I hate antibiotics. I can’t think of a single time when a course of them has done me any good and this week has proved no exception.

Last month, I went for a routine smear. While the nurse was fiddling around down there, she noticed some discharge and promptly did a swab. The results came back as the oh so beautifully-named bacterial vaginosis. Oh how I wished it was good old thrush.

I was prescribed a 7-day course of metronidazole. I’ve been on this drug a couple of years ago for the same thing (and I should note that it didn’t clear it up) so I wasn’t bothered about taking it. As I had just ovulated and was hoping I’d conceived, I decided to delay taking it until my period arrived. Despite the assurances from my GP that it’s safe to take during pregnancy, I wasn’t keen.

So, period arrived on schedule and off I went.  Day one went without a hitch. On day two I was leaning down while on the toilet (changing my pad if you must know) and I suddenly felt dizzy. I thought nothing more of it and took my morning dose.

I went for an afternoon nap and felt dizzy as I lay down. Actually, this was more than dizzy, the room began to spin. I shifted position and it went away. An hour or so later, I woke and rolled over to experience the same thing again. Spoke to best friend on the phone and was able to replicate it while talking to her. At this point I was feeling worried. I headed downstairs and realised I was feeling a bit spaced out.

I spent the next few hours panicking as I couldn’t get hold of Nobby at work for nearly an hour and the weird feeling in my head seemed to be getting worse. I spoke to two nurses who advised me to quit taking the meds and consult my GP in the morning.

The next day, the GP switched my prescription to clindamycin, This is an antibiotic cream which I have to insert into my you-know-what every night before bed. Not the most pleasant of procedures, but hopefully better than the nightmare that is metronidazole.

Unfortunately, even though it’s now been over 48 hours since stopping the bloody stuff I’m continuing to have vertigo and nausea. The spaced-out feeling is still loitering away in the background too. Oh, and because I’ve now had to start alternative antibiotics 5 days into my cycle, I may not finish the course in time to start TTC this month. Grrrrr……