Report from a Neem User (excerpt from Neem booklet)

[Sherrie]

As a holistic practitioner, it is especially frustrating when I cannot “heal thyself” when I am the patient. It happened with a rare, for me—but not uncommon occurrence for many women—persistent yeast infection. My yeast infection symptoms began in the first week September 2007—burning, itching, painful coitus, and extreme vaginal discomfort. I am allergic to Monistat® creams, so this treatment was out for me. On Sept. 5 I began the following treatment protocol: oral live cultured unsweetened yogurts, elimination of dietary sugar and alcohol, and oral drug Dilfucan®. Two weeks later my symptoms finally began to lessen, but they didn’t disappear. So next I tried two over-the-counter creams: Tioconazole Vaginal Ointment® and Clotrimzaole Vaginal Cream®. My symptoms waxed and waned but never completely resolved. I eventually went on Dilfucan® again for two weeks, and then again after a two-week break.

On Oct. 4, a month after I had started my series of treatments, I called my gynecologist to have a culture done to see if perhaps this was actually a bacterial infection even though that was not my diagnostic impression. The nurse practitioner thought it was most likely a bacterial infection and sent me home with a prescription for an antibacterial cream. My symptoms continued. The culture results arrived on Oct. 9, saying “no” to bacterial infection and “yes” to a slight yeast infection. Treatment was to be Dilfucan® for several months at two-week intervals. This was not very practical, and the first two-week cycle had almost no impact on my symptoms.

Then another holistic practitioner recommended neem oil to me. So on Oct. 13, 14 and 15, after everything else had been ineffective, I began my new regimen—a tampon soaked in neem oil inserted twice a day for just three days. My symptoms were virtually gone after the second day, and by the third day the symptoms had completely disappeared. After suffering intensely for over 1-½ months despite having tried all other products, using neem oil for three days eradicated the infection and changed what my life had become. I will never use anything else, and I recommend it without reservation to my patients for symptoms of yeast infection.

Anonymous, by request