# Bactrim - UGH!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bactrim-ugh/683352>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [March 10, 2014, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bactrim-ugh/683352 "2014-03-10T15:03:54Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![norvalnormal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f19dbf/32.png) [@norvalnormal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norvalnormal)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2017, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bactrim-ugh/683352/41 "2017-06-12T20:35:57Z")

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I am close to 65 and never had any allergic reaction to anything else, but after a couple days of taking prescribed Bactrim, my entire body broke out in hives. Scared the crap out of me until I googled …

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**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\
**Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bactrim-ugh/683352/42 "2017-06-13T15:11:16Z")

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> [@Battle\_Pope](#):
>
> . . .  
> If I lay down it felt like the bed was spinning and I had bad motion sickness (to quote Arthur Dent : “It’s rather unpleasantly like being drunk.”).

The full quote:

Ford Prefect: Preparing for hyperspace. It’s rather unpleasantly like being drunk.  
Arthur Dent: What’s so wrong about being drunk?  
Ford Prefect: Ask a glass of water.

- quote snipped for brevity

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**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\
**Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bactrim-ugh/683352/43 "2017-06-13T16:11:01Z")

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Aren’t I the lucky one…I’ve been taking Bactrim daily for the past four months and haven’t had anything remotely resembling an adverse reaction.

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**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\
**Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bactrim-ugh/683352/44 "2017-06-13T16:40:53Z")

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> [@JayRx1981](#):
>
> As for Bactrim, Clinical Neurotoxicology, speculates that due to it’s inhibition of dihydrofolate reductase, the trimethoprim component could result in a deficit of tetrahydrobiopterin, though the sulfamethoxazole could play a role as well as it inhibits dihydropteroate synthetase earlier in the folate pathway, which is necessary for the first step in the biochemical pathway between tyrosine and dopamine. While it binds with greater affinity to bacterial enzymes, vs the human versions, high enough doses could produce enough of an effect in pre-disposed individuals to reduce neurotransmitter synthesis. If so, folate supplementation may actually help in that regard.

I am actually following this thread, but for some reason [pain day, opioids probably] I am mentally reading this in the Peanuts adult waahwaahwaah voice. _sigh_

mrAru can’t do any sulfa based drugs, bad allergy. I can’t do most nonsulfa antibiotics, allergies. Sucks sometimes.

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