Bactrim for UTI... side effects?

[ergvepeog]

OK here's the scoop...

My hubby has had a recent UTI (with blood in urine). His PCP started him on Levaquin before the culture and sensitivity was back. Now they want to switch him to Bactrim...

Anybody have any experience taking Bactrim? The urine is pretty darn clear on the Levaquin but the doc says Bactrim is more sensitive to the organism. What organisms does Bactrim treat?

Any help would be appreciated.

Sieg
wife/caregiver to Don T11 complete

[Broknwing]

Sieg-
Bactrum is what I usually take for my UTIs, it works well and I rarely have any side effects. I wouldn't worry, it's a common drug for UTIs.
As a matter of fact, my Uro has given me a standing script for it so that I don't have to call him every time I start to get one. I believe it's a broad spectrum anti-biotic. If the Bactrum DOESN'T kill the bug, then I get a C&S for a different/stronger anti-biotic, but the Bactrum usually does the job...

[noryn]

I dont know of any specific side effects that would differentiate Bactrim and other antibiotics. I would say nausea and vomiting would be the most common side effects along with diarrhea or overgrowth of yeast, etc.

Bactrim treats a wide variety of infections but the most common I think is Staph.

[carbar]

I have taken Bactrim for a UTI - I think for the E-Coli bacteria. Didn't have any side effects apart from it making me feel a bit more tired than usual, and perhaps less of an appetite.

[SCI-Nurse]

Bactrim (Septra) is one of the most commonly used drugs for uncomplicated UTI. It sounds like your physician did just the right thing....collect a urine for C&S, start an antibiotic (levaquin) for UTI based on symptoms, but then change to the correct medication once the results of the C&S were received (48-72 hours). Only the C&S results can tell you if any given antibiotic is best for the bugs in your urine.

You can read about Bactrim here:

http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/trisulf.htm

(KLD)

[ButtMonkey]

Make sure he's not allergic to sulfa. When I was in the hospital my Dr gave me Bactrim because I didn't know that I was allergic to sulfa.... it nearly freakin killed me; it made me break out in hives everywhere inculding my sinuses which caused them to hemmorage and I was bleeding thru my nose and mouth and throwing up huge blood clots for about 4 hours. The dr.s were ready to give me a blood transfusion when I finally stopped.
So make sure hes not allergic to sulfa first.... not to scare you or anything!

[SCI-Nurse]

Allergy to sulfa is definately a contraindication for taking this medication. If you have any allegies, you need to be sure that both your physician and pharmacist are aware of what they are prior to taking any new medications. Of course you can develop an allergy later or be unaware that you are allergic to any medication until you have a bad reaction.

(KLD)

[ergvepeog]

Don is not allergic to sulfa as far as I know. Thanks to everybody for all your replies... it is greatly appreciated!

Sieg

[JGNI]

People will more often develop skin reactions on old sulfa antibiotics like Bactrim, but it is mostly well tolerated. Sometimes doctors will unnecessarily switch to another antibiotic because of sensitivity results of culture forgetting that those results don't reflect the level that an antibiotic will reach in the bladder if it tends to concentrate itself in the urine when eliminated (could be the case with your husband since urine was clearing on Levaquin). By the way, it is the organism that is sensitive or not to the antibiotic and not the reverse. There is no such thing as a "strong" antibiotic compared to "weak" antibiotics, there are only antibiotics that can or cannot do the job according to the type of bacteria and the possible resistance.

[jennb32404]

Photosensitivity is also a common side effect of Bactrim/Septra.

[Gardener]

My husband has been taking Bactrim for about 3 weeks for prostatitis. He also takes Claritin for severe cold urticaria, which I'm sure combats other types of allergies. A few days ago, he woke up with a severe case of hives which have been determined to be caused by the Bactrim. The way it was explained to us was the Claritin fought off the allergy as long as the body would allow, and had he not been on the Claritin, the allergy would have presented itself much sooner and may have caused anaphylaxis. He is using topical cream and Benadryl and does not seem to be getting any worse, but there is little improvement after 2 days. Bactrim may be a wonderful drug, but be advised of the side effects, and discontinue use at the FIRST signs of an allergic reaction.

A question -- is there anyone out there that has experienced this particular type of situation, and if so, what was the duration of the allergic reaction? I have read about Stevens Johnson Syndrome, but I'm not really worried about that at this point. THANKS!!!!!!!!!!

[Broknwing]

Gardener-
Typically if you are allergic to a drug, it's not a short term allergy. It's a systemic allergy and you should alert all your physicians that you are allergic to that medication. Also, anytime that you have to fill out medical histories you need to put it down as a drug allergy. It sounds as though your husband is VERY fortunate that he had the Claritin to combat the allergic reaction. It would be unwise for him to take Bactrum again, it could be potentially life threatening for him.

[fuentejps]

i took bactrim once, it didnt kill th uti. now i only use cipro. i get one bout every 5 years. i always have a bottle of cipro buried in the drawer. it takes 3 days of 500mg tab per day. vola all gone

and im allergic to sulfa drugs, it made my face swell up

[MattGimpin]

I take Bactrim every time I get a UTI, about every 6 months or so. It works very well and the only side effects I have noticed are: dry-mouth, increased sensitivity to the sun, and softer stool. I have pretty good bowel sensation but Bactrim will definitely raise the potential for invols so watch out for those!

[regina1500]

OK here's the scoop...

My hubby has had a recent UTI (with blood in urine). His PCP started him on Levaquin before the culture and sensitivity was back. Now they want to switch him to Bactrim...

Anybody have any experience taking Bactrim? The urine is pretty darn clear on the Levaquin but the doc says Bactrim is more sensitive to the organism. What organisms does Bactrim treat?

