Bactrim and Headaches: What Users Say

• Nik...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 4, 2021

For Bacterial Infection "No!!! Do not take this medicine. I was at the hospital a week ago for a severe UTI. They prescribed me Bactrim. They wanted me to take it twice daily for 10 days. I made it to day 6 and tonight I feel so bad. My legs are tingling, my tongue feels tingly, and my mouth is super dry. I’m having bad stomach cramps and my ears hurt. This is all from this medicine. I’ve been having severe headaches, nausea, and my anxiety is so bad. Please be very aware of taking this medicine."

• Gir...
• February 6, 2017

For Bacterial Skin Infection "First and foremost, I want to let you all know, reading things on the internet will not help, nor really be a good indicator of your personal reaction to any drug. There are many negative reviews here for Bactrim, and I'm on day 3 of a 10-day dose for a staph infection (cellulitis) on, of all places, the right side of my face/right ear (it's wonderful!). Here's my experience: Side Effects - Fatigue, headaches (though not consistent). I have a weaker stomach, and it's doing just fine with my probiotic (get one with 30 billion strains) and drinking lots of water/eating while taking it. The infection is clearing up. Day 3 was when I really noticed. Don't be anxious when taking this, it's definitely a mind over matter thing sometimes too."

• Use...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 19, 2019

For Urinary Tract Infection "Was given Bactrim for my UTI. Read online reviews and was terrified of taking it, especially since I had a severe allergic reaction to Cipro years ago. Literally nothing happened. Some mild stomach issues, a small headache here and there, and tons of anxiety (my own doing) but it went pretty well. Symptoms of UTI went away in a day or less. Don't read reviews...you don't know other people's bodies and what conditions they have that contribute to their side effects."

• Wow...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 9, 2020

For Urinary Tract Infection "I was on this drug for only 2 days until I had the worst stomach pains ever, like it knocked the wind out of me. I had severe diarrhea with mucus and blood that lasted for weeks after discontinued use. It has been a month and I still have nausea with severe abdominal pains, headaches, anxiety, light sensitivity, white bumps on my gums. I’m scared that my organs are damaged, which I am currently being tested for. I have never had any of these symptoms before and was perfectly healthy! I am young too. This drug RUINED my life. I would rate this drug in the negatives if I could. Should not be allowed to be prescribed!"

• Cra...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 26, 2020

For Bacterial Infection "I had a staph infection, and I am also on Paxil for depression. I used Bactrim for eight days and became very sick. My depression was very severe with this drug. Cold sweats, very weak, mouth issues, nerve pain in legs, headache, insomnia, and what makes it worse is that you are on a roller coaster."

• Kd0...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 27, 2020

For Bacterial Infection "I took Bactrim for 4 days. On the 4th day, I started having leg pain. The day after I quit the meds, I had all-over body aches, a low-grade temp off and on, and just a feeling of being sick. The next day, my aches went away but held on to the low-grade temp, headache, and weakness for two more days. During the course of the medication, I also had a pounding heart and no appetite. It did clear the infection though. I think I had a bad reaction and only wanted to report these so that others might know if they have the same thing happening to them. It took about 5 days from my last pill that I feel better."

• Lis...
• November 24, 2015

For Kidney Infections "Please don't let anyone scare you into not taking this. If you're like me with new medicine, you go online and research every little side effect and review, and convince yourself not to take it. I was really scared to take this as I had bad reactions to Macrobid and Ciprofloxacin, and after reading these reviews, I just knew it was going to be the same way. I'm on day two, no side effects other than a little nausea and a headache. That's the worst of it. We'll see how it goes by day 7, but so far this has been the best antibiotic I've taken."

• Chr...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 12, 2020

For Urinary Tract Infection "Just like everyone else, I was scared to take the antibiotic Bactrim because of reviews. I took it with a light snack and a lot of water and was fine. I had a slight headache, but I was also stressing about the UTI, especially since Valentine's Day is coming. I was prescribed 2 pills a day for 3 days. I went last night for a urine sample, and all is clear. Love that I only had to take this for 3 days. I also didn't get a yeast infection, but took Good Belly along with it."

