"Antibiotics were ultimately my only option for treating my UTI, but in the long term, they were incredibly damaging for my vaginal health."
We know by now that antibiotics are far from a perfect solution. But what happens when they’re the cure for one infection and the trigger for another? In this article, a member of our community opens up about her experience with repeat urinary tract infections (UTIs), the antibiotics she relied on to treat them, and how it impacted her vaginal health. From one infection to another, this is her honest account of learning to navigate a system that rarely sees the full picture.
“I hadn’t had a UTI for probably 10 years. Then last year, while I was traveling Southeast Asia, I had three UTIs in the space of four months.”
UTIs are incredibly common, especially in women. They happen when bacteria like E. coli enter the urethra and travel up the urinary tract, causing pain, inflammation and the constant urge to pee.
The standard treatment? Antibiotics. But for many women, that’s just the beginning of the story.
“I would dread having to take the antibiotics because I knew that taking them would give me thrush within less than 24 hours. It was a never-ending cycle: treat my UTI with antibiotics, then have to deal with new symptoms.”
What started as unexpected symptoms soon turned into an ongoing battle. She knew the antibiotics would tackle her UTI symptoms. But they would almost immediately trigger thrush, a fungal infection caused by an overgrowth of Candida in the vagina.
“Suddenly, I was dealing with two infections instead of one.”
Antibiotics take a broad approach to infection, meaning they don’t just target the bad bacteria – they wipe out the good bacteria, too. This includes Lactobacilli, the helpful microbes that make up the majority of your vaginal microbiome.
Lactobacilli helps keep your vaginal microbiome in balance, preventing harmful microbes (like Candida) from growing out of control. But when antibiotics lower lactobacilli numbers, the balance tips and infections thrive.
“The antibiotics weren’t just targeting the infection, they were also wiping out the good bacteria. I knew that every time I took a course, I was potentially making myself more vulnerable to another infection.”
Overgrowth of Candida causes symptoms like itching, soreness and a thick cottage-cheese-like discharge. This overgrowth is called Vulvovaginal Candidiasis, more commonly known as thrush or a yeast infection.
In Southeast Asia, access to antibiotics is fast and often without a prescription – which can be both a relief and a risk.
"In both Thailand and Vietnam, I went straight to the pharmacy and didn’t need a prescription. I just had to describe my symptoms, and the pharmacist gave me antibiotics along with anti-inflammatories, antiseptics, and probiotics."
While the easy access to antibiotics provided quick and convenient relief, this kind of self-diagnosis raises an important concern: how do you know you’re getting the right treatment?
“I ended up with a UTI again just a month after returning home. It made me think that the antibiotics I was given in Southeast Asia didn’t properly target the infection. In hindsight, I wonder if they were the right ones or if I had developed antimicrobial resistance."
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a serious global health issue. When antibiotics are overused (or misused), bacteria can adapt and become harder to kill. AMR is making it increasingly difficult to effectively treat infections, which poses a serious risk across healthcare.
“It’s scary to think about how easy it is for bacteria to become resistant, and how many women are relying on antibiotics to deal with vaginal infections.”
Trying to protect her body from the antibiotic side effects, she turned to probiotics. But it wasn’t enough.
"Even if I was taking probiotics, I couldn’t keep up with it. My body just seemed to be really sensitive. The antibiotics would mess with my digestion, make me feel fatigued. I just hated the feeling of having to take so many pills every day. Especially when those pills were making me feel worse.”
While probiotics can help support a healthy vaginal microbiome, they work best when taken consistently over time, not in short bursts. And for some, that’s not always realistic.
Antibiotics can also disrupt the gut microbiome, leading to symptoms like bloating, digestive discomfort and general fatigue – all of which added to the toll on her mental and physical health.
Having never suffered from repeat infections previously, she started looking beyond antibiotics and wondering if her copper IUD could be part of the problem.
"I had no issues with the copper IUD at first, but then these UTIs started happening. That’s when I began to suspect that the IUD might have something to do with it."
Although the copper IUD has been around for decades, research into its impact on vaginal health is still in the early stages. A small study found that it may increase inflammation in some women, leading to a 5.5-fold increase in total bacteria and decreasing Lactobacilli levels.
“I read some research that said the copper IUD introduces a new bacteria to your vaginal microbiome but doesn’t boost the good bacteria. I think this imbalance probably had an impact on my ability to fight off thrush while I was taking antibiotics.”
For her, the pattern was too strong to ignore. We’re constantly reminded that methods intended to support women’s health can sometimes complicate it further.
"It’s still a real dilemma for me. I want long-term contraception, but the side effects were taking a toll on my vaginal health."
She’s not alone in feeling let down by how fragmented vaginal health care can be.
"Antibiotics were ultimately my only option for treating my UTI, but in the long term, they were incredibly damaging for my vaginal health."
Her frustration highlights a bigger problem: the way healthcare treats infections as isolated events rather than stepping back to look at the bigger picture and addressing the underlying causes of recurrent infections.
“There’s a tendency in healthcare to treat the symptom, not the cause. We need a more integrated approach that looks at the whole picture; how contraception, antibiotics, and the vaginal microbiome all interact.”
This approach requires more than just prescriptions. It calls for more research, more personalised care and a shift towards prevention and long-term vaginal health support.
"I feel like there’s so much we still don’t know.”
“In the end, I had my IUD removed for a few different reasons. What’s crazy is, I haven’t had a UTI since. And without taking antibiotics, I haven’t had thrush either. It really makes me realise just how connected everything is.”
For her, understanding why these infections kept happening was a key turning point. Learning more about the vaginal microbiome (how it’s impacted by antibiotics, contraception and everyday choices) helped her feel more in control and confident in making changes.
“We desperately need real research to connect the gaps. Education isn’t just about telling us what’s happening, it’s about helping us understand the deeper ‘why’ behind our health challenges."
Her story is a powerful reminder that women’s health is far from simple – it’s complex and interconnected. While there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, understanding those connections and taking a holistic approach to your vaginal health is essential.
"Women deserve more than just short-term fixes. We need treatments that consider the long-term effects on our bodies and our overall well-being."
Have you experienced recurring vaginal infections? Join the conversation and share your story with us here – because no one should feel alone in this.
