Pat asked
When taking Diflucan for a fungal infection, why is it important to take Bactrim as well ? I was prescribed both. I hate Bactrim because it makes me lose weight. Please advise. Thanks.
At a glance
- Fluconazole (Diflucan) and sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (Bactrim) are different classes of medications used to treat different things.
- Fluconazole is an antifungal used to treat a broad variety of fungal infections.
- Sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim is an antibiotic used to treat a variety of skin infections.
- You may have been prescribed the fluconazole if the sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim causes a yeast infection.
Answer
Hi Pat and thanks for reaching out to us. Ultimately, I don’t know why you were prescribed these medications, but I think that I can take a good guess.
First, both fluconazole (or under the brand Diflucan) and sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (or under the brand Bactrim) are entirely different medications with different uses.
Fluconazole is an antifungal. It can be used to treat a wide array of fungal infections, but we usually see it prescribed most commonly as a treatment for a yeast infection.
Sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim is an antibiotic used to treat a bacterial infection, not a fungal infection. It can be used for a handful of different infections, but we see it most commonly used to treat skin infections or urinary tract infections.
Again, I don’t know for sure why you were prescribed both of these medications. One common reason is that you were prescribed sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim to treat a urinary tract infection or skin infection. While this will probably take care of the infection, it might kill off some beneficial bacteria and cause a yeast infection. If this were to occur, you can take the fluconazole to treat that. Again, this is purely speculation, but I’ve seen this combination quite a few times and it usually is appropriate to take both.
I hope I was able to help. Feel free to write us back in the future.