Any help would be appreciated.

Sieg
wife/caregiver to Don T11 complete

Hi,

My son was taking Bactrim for an infection that he has and I've had to rush him to the hospital twice within 6 days. It had to be flushed out of his system. Something in medication makes his bones ache and makes him feel like ants are crawling under his skin. That's not the case with all, I assume but I would ask for a substitution of bactrim. That was the only pill he took both times I had to rush him to the hospital. So I know that the side affects came from that. Not sure what type of infection it treats. Sorry that I could not have been more help

Gina

[sjean423]

I get hives from bactrim as well. Not as big a deal as ButtMonkey, but I won;t take it again obviously.

[SCI-Nurse]

Sulfa drug allergies are pretty common. Those that have them should not take Septra/Bactrium.

(KLD)

[Foolish Old]

I used to take Bactrim with good result. At some point, I developed an allergy to that drug that produced very large hives on my arms. The first time, I had completed the drug course before the hives presented, so I did not link the hives to the drug. The next time, the hives appeared as soon as I began using the Bactrim. The hives eventually went away. There was no noticeable lasting scarring or discoloration.

[SCI-Nurse]

Foolish, you are allergic and should never take that drug again. Next time you might not be so lucky. Anaphylaxis can be fatal, and can occur with just one dose once you become sensitized like this.

(KLD)

[Foolish Old]

Foolish, you are allergic and should never take that drug again. Next time you might not be so lucky. Anaphylaxis can be fatal, and can occur with just one dose once you become sensitized like this.

(KLD)

Yeah, I stopped taking Bactrim as soon as the first hive appeared in that second episode. I now list it as my only known allergy (other than my aversion to mean people;) ). Thanks for the warning about the seriousness of the situation. Funny thing, the first time I had the hives, I was in Las Vegas and went into a pharmacy to see if I could get something to stop the intolerable itching. The pharmacist looked at the hives and said she thought it was a fungus. She didn't even ask about allergies. The next time the reaction was so immediate that there was no mystery as to the cause.

[sjean423]

I used to take Bactrim with good result. At some point, I developed an allergy to that drug that produced very large hives on my arms. The first time, I had completed the drug course before the hives presented, so I did not link the hives to the drug. The next time, the hives appeared as soon as I began using the Bactrim. The hives eventually went away. There was no noticeable lasting scarring or discoloration.

My allergy presented in exactly the same way. First time it was 10 days out, and I was done with the medication. The next time the hives appeared within a few hours of the first dose. (It was only hindsight that resolved the first incident of hives.) Obviously, like KLD recommends, I won;t take it again.

[HulaGurl]

I know that this is so old but I wanted to post this after taking Bactrim. It has many horrible side effects. Nausea, loss of appetite, heart palps and the worse one that I felt so far is EXTREME anxiety! I got off the drug after a week. It was such a horrible feeling that I can't explain. Be careful when taking this drug. Ask your doctor if there is any other alternative to taking that drug. Although meds all have side effects, this one I believe affects your CNS is some way. I'm usually a happy-go-lucky person but the anxiety felt so weird.... unexplainable.

[maryonwheels46]

I have a friend that is post 27 years and he has taken 2 Bactrim a day for years and he never gets a uti. But it's not for everyone.
Mary

[canuck]

Why would a person be allergic to one Sulfa based antibiotic & not another? My families GP treated me for a uti circa 1979 when my pediatrician wasn't available,the gp put me on Gantersin which caused hives but I have no problem at all with Septra/Bactrim. I understand that Gantersin is no longer in use but still I'm curious why one would cause a problem & another won't.

[JGNI]

Why would a person be allergic to one Sulfa based antibiotic & not another? My families GP treated me for a uti circa 1979 when my pediatrician wasn't available,the gp put me on Gantersin which caused hives but I have no problem at all with Septra/Bactrim. I understand that Gantersin is no longer in use but still I'm curious why one would cause a problem & another won't.

This is a very good question and the answer could be very complicated. I will keep it simple. First, an hypersensitivity reaction (allergy) to an antibiotic once in life doesn't mean it will be so for the rest of your life. We can even quite easily desensitize people with hypersensitivity to Septra/Bactrim and it is often done.

Second, sulfa allergies are not really allergies (or rarely) to the sulfonamide portion of the antibiotic molecule but the predictors of immunologic responses are more linked to what groups are attached the N1 and N4 positions of the molecule (see figures below). This also means that even though someone is allergic to a sulfa antibiotic it is very unlikely (not impossible) that he will be allergic to a non antibiotic sulfa drug since those other drugs do not have this sulfa antibiotic like drug structure. A "pseudo cross reaction" to a non antibiotic sulfa drug is then most likely just another non related allergy since it's not uncommon for people that are hypersensitive to one drug to also be hypersensitive to other unrelated drugs of completely different families.

Third, even with hypersensitivity to sulfonamide based antibiotics like Septra/Bactri (trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole) or Gantrisin (sulfisoxazole or aka sulfafurazole), the immunologic reaction is not with the parent drug but with their metabolites (products of the metabolism or modification of the drug after chemical transformation for elimination from the body). Since metabolism of sulfamethoxazole and sulfafurazole are different they undergo varying degrees of acetylation, hydroxylation, and glucuronidation, and yield different reactive metabolites, it's not surprising that hypersensitivity to one molecule does not mean hypersensitivity to the other.

I hope this helps.

[mar4ela]

I have a friend that is post 27 years and he has taken 2 Bactrim (http://www.creativedrugs.com/buy_bactrim.htm)a day for years and he never gets a uti. But it's not for everyone.
Mary
I'm also taking bactrim for months and at the moment no side effects