Bactrim and joints

I was diagnosed with pneumonia in Nov 2008. When I was released from the hospital, my doctor prescribed bactrim (2pills 3x daily).
After a short time I had noticed body aches and my legs and joints felt as if I had been hit with a bat.
The primary side effect was a rash like skin irritation all over my body.
What started as itchy red marks, began to dry up and my skin was flaky and hard (back, arms, chest, legs, stomach, neck, face and ears).
I was admitted back into the hospital.
The rash and itchiness cleared up. Yet, now my body is full discolored with dark blotches where the rash was (back, arms, chest, legs, stomach, neck and face).
I'm totally humiliated when I'm in public because the discoloration is clearly visible and it looks as if I have a disease.
In addition to that, I can't even wear most of my wardrobe anymore because I hate to expose my skin.
Looking at my before pics is a sad reminder that I've been scared for the rest of my life.
I've consulted an attorney who quickly told me that I had no legal recourse.

I took Bactrim for 2 weeks to cure a staph infection. After 12 days I started to notice a bad stiff neck, but thought nothing of it due to being up all night with a new baby...figured I was just tired and uncomfy and it would go away. The next day, on top of the stiff neck, I noticed that the joints where my toes connect to my feet were cramped up and my right knee was cramped and swollen. I hadn't banged my knee into anything or stepped funny and couldn't figure out why this was happening. A day later my wrist cramped up and added to my misery. A night later I woke up to the baby crying and realized I couldn't turn my hands and my fingers were curled in towards my palms and I couldn't straighten them. My hubby cared for the baby for the night and we figured it would go away. A few hours later it was the same, so we went to the ER. They ran tons of bloodwork checking for lymes disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and infection. They said my CED rate was high which meant I had inflammation, and the only thing that made any sense was an allergic reaction to the bactrim. They prescribed prednisone, loritabs for pain, and ibuprofen. A week later, I can move my fingers, but the cramping is still lingering around and Im praying it will go away soon.

i've been on bactrim dm for about a week now (2 doses/day for 14 days) for a possible MRSA infection (should know the results tomorrow...hopefully). about 2 or 3 days into it, i felt extremely lethargic and achy (all my joints were sore and almost 'warm'). woke up in the middle of the night a few days ago with my entire tongue feeling numb and the base of my skull hurting like hell and my lymph nodes on the back of my neck swelling and sore to the touch. since then, i've had chronic pain in this area. after reading some of the posts here, i decided to stop my dose until i could speak to my doctor since i wasn't able to speak to him yet today, i decided to resume bactrim until i can get on something else. it's a terrible feeling being trapped between treatment for a potential MRSA infection and stopping treatment because of the possibility of serious side effects. i just took another dose moments ago and am honestly worried i've made a mistake. but what choice do i have when faced with the possibility of an infection that is also very serious? i can't do nothing...

i honestly don't have a lot of options with a MRSA infection...i see people on here mentioning cipro or levaquin, but these also have tons of posts on here about crazy side effects.

this past week has been a living nightmare...

i hope those of you who have experienced such terrible problems with bactrim will find something that helps you...

Hello all,
I'm in the same boat but near the end.... I was given Bactrim for a UTI. I woke up after 2 days with horrible aches in my joints and muscles. I was immediately taken off the Bactrim and put on Doxycycline. I was then put on Prednisone for the aches (which helped). I developed blisters and a rash after a few days. My aches went away after about two weeks but now I have itchy, sore and peeling feet, buttocks, mouth, and genitals. Stomach upset as well. I have been tested for everything (STDs, Lyme Disease, West Nile, etc, etc) and everything has come back negative. I was diagnosed with Stevens-Johnson Syndrome from the allergic reaction I had to the Bactrim. It has been 3 weeks since the first dose and I am finally starting to feel better (except for the insane itching). Good luck to everyone. Never again!

I had severe sharp pains all over my body. Sharp shooting pains in my joints, severe headaches. My entire face was swollen, my eyes bloodshot red and burning. My body still aches after about 2 weeks of recovery. I still feel pressure in my head. I'm on pain medication to ease the pains. Other side effects are dry mouth, nausea and restless sleep. I'll never forget the agonizing pain I went through. Thank God I'm still alive!