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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Does Sulfamethoxazole Cause Bitter Dysgeusia?

my wife was prescribed sulfamethoxazole-tmp ds tablet for urinary infection. Since that time in middle of june, 2017. she has had a bitter taste with everything,some nausea and it has affected her in other ways. Is the bitterness from this med.? or what can be done to eliminate the bitterness?
Fri, 24 Aug 2018
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Internal Medicine Specialist,  's  Response
Hello,

If your wife is still having symptoms now (August 2018) then this is too long to consider a side effect of the drug. Sometimes antibiotics may indeed cause taste disturbances either by the direct effect of the antibiotic or indirectly by causing fungal infections inside the oral cavity. The direct effect of the antibiotic wears off as the antibiotic leaves the body. The indirect effect may persist until properly treated. Since the symptoms of a fungal infection are usually annoying it's rather unusual for the patient to ignore them. Besides that the treatment is pretty straightforward, therefore I doubt that a fungal infection might have lasted for so long. The best thing for her to do is to visit her primary care physician and discuss her complaints. I can't diagnose anything from afar obviously which means that I can't suggest treatments either! So in conclusion, I don't believe that the antibiotic can be still affecting her but a visit to a doctor in person will help to identify potential causes (like local infections, tongue disorders, etc). Any other drug she's taking (even supplements) will have to be reviewed.

Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
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Does Sulfamethoxazole Cause Bitter Dysgeusia?

Hello, If your wife is still having symptoms now (August 2018) then this is too long to consider a side effect of the drug. Sometimes antibiotics may indeed cause taste disturbances either by the direct effect of the antibiotic or indirectly by causing fungal infections inside the oral cavity. The direct effect of the antibiotic wears off as the antibiotic leaves the body. The indirect effect may persist until properly treated. Since the symptoms of a fungal infection are usually annoying it s rather unusual for the patient to ignore them. Besides that the treatment is pretty straightforward, therefore I doubt that a fungal infection might have lasted for so long. The best thing for her to do is to visit her primary care physician and discuss her complaints. I can t diagnose anything from afar obviously which means that I can t suggest treatments either! So in conclusion, I don t believe that the antibiotic can be still affecting her but a visit to a doctor in person will help to identify potential causes (like local infections, tongue disorders, etc). Any other drug she s taking (even supplements) will have to be reviewed. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.