• kho...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 16, 2014

For Bacterial Skin Infection "I was put on this medicine for a skin infection. I was reluctant to start it because of all the horror stories on the Internet. It does make me nauseous, and it gives me a slight headache. Advil and Benadryl help with those side effects. I'm on the fourth day, and my infection is nearly cleared. I was also given a Bactroban skin cream, and that stuff is great. A pleasant side effect has been my skin clearing. I had perfect skin up until I hit 25, and then suddenly I had cystic acne on one side of my face. I was reluctant to take anything because it wasn't that bad, but the Bactrim has pretty much cleared it up."

• Ril...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 13, 2021

For Bacterial Infection "I had a breast infection and was prescribed this terrible medicine. It needs to be off the market. I felt real bad the second day taking it. It caused a fever, rash, headache, sharp pains throughout my body, no appetite, shakiness, dizziness, and numbness. I felt so out of it, it scared me so bad I stopped taking it. The Bactrim medicine is too strong. I definitely wouldn’t recommend!"

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 13, 2020

For Urinary Tract Infection "This drug is terrible! Run if the doctor prescribes this. Day 1, I had a headache and aches to my kidneys. Like I could literally feel the pain in my kidneys! I felt bloated, vomiting, fever of 101, pain in my kidneys, jittery, and chills. Please, please don't take it. The ratio of the ones that had no symptoms to the ones who did is a big difference! I took it for 2 days, then threw the rest down the toilet. The ONLY good thing was I took 1 dose, and the next day felt relief... but still... eff this stuff!"

• Ash...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 16, 2017

For Kidney Infections "I was a bit of a moron and let a UTI go for too long. I had pain on and off for a few months in my back. Pee was cloudy, frequent urination... all that good stuff, but two days ago, I woke up and felt absolutely terrible. I was so nauseous, couldn’t eat anything, awful headache, chills, and the worst back pain I had ever felt. I went to the doctor, and she wrote this for me. I took two pills yesterday, and already today I feel a hundred times better. I don’t believe it is for everyone, obviously, due to the mixed reviews, and my mother had taken it before, and it had awful effects on her as well, but I do believe it’s worth trying because for me, it’s been wonderful. I couldn’t even bend over yesterday, and today all I have is slight dull pain in my back. Worked perfectly."

• Kit...
• May 10, 2014

For Urinary Tract Infection "I was prescribed Bactrim and felt worse right away. After reading the side effects, I told myself that what I was feeling was normal. I took the prescribed dosage (2 per day) for 5 days, feeling even worse on the 5th day - shaky, diarrhea, headache, nervousness, unable to sleep. Then, after some research, I discovered that there also were interaction side effects with my blood pressure medications."

• Mas...
• January 14, 2013

For Bacterial Skin Infection "Cellulitis or staph infection on index finger. Went to doc, he prescribed this. It's making the infection (large boil) go down and kind of scab over. Having bad heartburn, though, and having headaches."

• Mic...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 12, 2018

For Bacterial Skin Infection "I'm thinking some of the side effects commented were possibly results of the condition and not the medication. I have MRSA. Of course, I have chills because the abscess is a massive infection. One person mentioned organ failure. MRSA entering the bloodstream would do that too. So far, so good here - still early on. I was on clindamycin for a tooth abscess. I must have been unknowingly treating a mild staph infection. When the clindamycin stopped, the bacteria became aggressive. Now here I am on Bactrim. One sore has lightened in color and pressure within 24 hours. The other sores still hurt, so I took ibuprofen. You won't get headaches if taken with a pain/fever reducer. The clindamycin wrecked my gut, but I actually haven't had a hard time with the Bactrim. I've been sure to eat something or drink a glass of milk before taking it."

• Ckr...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 6, 2018

For Kidney Infections "I went to the ER and was diagnosed with a severe kidney infection. I was prescribed Bactrim, 2 a day for 10 days. I’m on day 6, and I’ve felt some nausea, headaches, and mild body aches, and I’ve been very sleepy. BUT as far as the pain from my kidney and chills, etc., I feel A LOT better!! I didn’t have any allergic reactions."

• Wat...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 22, 2020

For Bacterial Skin Infection "Was prescribed Bactrim for a 'possible' infection in my leg from varicose veins. 2 pills a day for 10 days. Worst medication. Felt fine with the first pill, after the second pill, I started to have bladder issues. Was peeing constantly, bladder felt heavy. Felt like I had to go after I just went. Was checked for a UTI, don't have one. Only took 2 pills and stopped. It has also caused headaches, my abdominal muscles feel weaker, loss of appetite. I must have been allergic or something. Won't ever take this again."

