Something else? Ask Aunt Vadge – bottom left of your screen!
Hi Aunt Vadge,
I had my first BV issue a year ago. I had no symptoms I was worried about, but it showed up in my lab work. I was prescribed the pill form of metronidazole.
I never felt like things were right after that – the discharge was sometimes sticky, just not normal. No odour or itching, but I know my body, and it didn’t seem right.
I’ve used boric acid on and off since, but this last time I had a round of clindamycin. That led to a UTI, and now the BV is back in full force with the odour!
I’ve had way too many antibiotics throughout my life, from Lyme disease to sinus infections – I want real help to treat the underlying issue! I pray I’ve come to the right place.
Yours,
Robyn
Age 45, USA
Dear Robyn,
You’ve been through the wringer, and I can hear how worn down you are by the endless cycle. You have come to the right place, and yes, there’s a real way through this that isn’t just another round of antibiotics. Let me explain what’s likely going on.
Why the cycle keeps repeating
Bacterial vaginosis (BV) takes hold when your protective bacteria (lactobacilli) get crowded out by disruptive bacteria, which build a sticky biofilm across the vaginal wall. Antibiotics like metronidazole and clindamycin knock out the free-floating bacteria, so things improve briefly, but they don’t dissolve the biofilm, and they also flatten your protective bacteria along the way. So the biofilm repopulates, and the BV returns – exactly the pattern you’re describing.
Broad-spectrum antibiotics can also clear the way for other organisms, which is very likely how the clindamycin led to a UTI. Each round can leave your microbiome more depleted than the last.
Boric acid is a reasonable tool as part of a plan – just two caveats: it’s only ever used vaginally, never swallowed, and it’s not used in pregnancy.
What actually helps
The way out is to stop chasing symptoms and instead target the biofilm while rebuilding your protective bacteria, so your vagina can hold its own again. A comprehensive vaginal microbiome test is a great starting point – it shows exactly which bacteria are overgrowing and what’s been depleted, so you’re not guessing.
It’s also worth looking at your gut, which can act as a reservoir for the same organisms that keep reseeding the vagina and bladder – a common reason BV and UTIs both keep coming back. Our free how to treat BV guide walks through the biofilm-focused approach in detail.
Given your long history with antibiotics and now both BV and a UTI in the mix, this is exactly the kind of tangled picture our practitioners love to unpick. If you’d like a plan built around your own test results and history, please book an appointment with us – we’ll look for the why, not just slap another bandaid on it.
You know your body better than anyone, and that instinct that something wasn’t right has served you well. Hold onto it. There’s a balance to be found here, and you can absolutely feel like yourself again.
Warmest regards,
Aunt Vadge
This is general information, not a substitute for personalised medical advice.
