Bactrim/Septra : (trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole) Oral Antibiotic

Over the last 8 years, I have tried pretty much everything like everyone else one this thread. Name it. I have tried it. Proactive. R&F. Mario B, Thomas Roth, Kate Sommerville, chemical peels, drugstore stuff, the 'water only' treatment (BS by the way), changing my diet, drinking more water. It makes my brain tired thinking about everything I have done and tried to get clear. This was my last resort because I really never wanted to do prescription medication to clear my skin.I had only heard and read terrible things. the side effects. The fact it doesn't work. All that. So I was scared but after so long with nothing else working, my confidence was in the dumps. I went to a dermatologist and they prescribed me this - 2 pills a day. For the first week, I noticed a definite clearing but then wham! The side effects kicked in. I broke out in hives all over my body, had a fever so bad that I couldn't get out of bed for an entire week. I was really hesitant to stop the bactrim because I saw results for the first time in a long time. I called my derm, they told me not to worry, that the fever was likely just an illness. So I kept doing it for 3 more weeks. My fever went away as did the hives but I had a persistent headache and dizziness for that entire time. It was really unnerving. Oh and did I mention that around week 3, my clearing stopped and did a complete reversal? HUGE breakout, unlike any of the breakouts I had had before. That was really the kicker that made me decide to stop and see if the bactrim was causing my headaches. I stopped and literally within 24 hours, I was completely back to normal. But with worse acne than before! hahah. All in all a pretty crappy 4 week experience. Recently I found something that seems to be working though' found it through some online forum, someone mentioned Ninja Skincare and how it worked really well for them at 4o+ years old. Sounded a lot like me and my skin' who would have thought your skin gets bad for the first time in your 40s?! So I gave them a call and I love this brand. Love it. The customer service is so top notch - I aspire for my own company to have customer service like theirs. And the best part is that my skin is clear! It has been 2 months now and I don't even have to wear any makeup anymore and my scars are fading. So that is my two cents. Trust your gut and don't get prescription medications. The side effects are soo bad. Much worse than what you read the potential effects are. There are topical medications that work, you just have to do your research I guess. And find something that works for you! Good luck friends!

So wanted this product to work that I didn't realize how much it was not working until it was too late. Gave my daughter horrible infected acne lesions that were still there a month later. If you decide to try this, I suggest taking a close-up picture of your face each week to evaluate how it is going. If your acne is getting worse, call your dermatologist.

Bactrim is probably the worse medication I have used. It does that job, but the side effects make you want to pull your hair out. I have a fever, chills, joint pain, stomach and lower back pain. I was prescribed to take Bactrim 2 pills a day for ten days. I only made it to five and now I'm did. I will try something else.

Ive had severe acne for around 2-3 years now and have taken all sorts of creams/ antibiotics. Some working better than others but none truly clearing up my skin. This was my last choice before having to go accutane because this was the last antibiotic i hadn't tried yet so i was hoping for the best. Within the first week, i already saw amazing improvement and was extremely excited. Around my 3rd week of taking it, i fell incredibly sick. Hives everywhere, back of my throat inflamed to golf ball, sore all over my mouth. It was literally the most pain ive had in all my life . Had to get sent to the ER where a full team of doctors did tests on me to make sure i wasn't having a severe allergic reaction that could kill me. Turns out i just had normal virus that was activating all the symptoms of the anti-biotic. So they made me stop for a week and my virus went away on its own. They couldn't conclude that i was allergic to bactrim so they said i can go back on it but they dont recommend it. I went back on it right away without consulting my derm cause the results i was getting were just too good to pass up and i was willing to take the risk. 4 months later, this pill is still working like magic. Face is soft and smooth as a baby and no symptoms at all. I also have a strict diet since eating dairy/junk food even on this pill still caused to break out a little bit. I would recommend this for anyone but be careful. Im still amazed with the results every day. This pill has saved my confidence

Last summer I suffered from a horrible acne breakout going into my first year of high school. Out of my friends I was the only one dealing with massive pimples all over their forehead. I know this sounds over dramatic, but I just wasn't myself and I lost all confidence. The Dermotologist put me on Bactrim and I have never felt better in my life. I started seeing results after a couple weeks but major results in a couple months. I honestly had not one little pimple on my head. It was such a relief to have this work. I've never felt better about myself. Definitely recommend!

