Vitiligo Treatment Bullets #1

Vitiligo Treatment Bullets #1

Is Vitiligo Curable?

Know The TRUTH
and The TRUTH Will Set You Free

WARNING!
Your Dermatologist
Can Be Your Friend and Foe

Dear frustrated vitiligo patient,

Welcome to your first issue of Vitiligo Treatment Bullets, my complimentary ezine (e-magazine) bringing you some fast and powerful scientifically proven Vitiligo Treatment Tips to help you win your vitiligo war, at the shortest possible time.

These are the same ammunition I've personally used to win my vitiligo war.

If I can win my vitiligo war
... so can you!

Listen-up: If you want to get the full value and benefits from this ezine, then heed this sincere advice ...

READ WITH
AN OPEN MIND

Why?

Because just like a parachute will not work if it's not open, our mind will not work too ... if it's not open.

Because your beliefs or unbeliefs, prejudices, finite knowledge and limited experience about vitiligo and vitiligo treatment may work against you in finding the cure ... if you do not approach what you are about to read with an open mind.

Now, I learned that from my own mistakes ... it's a costly personal experience.

He who learns from the mistakes of others ... is WISE.

Are you wise?

Okay, with that, let's start off the first issue of this ezine by discussing a topic that's of paramount importance to ALL vitiligo patient.

Is Vitiligo Curable?

Yes ... it's a controversial topic too.

Before you read further, I want you to answer that question in mere five (5) seconds, and keep that answer behind your mind.

Ready? Here it goes ...

Is Vitiligo Curable?

Answer it, now. Do it ... because it's important.

Done? Great!

Now, register that answer behind your mind, and read on.

Why the answer to this question is of greatest importance to ALL vitiligo patient wanting to

... be cured
... be successfully treated
... to gain repigmentation, probably 100% repigmentation?

Reason #1.

Because if your GP or dermatologist believe that vitiligo CANNOT be cured ... vitiligo has no cure, he may NOT even encourage you to seek treatment. Even if he does, he may NOT give you his best.

Now, that's NOT
my 2 cents worth opinion

That's the findings of a scientific research paper.

WARNING!
Your dermatologist
can be your friend AND foe

European Journal of Dermatology 2004
May-Jun;14(3):177-81

Management of vitiligo patients and attitude of dermatologists towards vitiligo.

Department of Dermatology, Ghent University Hospital, Belgium.

ABSTRACT:
As vitiligo does not cause any physical impairment, it is often considered unimportant by physicians. Vitiligo patients repeatedly experience disinterest from the medical world regarding their skin problem.

A questionnaire survey was used to assess the management of vitiligo patients and the attitude of dermatologists towards vitiligo in Belgium.

Vitiligo patients (n = 244) visiting an academic affiliated dermatology department were included and 454 out of 558 Belgian dermatologists returned a mailed questionnaire.

Vitiligo patients do not often visit a doctor concerning their disease and do not often treat their disease. Disease severity as reported by the patient is correlated with the number of doctor visits (p = 0.001) but not to treatment of the disease.

Information about the treatment and physician's encouragement to treat seem important in motivating patients to treat their vitiligo, but 50% of the patients were not adequately informed about their disease and its treatment during their first doctor visit.

Today, nearly all the dermatologists report widely informing their patients, but only 36% of them encourage their patients to treat their disease, being pessimistic concerning expected treatment results.

Interestingly, two thirds of the patients who treated their disease find it worthwhile.

SIDE-NOTE:
That study was not published 20 years ago. It was published in 2004, merely 4 years ago.

Only 36% of dermatologists encourage their patients to treat their disease.

Why?

Because they are pessimistic about the expected treatment results.

Why?

Is it because they do not know *HOW* to cure it, hence, believe vitiligo CANNOT be cured?

However, the irony is ... 2/3 of the patients who treated their disease find it worthwhile.

QUESTION ...
Is your dermatologist
doing you a service OR disservice?

Here's another shocking finding ...

International Journal of Dermatology 1999
Nov;38(11):866-72.

