Possible Reaction to Bactrim

[stormsurge30]

Let me just say that I didn't see a forum for specific medications, so I figured this was the best place for this question.

I was prescribed Bactrim for a pain I've been having (basically, I had a cut, and after it healed I started having pain under where it was. The doctor wasn't 100% sure it was an infection, but she said we could try this.) I was taking it twice a day starting on a Monday night (so once on Monday). I didn't notice much of an effect; however, on Friday night (the first Friday after the prescription was made), I started feeling a bit of a fever. I woke up Saturday feeling awful: fever, nausea, not much appetite, low energy. I laid around all day, and threw up before I went to sleep. I took the Bactrim Saturday morning, but suspecting it was causing my issues, I didn't take it Saturday night. I didn't take it Sunday morning either, and by around 11am Sunday, I was feeling much better. I was back to 100% by Monday, but haven't taken the Bactrim since.

Now, interestingly, on that same Sunday, I noticed that the pain I had been feeling was gone. It stayed away for about a week (remember this is just AFTER I had stopped taking the Bactrim), but returned the next Saturday.

Does this sound like a reaction to the Bactrim? I searched side-effects and some sites do list nausea, fever, etc. That, plus the short duration of my illness, lead me to believe this is the case. On the other hand, I have to wonder why I didn't get sick for almost a week, though I suppose it could be for the same reason the Bactrim seemed to take about a week to help me. I suppose the illness could also be completely random, but I am 99% sure the Bactrim WAS helping because the week after I took it was the only week the pain has stopped since it began.

I tried calling my doctor today (well, she's a nurse at my college's clinic), but she didn't call back. I'm going to try again tomorrow, but until then, what do you guys think?

[Paderla Anitha, DNB]

Hello and hope you are doing well.

If your fever and pain has come down then most probably the antibiotic doxy has worked. If you can visualize the cut and if it is healing well without any evidence of swelling or discharge or pus, you may not need any more antibiotics.

Hope this helped and do keep us posted.

[stormsurge30]

Can anyone tell me whether or not more antibiotics would be appropriate? I'd really appreciate some feedback, this is really starting to worry me...

[stormsurge30]

Thanks for the response Serbin.

The last post I made about the second reaction to the Bactrim actually occurred a couple weeks ago. My doctor prescribed me a 10 day course of doxycycline instead.

After taking it for 8 days, I thought it wasn't working. However, for the last 2 days and then again today (yesterday was day 10), I've noticed the pain has decreased. Not vanished, but it is noticeably less.

However, I worry that the 10 day course wasn't long enough. I have heard that if you try antibiotics and don't completely kill the bacteria, it can be harder to get rid of. I'm suspecting that because of the 2 failed attempts with the Bactrim, the infection became resilient, making the normal 10 day doxycycline course insufficient.

Unfortunately, my doctor doesn't want to give me any more antibiotics; she said that if I'm still feeling discomfort she wants to do an ultrasound. This is frustrating because it seems like the antibiotics are working, just maybe not as quickly as we would like.

Does my thinking sound correct here? Do you think my doctor (well, nurse practitioner at my college) is correct to not prescribe any more antibiotics?

[Serbin]

definitely sounds like a reaction to the meds.  Especially since it is same reaction and happened when the medicine was in your system.

When taking the meds it could take a few days for it to start killing the bug and get entirely into your system.  Then the reaction starts.  

Maybe the doc can prescribe another antibioidic to try.  

Let us know how you are doing.

maryann

[stormsurge30]

Thank you for the answer.

Well, my doctor thought it wasn't a reaction and suggested I restart the Bactrim. This time, however, I got extremely sick within 2 hours and stayed that way for the next day. Exact same thing as last time; severe nausea/vomiting, no appetite or energy, high fever.

If this isn't a bad reaction, what could it be? I didn't take more than one Bactrim because I assumed it would continue to make me worse.

[Paderla Anitha, DNB]

Hello and hope you are doing well.

It may not be an allergic reaction to Bactrim. It could just be the normal course of the infection. Normally, in cases where allergies are present, you will experience: hives ( raised red blotches, itchy or painful ) swelling of the tongue/ lips/ throat, dizziness, and many other symptoms. But you could be cautious next time you use sulfas.

Hope this helped and do keep us posted.