I took bactrim with duac and retin-a and I had amazing results. After the initial flareup, my skin was clear as day and my skin tone was even as well. My skin hasn't been that clear since I started puberty over 10 years ago. I took a break from the treatment to see if my skin would be fine on its own and it wasn't. Unfortunately, even though I've repeated the exact same treatment, I have never achieved the same results I did as the first time I took bactrim.

Dermatologist put me on Bactrim DS, to be taken twice a day with food. No side effects in the first few days and did a good job at clearing up my face. Was ecstatic to see that it started working so quickly! Currently I am on the 9th day and experiencing severe side effects. Fever, chills, extreme joint pain, muscle weakness and overall sluggishness. Also experiencing difficulty breathing, a tight chest, headache, and dizziness to the point of almost falling over, for no reason. The most severe of the side effects is the joint paint. Can hardly take a step on my right leg and cannot lift anything with my right arm. Bactrim does it's job however at the expense of your health. Please do your research before starting this drug

Bactrim is the only antibiotic that got my skin back to almost clear in about 2 months. After 2 weeks of taking the medication, I stopped getting any underground pimples and only some superficial whiteheads every once in a while. It gave me no side effects and I luckily did not have an allergic reaction to it (which is something you really need to look out for when on this medication). I am weening off of it now that I started Isotretenoin about 20 days ago (1 pill a day) and I am really glad I had this in my system when starting accutane because my IB was very manageable. However, contrary to reviews I read on here, it took about 3-4 weeks to fully work for me rather than a week like some people have experienced. I would also like to mention that minocycline and doxycycline failed for me, so this was a real miracle worker in my eyes because other antibiotics made my acne worse it seemed.

I have struggled with moderate/severe cystic acne off and on since I was 12 (I'm now a 31 y.o. female). A few years ago I started Bactrim. It completely cleared my skin within 3 months. I enjoyed continued clear skin as long as I took it - about 2 years. I stopped taking it about 6 months ago because I would like to become pregnant, after which the acne returned. If you take this drug, please also take a probiotic as it can cause damage to your gut, especially over long-term use. I'm currently seeing a naturopath to restore my gut flora to a healthy state and hopefully heal my skin naturally. Gut imbalances can cause/worsen acne, so be careful.

I got horrendous cystic acne on one cheek when I was seventeen. I tried nearly every topical treatment under the sun and saw no progress. I was first prescribed doxy, but it gave me really bad GI side effects so I quit that after only a week or two. I got a dermatologist and was prescribed Bactrim. After about a month, it was working spectacularly. My acne was all but gone (mild breakouts with one to two pimples) and the scarring was starting to fade. I stayed on Bactrim, lowering the dosage from two pills daily to one. I felt great about myself and my appearance. However, fast forward six months. My acne started coming back, slowly but surely. Eventually, my cheek was back to being covered with acne (just in time for college, of course), despite the fact that I had started taking two pills again. My derm then prescribed me Solodyn, which did not work AT ALL. I went back to Bactrim and saw a little improvement. I went to my primary to get birth control, thinking that it may be hormonal. I should have researched BC more, I think, because I was prescribed the mini-pill due to my family's history of breast cancer. However, I was not informed that the mini-pill actually CAUSES acne. I started breaking out way more on my jawline and the opposite cheek. Now, after two months on the mini-pill, my right cheek (the initial one) is completely clear except for scarring, but I have four or five cysts on my left cheek. I'm going back to my primary to try and get on a real BC pill, despite the risk because my periods are irregular as well, leading me to believe that I might have some sort of estrogen deficiency or androgen surplus. My derm keeps pushing accutane, but I'm a collegiate athlete and can't afford the joint pain and muscle weakening that are common side effects of the drug (not to mention that my mother is not supportive of it in the slightest). So, yeah. I'm still taking Bactrim, but I still have moderate acne. tl;dr Bactrim is an antibiotic. Eventually, the bacteria will develop an immunity to the drug and it will stop working as well. Keep that in mind. That said, nothing else I've taken has worked as well for as long.