Management of vitiligo. Results of a questionnaire among dermatologists in The Netherlands.

Netherlands Institute for Pigmentary Disorders, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam.

CONCLUSION:
Most dermatologists in The Netherlands DO NOT offer ACTIVE treatment in vitiligo, probably because the estimated effectiveness of (nonsurgical) repigmentation therapy is low.

In cases where treatment is prescribed, there appears to be no consensus on the choice of therapies and treatment strategies.

The development of practice guidelines may be helpful in reducing inappropriate care and improving treatment outcome.

SIDE-NOTE
If you are from The Netherlands, do not despair. Cheer-up!

Because I've good news for you.

Stay with me ...

So beware ...
Your dermatologist
can be your friend AND foe

If your GP or dermatologist advice you NOT to seek treatment ... suggest that you cover-up your vitiligo lesions with make-up and get on with life, run away from him like seeing a ghost in the night.

Seek treatment from another dermatologist who is likely to take treating you more seriously ... who is keen to take up the challenge to treat this difficult to treat disease.

It was for the same reason, I fired my first dermatologist.

I then decided to learn all that I need to learn about vitiligo ... to be a "layman expert" on vitiligo so that I can participate actively in determining the best treatment plan for myself, together with my dermatologist.

I strongly advice that you do the same too.

Leaving my vitiligo treatment plan entirely to my dermatologist alone was one of my biggest mistakes.

Reason #2.

Because if you believe "vitiligo has no cure" ... then it's likely that your vitiligo will never be cured ( call it be successfully treated or gain 100% repigmentation, if you don't like the term "be cured")

Again,
that's NOT my opinion

That's the findings of a research paper entitled ... "Vitiligo: To Treat or Not To Treat" published in Archives of Dermatology 2007.

Vitiligo
is difficult to cure

That's a fact ... a reality we vitiligo patients must accept. ( ok ... ok ... call it "difficult to treat", if you do not like the term "cure". It means the same thing to me ... it's merely playing with words)

However "difficult to cure" is often mistaken as "cannot be cured" though there's a world of difference between the two.

This most unfortunate and costly mistake has resulted in millions of vitiligo patients all over the world accepting their vitiligo life-sentence ... "mistakenly".

Because, patients who believe that "Vitiligo Is *NOT* Curable" is less enthusiastic in seeking treatment, less disciplined in following through treatment and more likely to discontinue treatment when initial treatment failed.

When that happen, their belief of
"Vitiligo CANNOT Be Cured"
became a self-fulling prophecy

Where on earth did we innoncent vitiligo patients get the idea from that "vitiligo has no cure" ?

If there's one thing about our medical practitioners that make me boiling mad even at 3:00am is this ...

Time and again, the people that we vitiligo patients believe-in with child-like faith (100% trust and believe without questioning) to give us hope ... to cure our vitiligo are the same people that crushes our hope in finding the cure for vitiligo.

Yes, that's our doctors
dermatologists included!

If you have spoken to a doctor, a dermatologist, read a book on vitiligo, visited vitiligo support group, forum or medical authority websites ... you are bound to come across this "debilitating professional opinion" ...

"Vitiligo has no cure, but
may be successfully treated"

Here's a screenshot from MayoClinic.com ...

NOTE:

There is no cure for vitiligo. The goal of treatment is to stop or slow the progression of pigment loss and, if you desire, attempt to return some color to your skin.

Isn't that a
heart-breaking
hope-squashing
dream-crushing
devastating statement?

But, is it really true?

What are the real life experiences of vitiligo patients?

Here's a screenshot from the British Association of Dermatologists (BAD) website ...

NOTE:
A cure cannot be guaranteed.
Often no treatment is needed other than good cosmetic cover.

Did you spot
the conflicting statement?
So, who is correct?

"Vitiligo has no cure"
(Mayo Clinic)
OR
"A cure for vitiligo cannot be guaranteed"
(British Association of Dermatologists - BAD)?

There's a world of difference between the two statement, liken to day and night.

"A cure for vitiligo cannot be guaranteed" certainly does NOT mean "vitiligo cannot be cured." It merely means, vitiligo is difficult to cure, hence a cure cannot be guaranteed.

