Vitiligo Support Forum

My vitiligo started to appear when I was 14 years old. I'll never forget the day I asked my mother why this spot on my face has no colour. Her heart dropped, there was a silence for about 30 sec. as she did not know how to break the news to me.
By the time I was 17 it was starting to really show and I was slowly loosing my self esteem.
Only someone who has vitiligo can understand what it feels like to have your beauty taken away from you slowly day by day and you have no control over it. Sometimes people will back off like it's a contagious disease and touching me will "Infect" them.

I had 3 girlfriends in my life and all were before my vitiligo ruined my appearance.

By age 19 vitiligo had completely taken over. On my hands all the way to my wrists, lower arms, elbows, armpits, lower neck, face..................

I'm now 28 and have not been in a relationship for over 8 years. I've been rejected so many times that I've lost all hope and stopped trying.
Can't even get someone to have a coffee with me I just get the old "Oh my boyfriend".......added to the conversation followed by sorry you seem like a nice guy. I don't even get a chance to show who I really am and instead I'm judged by my physical appearance. I would love to have someone to talk to.
This solo lifestyle has now lead me to severe depression and loneliness. I desperately spent hundreds of dollars on treatments like melagenina plus but nothing is working for me. I'm not getting any better looking with age I'm only geeting uglyer and more discoloured. Now I'm worried that my future will be one with anti-depressant pills running my life. It's pretty bad when the lyrics from Evanescence songs reflect my quality of life.

There are no Vitiligo support groups here in Vancouver, Canada where I live and most around here are uneducated about the condition which only make's things harder for me.

Hoping that things will get better. Any words of advise from someone who's been down this road will be appreciated.

Thanks for sharing this moment with me.

Hi sir... although i'll be only 16 in a couple months.. i understand how you feel. It gets so hard sometimes and i feel like i'll never find anyone for me. Ive had it for almost 6 years and these past few years it stopped spreading, till this summer... It's on about 50% of my body. The thing that gets me the most is that i  see it starting on my face and spreading on the corners of my mouth. I look in the mirror and see no beauty. I cried myself to sleep last night, just thinking about everything. I'm scared of never finding anyone that will love me for me. It just seems so unfair... so so hard sometimes... i hate this :(

 And sir... i'm from the okanagan

Girl317 wrote:

Hi sir... although i'll be only 16 in a couple months.. i understand how you feel. It gets so hard sometimes and i feel like i'll never find anyone for me. Ive had it for almost 6 years and these past few years it stopped spreading, till this summer... It's on about 50% of my body. The thing that gets me the most is that i  see it starting on my face and spreading on the corners of my mouth. I look in the mirror and see no beauty. I cried myself to sleep last night, just thinking about everything. I'm scared of never finding anyone that will love me for me. It just seems so unfair... so so hard sometimes... i hate this :(

 And sir... i'm from the okanagan

I know you hate this, all of us that have it feel that way only I really hope you try and make the best of your teenage years and not take the road that I went down which is to avoid all social situations.
There is someone out there who will look past it and love you for who you are and that's what I keep saying to myself everyday just to cheer me up.
I have been to Keremeos, Pentiction and Kelowna many times and never saw any one with the condition. That's probably why there are no social group meetings where people with the condition can meet and talk about it. Because it's a condition that appenrently affects only 1% to 4% of the world. In my opinion it's not taken very seriously here in BC. Sadly

Hi. I have Vitiligo over 50% of my body. It started 11 years ago. I know how you feel. It's devastating. But, 2 months ago I came upon a web site-- Merryclinic.com. I have been taking Dr. Li's natural immune strengthening herbs. She has 3 clinics in CA. The ingredients are listed and she answers your questions promptly via e-mail. I have been using her pills and skin oil for 8 wks. Wow!! The white areas on my face are gone. My neck, upper back, arms, shoulders and hands have turned pink and are filling in with pigment. I'm amazed! I also changed my diet. Please look at her site, it's worth it. I can share the natural diet and more things that have helped me if you would like.

Good luck

 

Yeah.. you're right. Ive never heard of/seen any support groups here in BC (Im from Vernon)... it's sad. If someone doesnt love you for you, theyre not worth the time. I've come to realize that sure looks is what attracts a person, but personality is what makes them fall in love. Keep your head up =]

Gracie wrote:

Hi. I have Vitiligo over 50% of my body. It started 11 years ago. I know how you feel. It's devastating. But, 2 months ago I came upon a web site-- Merryclinic.com. I have been taking Dr. Li's natural immune strengthening herbs. She has 3 clinics in CA. The ingredients are listed and she answers your questions promptly via e-mail. I have been using her pills and skin oil for 8 wks. Wow!! The white areas on my face are gone. My neck, upper back, arms, shoulders and hands have turned pink and are filling in with pigment. I'm amazed! I also changed my diet. Please look at her site, it's worth it. I can share the natural diet and more things that have helped me if you would like.

Good luck

Good to hear it's working for you. I've tried many treatments that were suppose to show results within 3 months and after 6-8 months there was no signs of improvements according to my doctor. I also changed my diet and started to avoid certain foods that were not recommended but that did not help.

