Bactrim?

[glassd18]

Hey Everyone,

I'm finding my frequency up these days. I was switched from long term Macrobid to long term Bactrim because I was having worse symptoms, but I don't seem to see any difference. I'm wondering if it is the Bactrim or something else I've done. I may not be following the diet strict enough although I thought I was doing pretty good. I was so good for a while back that I was really hopeful, but then this flare I have again won't go away. I was even sleeping through the night for a while. I wonder what changed. I also switched BCP from Alesse to Ovcon 35, and then just stopped them altogether because I couldn't tolerate the breast pain. I wonder what out of all of this is the culprit. Also I was drinking chamomile tea so I wonder if this actually bothers my bladder. SOOOOOO Confused AGAIN!!:cussing:

[glassd18]

Maybe I should backup everything one at a time. For example: Stop the Bactrim for a day or two and see how I feel, and if that doesn't change anything then start it again. Then get back on the BCP and see how I feel after that, but doing everything one at a time to see what the result is.

[Katrina]

Although I don't know what the cause is or why you were taking long term antibiotics but I know with my long term antibiotic therapy for IBD I ended up needing to alternate between different antibiotics after a while...so I wouldn't be surprised if that is what you need for the same results.

On Chamomile....many kinds of chamomile tea of unfriendly additives or multiple herbs in them some that I wouldn't choose. Look into all the ingrediants! Since Chamomile is an antihistamine and an antispasmodic it normally is considered IC friendly but we are all different.

Hope you can figure things out and feel a lot better soon! Good luck! :grouphug:

[glassd18]

Thanks Katrina,

I was put on anti's for inflammatory urethral polyps. The ingredients in the tea I have has only chamomile leaves and no other ingredients. I'm feeling a bit better this evening. I left out my antibiotic tonight, and took urised for the first time.

[Katrina]

leaves.....why leaves? They still have the flowers mixed in right? Anyway, when I first started long term antibiotic therapy I was better on just the one but after a while I wasn't so we switched...and I was better for a while that way....eventually I got to alternating between those two regularly. The improvement that had on my IC was only a temporary one, beats me why.

[glassd18]

Did I say leaves? I meant just chamomile. It must be the tea thing that made me put leaves after.lololo Ya I don't see hardly any improvement at all with Macrobid or Bactrim so far. I'm dissappointed because I was hoping that the urethral polyps were my problem, but my symptoms are so IC. I have cold burning between my legs, urethral burning, bladder pain upon filling, frequency, urgency, hesitancy. Need I say more. I really need to get on the Elavil or Cymbalta.

[Katrina]

Very sorry you haven't had improvement on the antibiotics. I suspect that cold burning between your legs is Pelvic Floor Dysfunction as well as the urethral burning and hesitancy...possibly even some of the frequency http://icandme.9.forumer.com/index.php?showtopic=6 pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) learning to relax the muscles treatment options symtpoms of pfd and more

Good luck hope you get a lot better soon!!!:grouphug:

[glassd18]

You know I've always wondered if my urinary problems are related to a pelvic problem and or nerve damage because I have chronic right hip pain that extends into the coccyx and down the back of my right leg. What kind of doctor can determine if you have PFD. Who would I call? Would my gyno have noticed it during an exam because I've been examined a lot, and she never said anything. Thank you for the link. I will persue this.

P.S. Yesterday I started a new job (quit the job too-long story which I'll post under careers) and my bladder pain got so bad over night into the morning, but as soon as I called the temp agency and told them I didn't think the job would work out a lot of the pain subsided. Stress of any kind worsens my condition three-fold. Is this another indicator of PFD?

[Katrina]

Sometimes a urologist can do the diagnosing but in most cases your sent to a physical therapist. Biofeedback normally helps determine if you have PFD. There are different types of biofeedback and the easiest being a small little ellectrical device that just monitors how relaxed and tight your muscles are...but depending on your symptoms they may ask to monitor you doing more than just relaxing and flexing....some of those things can get painful. Since PFD can be caused by something like IC a doctor may know you have it and feel that treating the IC is the way to get you better so it is something to talk to your doctor about if you feel you have already had the test!

Stress majorly affects the pelvic muscles, yes! Since it also makes your body more acidic and weakens your immune system it does multiple things that can bother IC.
PFD often flare ups from sex, exercise, other symptoms flaring, bowel movements, and stress.
To be sure I guess I would ask which symptoms are flaring from the stress? From your symptom list I highly suspect that PFD Is part of your problem...Hope you feel better soon!!! :grouphug:

[glassd18]

Once again thank you. I IC worsens after a bowel movement, and then lessens off again after a while.

[toesockslisa]

Hey -

I always find it interesting when Bactrim causes people problems because that is when I first remember getting awful urethral spasms that haven't gone away since. I only took the drug for a week or 2 but I was miserable and it didn't help my sinus infection which is what I took it for in the first place. It caused those awful spasms, increased my frequency, made me burn, and woke me up at night just from the urinary related pain.

When I got off the drug, I was put on another one for my infection but my spasms never left. I doubt it was the sole cause to the spasms and all my IC and pelvic pain, but I've always wondered if it's linked somehow. Just thought I'd let you know I've had a similar situation. Here's another conversation I had with a fellow ICer earlier this year if you are interested:

http://www.ic-network.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29325

I hope you are feeling better. From now on, I tell all doctors that I am allergic to Sulfa drugs, just in case. (Bactrim is a sulfa drug.) I can't remember whether or not I had a rash as a child and we just forgot about it, or if it was just this one instance where I had a bad reaction to it and it was not doing the job it was expected to do. Either way, they have other options to use besides Sulfa so if you know it bothers you, I recommend just staying away from it and listing Sulfa drugs on all your forms you fill out under "Any known drug allergies."

Just a suggestion.

Weird, huh? Don't know what it is about that drug, but for me it's something...and maybe you figured out that the Bactrim is fine for you and it was something else that you changed that helped. I just throught I'd throw this out there in case any of the info was helpful. It's so frustrating when you can't figure out what's causing different symptoms when you seemed to be doing better before, you know?

Best wishes,
Lisa

[glassd18]

I've taken Bactrim before for a UTI, and I don't recall anything special happening then. The only thing is that I believe we may develop intolerances for certain foods, drugs, etc... when we develop IC so it's hard to know exactly what is causing our problems most of the time. I'm not feeling too bad lately. I have good days and bad days, and sometimes good hours and bad hours. I'm trying to relax a lot more, and this helps a lot. If I could only stop eating sweets I would do so much better, but it's Christmas and well you know how it goes. I feel like I've given up everything, and so this is the last thing I have, but honestly it's set in our minds that way, and eating fruit (IC friendly of course), and vegetables is the way to get healthy so I have to change my mind set so that I'm not thinking of what I'm giving up, but what I'm gaining health wise. Anyhow sorry a little off the topic, but I'm trying to be positive today.