QUESTION
Who are you incline to believe?
Mayo Clinic OR BAD?

If the "vitiligo authorities" such as Mayo Clinic and BAD, can't even agree on this very fundamental point ... why are we vitiligo patients being so foolish in accepting "vitiligo has no cure " as the ultimate truth ... the gospel truth?

Have you ever
thought of that?

Here'a a screenshot of Q&A on vitiligo with a consultant dermatologist at a leading hospital in UK

NOTE:

Vitiligo can be successfully treated.

Can vitiligo be cured?
No, but there are treatments that can help.
(So, vitiligo has no cure.)

If you have vitiligo, it’s likely your immune system is destroying the pigment cells in certain areas of your skin. We cannot switch off the immune response that damages the skin and so cure is rare.

Did you spot the conflicting statement?

I've THREE questions
for this dermatologist ...

1) "... there are treatments that can help."
What do you mean by "can help?" Is it repigmentation ... can even be 100% repigmentation?

2) "Vitiligo can be successfully treated?"
What do you mean by "can be successfully treated?" Is it repigmentation ... can even be 100% repigmentation?

3) "Vitiligo has "no cure" ... "We cannot switch off the immune response that damages the skin and so "cure is rare"
Is "no cure" the SAME as "cure is rare"?

Isn't topical immunomodulators have been proven time and again to successfully switching off the immune response that damages the skin, hence making it an effective treatment of vitiligo?

J Dermatol. 2008 Aug;35(8):503-7.
Topical immunomodulators are effective for treatment of vitiligo

Is ... "cure is rare"
the SAME as "no cure"?

I don't think so.

I think there's a world of difference between the two, liken to day and night.

"A cure for vitiligo is rare" certainly does NOT mean "vitiligo has no cure." It simply means vitiligo is a difficult to treat disease. Hence, naturally a cure is difficult, NOT impossible.

I'm sick and tired of the puns,
(playing with words) are you?

Before you continue reading, please answer this question ...

Is there a difference between these two
... "be successfully treated"
AND ... "be cured?"

Pick your answer before you continue ...

I'm NOT going to give you my 2 cents worth opinion. Instead, let's consult the dictionary.

What's the meaning of "cure" ?

From the dictionary, isn't they effectively mean the same thing?

My 9 year old niece told me ... "They mean the same uncle Mike".

When I was a vitiligo patient, all I wanted was 100% repigmentation of my vitiligo lesions. Call it successfully treated or cured ... it doesn't bother me a bit, as long as I have 100% repigmentation.

Isn't that
what you wanted too?

Here's a vitiligo success story quoted from an online forum, reported 100% repigmentation after having vitiligo for 10 years.

QUOTE

Hello all,

After 3 months use, I achieved 100% repigmentation using Protopic. I am caucasion, 27 yo female, with vit on face for 10 years. Vigilantly applied 2x daily, the spots on my eyes & lips first turned pink then to my normal tone. The first month saw little change though the "burn" for two hours following application was real. The most rapid change was in the second month. The final month was characterized by periods of the spots appearing more white "vitiness" (new word) then a week later the spots would repig suddenly to my normal skin color. Who knows if the apparent revitiness was due to being in the sun that final month, thus a heightned contrast, or if those periods were just my imagination.

Simultaneously for the first month I took a B-complex and an omega 3-6-9. W/o any explanation I strongly believe switching to a sunscreen with the "good" chemicals helped (I live/work in the humid,sunny outdoors). In general, I use a glycolic acid skin product that at first I thought was "triggering" the vit, but the repig has persisted, so for me the acid based product is ok.

I feel pretty lucky and of course ecstatic about the results, so feel free to ask questions if you have any.

Chloe

UNQUOTE

Vitiligo REALLY
Cannot Be Cured?

100% repigmentation on the face after 10 long years ... why should it NOT be called a cure?

"Oh no ... vitiligo has no cure, because it may relapse. Even 100% repigmentation can only be called ... successfully treated"

Hello ... hello ... hello
May I ask ...