Girl317 wrote:

Yeah.. you're right. Ive never heard of/seen any support groups here in BC (Im from Vernon)... it's sad. If someone doesnt love you for you, theyre not worth the time. I've come to realize that sure looks is what attracts a person, but personality is what makes them fall in love. Keep your head up =]

I believe that many fear the long term relationship because if they were to ever fall in love and have children some day in the future they worry about them contracting the condition genetically to their kids. I will continue try my best to find someone and you do the same. Let's both keep our heads up :)

Hi Gracie

I'm a 39 yr old female and I live in the UK, and have had vitiligo for 36 yrs!! And I hate it. It makes me feel so ugly. And I'm still single (although I have had boyfriends) and am beginning to think that my vitiligo is the reason why.  The more I talk about it, the more depressed it makes me.  I was very interested to read about the treatment you have found and that it appears to work.  Is there anything more you can tell me about it? 

Thank you

Jenna

Hi Jenna!

I can't believe my pigment is comming back after 11 years! i am truly grateful that i have found Dr. Li. Her site is: MERRYCLINIC.COM. I have researched many treatments over the years but always felt it was a scam. Some things i tried, but no luck. I e-mailed Dr. Li many times before ordering her herbal formulas. I was completely satisfied with her knowledge of this condition. She personally developed this product and has an 80% success rate. The chinese have used herbs for many years to heal just about everything. They are being credited for their success in using natural herbs for healing. I won't put chemicals in my body, so i felt comfortable with her all natural ingredients.

 I have Vitiligo over 50% of my body and still spreading. I started taking the herbs July 9th 2009. It is now Sept. 14th 2009. My neck and upper back have turned pink and are almost completely repigmented. Both of my forearms are pink and filling in. My face is 90% repigmented and the lower half of my body is turning pink, no pigment yet. My calves have shown no improvment yet. It seems to start at the top and work its way down. Pink is the first step then it fills in soon after. i never thought that i would see this day! My life is full of blessings, this is just one more blessing God has given me. I ordered: Vitalax pills, Skin Detox and Vitalax skin oil. Dr. Li suggested B12, vitamin D, Folic acid and multi vitamins. i can tell you the doses if you'd like. (The vitamins are ABSOLUTLEY neccesary, i feel) i have changed my diet also, VERY IMPORTANT! food can be very healing! But also damaging if it's not healthy food. I have researched the food to help Vitiligo and what to stay away from. I can share that with you if you'd like. i don't know if this will completely heal me. I'm trying not to get to excited, i don't want to be let down. However, the amount of healing i have so far has left me amazed! Remember this is an Autoimmune desease. Your body is attacking itself. This is why strengthening the immune system is most important. Some of the herbs are for that purpose, others are for detoxing the body and skin it's a total package.

Hope this helps you and others.

Gracie

Interesting how Gracie's posts read like she's ''Dr.'' Li herself.  I'd bet money Gracie's not a real person.  You would think merry clinic would post some before and after pictures of some of their patients if they're products are so successful.  An 80% success rate is absolutely outrageous for something like vitiligo, as are most of their success stories that are posted on their website.  Not one bit of single documented evidence besides those stories that could easily be fake.

Think long and hard before you buy from those guys everybody.

Jeff,

 i have never spoke on a forum before. I swore that if i found something that really worked on my Vitiligo, i would share it with everyone. That's what my true intentions are. I'm a real person by the way. My husband and i also questioned the fact that there were no pictures and the success rate. He is very skeptical of anything on line and thought i was wasting my time and money. However, i went off  Dr. Li's site and read forums and chats not connected to her whatsoever. There i read many comments about her product and how it was working wonders. I was taking a gamble with the information, but i decided that this might be my answer. So far i am having great results. We are documenting my progress with pictures so i do have proof .

Vitiligo runs in my family. My father and Grandmother haveVitiligo over 90% of their body. I have a strong family history. Dr. Li said with a strong genetic history it may take years to recover completely. But so far the results have been quick. I never expected this. It may not continue at this pace but nothing ventured nothing gained. If you don't take risks you mght never know what could have been. 

jeff wrote:

Interesting how Gracie's posts read like she's ''Dr.'' Li herself.  I'd bet money Gracie's not a real person.  You would think merry clinic would post some before and after pictures of some of their patients if they're products are so successful.  An 80% success rate is absolutely outrageous for something like vitiligo, as are most of their success stories that are posted on their website.  Not one bit of single documented evidence besides those stories that could easily be fake.

Think long and hard before you buy from those guys everybody.

I agree with you on some levels. Your right that there should be before and after pics just like melagenina's website which clearly shows that for some people it has worked.
Go to Merryclinic and under the Vitiligo section where it says "What you do expect?"
Their site claims 90% sucess rate and not 80% so that sound to me like they overshot this one. Posting a ultra-high sucess rate like that will make anyone skeptical especially since many have and will try to take advantage of sufforers desperately seeking a cure so they can regain their life.