• Ana...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 17, 2019

For Urinary Tract Infection "This is my first and last time I will ever take it. Now, firstly, some people have good experiences with this med, so it's all up to your body. My body said no. The headaches are bad, the rapid heartbeat scared me, and the restlessness was awful, and it made me jittery/nervous. I took the whole dose. You will not know how your body will react to this med until you try it. I have a friend that took it, and she was fine and swore by it, her body makeup is different than mine."

• Bek...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 27, 2019

For Urinary Tract Infection "Cured my UTI but gave me insomnia, anxiety, swollen lymph nodes, headache, muscle and joint pain all over my body, and pins/needles feeling all over my body. Ended up going to the hospital for the side effects. So I would not, in any circumstance, recommend this antibiotic."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 13, 2014

For Urinary Tract Infection "It's currently 12:30 am, and I'm wide awake on a school night typing this. I didn't exactly have all the symptoms of a urinary tract infection, but I always have the urgency to pee. I went to urgent care, and the doctor prescribed me Bactrim. I've been on it for 3 days (today will be my 4th), and I have yet to see results. According to some of you, it doesn't start working until the 5th day, which still gives me hope since the doctor told me it would work within 2 days. What I have been seeing is nausea, diarrhea, shakiness, insomnia, extreme headaches, and loss of appetite. I really hope this works. The constant urge to pee pretty much ruins what little social life I have. Having to make constant trips to the bathroom doesn't fit well with football games."

• Suz...
• September 15, 2020

For Urinary Tract Infection "I went to urgent care for unbearable pain from a UTI, and they put me on Bactrim. This made me feel awful. Lots of anxiety and panic attacks, and constantly feeling dizzy like the room was spinning and like I was going to fall down and pass out. Felt very shaky on day 5. Also experienced neck pain and pain in my lower back. Also experienced headaches. It cleared up the UTI but had horrible side effects. I’m someone who also has neurological Lyme disease, so the left side of my jaw just goes into spasm when I have a flare-up, which is another painful condition I live with, and I’ve taken many other antibiotics for Lyme and for sinus issues, but I’ve never experienced symptoms like this."

• Bre...
• August 16, 2016

For Urinary Tract Infection "I called the doctors due to weird symptoms after my 5th day of taking this medication. This concludes (chills, nauseous, diarrhea, headache, and even numbness throughout my entire face, lips, and mouth, and the shakes). The pain I get from my UTIs (burning sensation, hard to pee, and hurts). I felt like Bactrim made my pains worse, the burning was 100x worse! I felt as if I was dying!!!! I even had severe insomnia up until 6-7 am! Called the doctors and they said I should have called when the headaches and shakes came along! Cut me off it immediately and prescribed me Macrobid instead. Hope it helps!!"

• Dan...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 16, 2020

For Kidney Infections "I was prescribed this after having kidney surgery. I took one pill and felt fine. But the next day, I took a second dose, and within an hour, I had the worst vertigo that I have ever experienced. Everything was spinning. Even when I lay down, if I moved even a little, I felt like the pillow was falling. It's been 24 hours, the vertigo passed, but I am very tired and have a headache."

• jro...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 22, 2018

For Urinary Tract Infection "Never again! I was put on this for 3 days-2 pills a day for a UTI. I was laid up in bed for 4 days. I was extremely nauseous, chills, sweats, headache, dizzy, couldn’t eat a single thing, and after day 2, I got a SEVERE yeast infection. The pain was unlike anything that has ever happened to me. I took 2 trips to the doctor and over a week to feel somewhat normal again down there. This was way too strong and unnecessary for a simple UTI infection. Never will I ever take this again. I wish I could give it a zero, I am still having nightmares about this drug."

• Bac...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 22, 2020

For Bacterial Skin Infection "Prescribe Bactrim 2 days for 10 days for a stye. On the 7th day, I had my allergic reaction. All-over body rash, fever, chills, severe leg pain, chemical burns/ulcers in all soft tissue areas (nose, eyes, mouth, and 'down below'...), abdominal pain, diarrhea, zero appetite, headache, nausea, elevated kidney function test. Bactrim is known and has a long history of hurting more than helping. Stay away!!"