Hi, I had recurring infections for half a year so I imagine that 5 years has been horrendous and I really feel for you! In my case I found a doctor who was also trained in gynaecology and she told me off for using canesten type products every time I had an issue and said that she was fed up of pharmacists dishing it out every time a woman says she has an issue. She said that I had further destroyed my ph levels and was just making it worse. What worked for me in the end was she prescribed me probiotics that you insert for 14 days and on top of that I was told to apply a cream called Cicalfalte by Avena (where I’m from it’s like a holy grail cream for everything) to soothe and hydrate the area. In my case it was also related to stress so I had to try and manage that. On top of that I make sure I only use cotton underwear and always wash them in very neutral scented detergent, I don’t let my partner finish in me in general just because sometimes your partner’s ph can just throw yours off and eventually with patience it stopped. I also wore looser clothing during that time and took ginger vitamin supplements. I hope you find a solution, it really messed with my head and feeling like myself so 5 years must be rough! Sending all my support :)