Now Gracie I'm not going to accuse you of being fake but I will say that your reply messages are kind of a combination of doctor's/salesperson's way of talking. No one usually goes into that much detail unless they are selling something and that's probably why Jeff is suspicious about you. You know of course that positing links to websites will automatically put you on the "suspected spammer" list so if you are a real person telling her story then don't take this personally. It's just the way the internet is these days.

Ok. I am a very detailed person. Apparently that's not a good thing?

Maybe it's the way i write? I love to write. Perhaps my wording comes across to "professional" or something?

 I was so excited about my progress after being told for years there's no help for this condition. I would never say this is a cure. I'm simply having good results so far. It's sad that many people mislead others on line because when someone is being honest you can't believe them, huh? I understand your skeptisim. I am 44. I have been married for 11 years and have a 6 year old. I would never mislead anyone. I don't know what else to say.

I would like more infor on your natural diet and other things that have helped you.  I thought about MERRYCLINIC a few times but never had the money.  SO let me know if it's worth it.

Hi, I'm having new pigment weekly using Merryclinic. For me it's been well worth trying. I am amazed at my progress so far! But i don't know how well any product will work if your diet isn't right.  I've read alot about Vitiligo lately, just about all the info. specifies diet as extremely important. Here are some other things that have helped me: Sunning my body for 15 to 20 min. (w/o getting burned) has helped my progress. Sun is very healing for Vitiligo. Eat lots of fruit, veggies, spinach and nuts. I limit dairy and meat but i do eat them. Juice if you can, or buy fresh pressed juices from a health food store. Carrot is great. Anything that is dark green, red and orange. I take multi vitamins and high doses of  B-12, folic acid and vitamin D. These are known to work well for this condition. I also use virgin cold pressed coconut oil for my face and body . Goolge coconut oil to read the benefits for skin. I stopped using anything on my skin that wasn't 100% natural since i'm trying to heal my skin.  I read skin "eats" so everything you put on is absorbed by your skin. Also i'm trying to keep an alkaline diet. Acid diets aggrevate Vitiligo. Goolge alkaline foods to see what you should eat. I had to cut out coffee because it's acidic. That's been torture!

Hey there everyone ~  I just finished reading through all the conversations going on - can came up with the below:

Starting with "lizardguy" ~  All I have to say is that we have all been where you are, when you wrote your post.  Haven't we everyone?  I think it's different for male vs female - because females can put on make-up without a second look.  I'm 31 years old, female, married to my soul-mate, and was born with vitiligo.  It wasn't easy growing up, but I learned to wear clothes to cover my skin - I just love friggin' fall/winter (think of all the layers we get to wear).  I discovered sunless tanners, kick a$$ concealing make-up, and just accepted this as my skin. 

If people don't like me or can't get past my spots - then fu(< 'em.  I think it's funny how ironic it is - vitiligo sufferers have very sensitve skin physically, but emotionally we have to be "thick skinned".  I know for me, once I truly accepted my skin for what it is, and embraced it for making me a striking uniquely fair-skinned beauty... well that's when I became happier.  People wanted to be my friend, loved me for me, and met my boyfriend (now husband).  I became confident in who I am, not what I look like, and I'm happier for it.  That's what I would recommend to you or anyone that feels like you do.  Now I'm not saying I'm happy all the time, and feel beautiful every day, but am saying I'm happy to be alive and living my life.  Do what makes you feel beautiful, and embrace it.  Then, you'll meet a partner that falls in love with you. 

Right ladies?  We loooove the quiet guys that are full of confidence.  Not false confidence (like cocky wannabee's) we can detect that right away.  Sincere, compasionate, confident, etc.

Kind regards,

Amita

Now on to Gracie ~  Thanks for the info. about the merryclinic - I personally did correspond with Dr. Li as well, but can't aford the expensive price tag for her products.  I was planning to purchase, once I saved up for a 6 month supply.  I appreciate the skeptics on here, because I just commented - wait who am I kidding - I just ripped a new one on someone that was trying to sell a book on here.  It was some new "revelation on curing vitilio" - they didn't say what or how - oh no - we had to buy it first.  What a load of BS, and I said as much!

Sincerely thought, thanks for the post - I'm confident in giving you the benefit of the doubt - you're a real person.  It's just we've all be disappointed too many times to count with so called "cures" that we can't help but be skeptics on here.  I'm very appreciative of the diet info. you posted, and will do my research to confirm some of it (not to doubt you - yet again) - just want to get details of specific foods and amounts to eat each day - to incorporate into my meals. 

Glad you mentioned the sitting in the sun every day for 15-20 mins - my dermatologist recommended the same thing to me - I understand that Vit. D is great for Vitiligo sufferers - and Vit. D comes from the sun - maybe that's how they came up with the name "Sunny-D"  ha ha ha - I'm a dork, I know.  I don't care though  LOL :)  

Definitely keep me updated on the progress of your own merryclinic results, as I'm very interested.  Thanks again, and I'll keep my fingers-crossed for you!  Take care.

Kind regards,

Amita