Can cough and flu be cured?

Can you catch cough and flu again ... after the cough and flu is cured?

Does that also mean cough and flu CANNOT be cured?

Oh, come on ... please give we vitiligo patients a break ...

I'm sick and tired of the puns,
(playing with words)
are you?

Here's another vitiligo success story ...

QUOTE

Hello There,

I developed vitiligo at 12, I am now 31. Spent the last few years hiding behind layers of make-up. I developed vit on my left cheek after a really bad sunburn. What started as a dime size white spot slowly started growing. Years later after an all day outing at the beach, sunburned again vit started on my right cheek. I'm of Guatemalan decent so the contrast was very obvious. A couple years ago I had blood work done and found I was severely anemic, I tried taking iron supplements and never felt any better energywise. November of 2006 I found Dr. John P Kinney in West Palm Beach, he started my treatment with 5 mg of folic acid (perscribed). Also 3x a week I would drive to his office for uvb treatments. Five months later I started freckeling and a couple months after that vit was no longer visible. When I started my treatment both cheeks were completely white, my left side from under my eye below my jaw bone. Every night since I met Dr. Kinney, I take my 5 mg of folic acid,b complex and 2000mcg of sublingual b12. I also use my Derma Pal at home at least 3x a week. Along with an even complextion I no longer have anemia. I think the folic acid was my missing link, I always had faith that God would help me find it! I have researched the b vitimins and found that they are absorbed by the body best before going to bed.

Thanks for your time and God Bless.

UNQUOTE

Hey, did you read that ... this patient found a cure to vitiligo, AFTER 19 long years in the "vitiligo treatment wilderness" and hiding behind layers of make-up for the last few years. (developed vitiligo at 12, cured at 31)

I can go on citing few more remarkable vitiligo cure story, including my personal vitiligo cure story ... if I wanted to. But this Bullet is getting way too long. If you wish to read more vitiligo success stories, subscribe to "Vitiligo Treatment Bullets" or go to the left hand navigation bar of this blog.

CONCLUSION

Vitiligo is a disease that's difficult to treat. That's a fact that we vitiligo patients have to accept. However, difficult to cure, certainly does NOT mean vitiligo has no cure.

Whoever tells you that "vitiligo has no cure" is NOT being fair to you and certainly doing you a great disservice.

Reject them!

Just because dermatologist are of the opinion that "vitiligo has no cure" does NOT mean vitiligo CANNOT be cured. It merely means "they DO NOT know *HOW* to cure it".

Just because a person wears a white robe, uses technical medical jargons and calls himself a dermatologist, a trained doctor ... does NOT necessarily mean he knows EVERYTHING about vitiligo and is always RIGHT.

The writings are
all over the wall ... read them

There are many vitiligo success stories that are "screaming" loud and clear at you, telling you in no unequivocal terms that vitiligo can be cured.

If vitiligo really cannot be cured, would you be reading so many success stories? Would you?

Do not harden your heart, turn a deaf ears to these success stories and wallow in self-pity party - oh, my vitiligo has no cure ... poor me.

For goodness sake ...

Stop that ...
Rise up ... and
start doing something
right and do it fast ...NOW!

When I was searching for a cure to my vitiligo, my scuba-diving buddy introduced me to one of his diver friends, a consultant nephrologist ( a medical doctor specializes in kidney related diseases). He's also an EX-vitiligo patient.

It was from him that I discovered what I've read and been told all this while that ... "vitiligo has no cure" is only a medical opinion, NOT a fact.

He's of the opinion that it's not fair for vitiligo patients to be told that "vitiligo has no cure". Because the truth is ... there are treatment that had successfully reverse vitiligo conditions, though it's time consuming and no one single treatment can work for every patient.

A disease that has no cure is a disease that cannot be treated ... no therapies, drugs, surgeries, etc can help to stop, slow and reverse the condition.

An example of disease that has no cure is Polycystic Kidney Disease, whereby cysts grow and cover both kidneys over the years resulted in kidney failure, which ultimately leads to only 2 options, kidney dialysis or transplant.

