rd day the side effects hit me too hard so I got taken off of it and started a 2 week course of tetracycline until I could get into the urologist office. But since this Coronavirus came into play. They canceled that appointment so I had to make different appointment at the doctors and tell them that tetracycline is worthless against this type of thing. So then I got out on Bactrim. Bactrim helped after day 5 but I haven’t seen really any improvement since."

3 / 10
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  • Doll
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • April 17, 2020

For Bacterial Infection "Developed an abscess , doctor prescribed bactrim for infection along with opening and draining abscess. With in one hour of taking my first dose, I had this happen: throat started feeling tight , lips started swelling . With in hours throat became worse, fever developed and lips were covered with blisters . Later in the evening my eyes were burning like someone had dumped chemicals in them . I developed small ulcers on corneas. Vaginal soreness followed. I had a severe reaction to bactrim after one dose. It has now been 24hours and my condition has improved slightly . PLEASE think twice before taking this medication . Doctor says I’m very lucky to have not ended up in hospital."

1 / 10
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  • Cutek...
  • August 21, 2016

For Urinary Tract Infection "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 at 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 for 5 days. I weight 100 pounds, so I try to take the pill with activitia and yakult, that helps with the upset stomach. I felt as side effects, dry mouth (because dehydrate you), loss of appetite, tiredness, fast heart beating. Hope this works for me, can't be sick anymore because of doctor mistake!!!"

7 / 10
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  • Mega
  • September 2, 2017

For Urinary Tract Infection "No health insurance. Went to the ER for UTI and was prescribed Bactrim. UTI symptoms quickly subsided (didn't disappear completely but like 90% better) so that was nice. Then the Bactrim symptoms started. Oh man. I had a different set of symptoms every day. First it was tingly hands and severe fatigue. Then I had a full blown panic attack (depression and anxiety can be made worse by Bactrim apparently so I tried to keep reminding myself of that). Last couple of days I've had headaches and bad nausea. I'm on day 6 of my 7 day course now-- gonna try my best to make it through the whole course but wowww it's tough. I just hope these symptoms clear up once my pills are gone. It got its job done but made me miserable in the process!"

6 / 10
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  • Rain
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • September 17, 2019

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

1 / 10
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  • Unsound
  • May 2, 2009

For Bacterial Skin Infection "I have been using this for about 6 days now and already notice a huge difference. The first few days I was very tired but it was well worth it to get rid of the skin condition that came from nowhere. I am 32 and my skin had never done this before. I am so happy that this is working and thank God that it was not an expensive medication either considering I am a widow and single mom. I would tell anyone with this problem to try this first and skip anything else. It is just an infection. Best of luck to you all."

10 / 10
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  • Lizar...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • July 30, 2019

For Urinary Tract Infection "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!"

1 / 10
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  • Itchy
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • April 22, 2020

For Bacterial Skin Infection "My dr prescribed 10 days of Bactrim DS after he drained an abscess in my upper arm. It definitely worked to heal the infection, but with my last few doses, I broke out in hives and am itching all over my body. Use this with caution."

7 / 10
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  • Anonymous
  • July 22, 2016

For Acne "As far as acne treatments go that are effective AND affordable Bactrim is a God send. Late 20's I started mildly breaking out. By age 30 I was getting deep painful cystic pimples. Running/ exercising especially made my condition worse. Bactrim DS improves acne within 24 hours.The redness and swelling is not near as noticeable. After about a week you will notice a close to clear complexion that almost glows...I had moderate acne, but I imagine that Bactrim will work for ppl who have severe acne as well. It does have serious internal esp on kidneys and liver bc it is a sulfa drug so you should drink a lot of water every day with this medicince. Do not drink alcohol while taking Bactrim, good luck!"

10 / 10
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  • Anonymous
  • July 3, 2012

For Bacterial Skin Infection "Medicine cleared up skin problem but I have been tired, dizzy, nauseous, and have had stomach distress the whole time. Today was so bad I went to the emergency room just to be sure there was nothing else wrong with me."

4 / 10
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  • Lu1111
  • May 30, 2017

For Urinary Tract Infection "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 m. 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."

5 / 10
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  • Gilly
  • August 25, 2019

For Kidney Infections "(18 yr/o female) I was prescribed this medication after winding up at the emergency room with extreme pain in my right side. After further investigation it turned out to be a kidney cyst that had become severely infected and was getting bled into. I was more than willing to start the medication. I had currently been at Mayo Clinic getting tests done for severe stomach nausea and pain. Yet on the third day of this antibiotic I was miserable. I figured it was my previous stomach issues yet it got worse and worse. I spent day 3 by the toilet thinking I was going to be sick with a low fever. After that I lost my appetite completely, and had this awful twisting spasm start in my upper gut. This spiralled into severe depression, anxiety and not being able to sleep at night. It has kicked my cyst (hopefully) but I am on day 7 after being prescribed for 14 days and I don't know how much more I can take. Good luck to anyone who can brave this medicine."

4 / 10
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  • Reetee
  • October 15, 2015

For Urinary Tract Infection "I have been suffering with a UTI for at least a month and a half, I have been prescribed nitrofurantonin and Cipro 2 times...with those drugs I had 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 its day 2...These drug is God sent!"

10 / 10
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Reviews may be edited to correct grammar/spelling or to remove inappropriate language and content. Reviews that appear to be created by parties with a vested interest are not published. This information is not intended to endorse any particular medication. While these reviews may be helpful, they are not a substitute for the expertise, knowledge, and judgement of healthcare professionals.