There's no therapies, drugs, surgeries or anything that can be done to stop, slow and reverse the condition.

Hence, vitiligo should NOT be considered a disease that has no cure, because there are many treatment options available that had successfully reverse vitiligo conditions.

I concur with this consultant nephrologist.

What do you think?

When I was a vitiligo patient, all I wanted is 100% repigmentation of my vitiligo lesions.

I believe you too.

Call it "cured" or "successfully treated", it doesn't bother me a bit.

I believe you too.

Therefore, if you are sick and tired of the puns, just like me ... just remember this critically important fact ...

100% repigmentation
of vitiligo lesions is possible

Yes!

100% repigmentation
of vitiligo lesions is possible

Yes! Read my lips ...

100% repigmentation
of vitiligo lesions is possible

Afterall, isn't that's all that matters and that's what you really wanted?

Others have had
100% repigmentation,
why can't you?

The most important fact to remember is this ...

NEVER ALLOW ANYONE
TO MAKE YOU BELIEVE
100% REPIGMENTATION
OF YOUR VITILIGO LESIONS
IS *NOT* POSSIBLE

Remember: no one can take your hope for 100% repigmentation from you without your permission ... if you don't allow it. Any negative attitude could have easily taken the wind out of your sails. Keep the wind strong, so that you can ... keep sailing ... to reach the destination you wanted to go.

As much as the vitiligo warfare is a physical war, it's also very much a psychological war ... to win you need to be strong mentally and emotionally, especially in a prolong warfare.

Be positive ... the world is so large ... there's somewhere, somehow, something that you'll bound to find sometime sooner or later ... which could help you to gain repigmentation, probably 100% repigmentation, if you diligently seek after them.

Why?

Because many vitiligo patients had successfully done it ... so can you.

Yes,
>>>*YOU*<<<

I just can't resist but share with you another 95% repigmentation success story.

Here it goes ...

QUOTE

Hi Mike,

I'm one of those people are always looking for a cure. I have been blessed to have 95 percent of my pigment. It started when I was going through puberty. Age 14 is when it first appeared. It attacked my face first. Around my eyes, under my chin and a few spots around my mouth and cheek. I have had psorlen treatments in the past and all areas on my face recovered except the area around my eyes, which is a very sensitive area. So I wear cosmetices with the hope of one day finding a cure. I haven't given up yet.

I read your article and all of the different treatments that are available. I've never heard of Ginko Biloba to be a form of treatment. Well, long story short I will be trying it. I thank GOD that I haven't lost so much pigment that it is beyond reapair. I see so many claims to be the cure online it isn't funny. Which one is positive, which one is negative. I believe in taking chances but not willing to spend endless dollars on a farce.

Thank you for all your research. It is appreciated. If you have any other information to share I'll appreciate that too :-)

Be Blessed

UNQUOTE

Tell me, do you have any complain if you regain 95% of your pigment?

100% repigmentation
of vitiligo lesions is definitely possible

I hope this article has given you the answer to the question ... "is vitiligo curable?"

Look out for Bullet #2 and subsequent Bullets ... which will help you to answer the big question ... HOW?

Meanwhile, stay health ... and I wish you speedy repigmentation of your vitiligo lesions.

Peace be unto you, my dear friend!

Michael DeAngelo
EX-Vitiligo Patient

P.S. Subscribe to "Vitiligo Treatment Bullets" and be the first to be informed and read the next and subsequent Bullets when it's published ... may be tomorrow, 2 weeks later ... or longer. I hope not. :-)

P.P.S. For obvious reasons, some of the Bullets will NOT be published in this blog - only send to subscribers via email. Naturally, you'll NOT be able to read some of these Bullets, if you are NOT a subscriber of this ezine.


Related Tags: Vitiligo Treatment, Vitiligo Cure, Vitiligo Cures, Cure For Vitiligo, Treating Vitiligo, Vitiligo Help, Vitiligo Review, Vitiligo Support, Vitiligo Doctor, Vitiligo Dermatologist, Vitiligo Expert