Hello :) I was just wondering if anyone has tried hydrochloric acid?! Eek, makes me think of chemistry class at school! But I read online that many people with vitiligo have problems producing stomach acid. When I read the symptoms for the condition, I almost cried because as well as vitiligo I recognised many of them as ongoing health issues for me. Apparently, you can have it diagnosed at your GPs. I'm considering buying Betaine HCL tablets (with pepsin) that you take at mealtimes. The theory is that the lack of stomach acid prevents the breakdown/uptake of certain vitamins (including those that many of us are taking as treatment) which could explain why our self-treatments plans aren't successful?? Thoughts?? Cheers, Gem xx
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Just wanted to update this thread - I have been doing lots of research into this and wanted to share what I had found so far and see if anyone else recognises any of the symptoms. Pernicious anemia: fundamentally a B12 deficiency that can be caused by not getting enough dietary B12 or having a digestive problem that inhibits B12 uptake. Causes of this can include hypochlorhydria (low HCL) and achlorhydria (no HCL) in the stomach, and celiac/coeliac disease. Coeliac disease is essentially an intestinal intolerance to gluten that causes the lining of the intestines to become inflamed and, once again, inhibit uptake of vitimins etc from food and supplements. Coeliacs disease affects 1/100 people and is an auto-immune disorder; having one auto-immune disease increases the likelihood of developing another. I searched for a coeliac disease community, and was not so surprised to find several people with coeliac disease AND vitiligo. Anyway, food for thought! Will update as and when I find out more. Gem xx
Hey Gem, I have found that I have a lot of digestive problems. I have linked mine so far to allergies and am on a restrictive diet for things that don't bother me. If i'm good to myself I don't seem to have too many problems, but I shall look more into the low HCL as well thanks for the info!
I too have read a lot of articles related to stomach acid (lack of) and Vit. Interestingly I've had stomach probs for years (thought to be too much acid) and have been prescribed inhibitors!
Are you going to have the test for low acid?
I think there is something in this notion of the body reacting to poor vitamin uptake, but I wounder how this would relate to Vit in young children?
I'm still inclined towards a genetic expalnation. What do you think?
Hi Mike
I've been giving this lots of thought but still not sure on my opinion! I think autoimmune diseases are caused by a genetic fault, but this is always something that has annoyed me because it suggests you should just resign yourself to the fact that there's nothing you can do about it. Maybe it's in our genes but requires a trigger to start it off (lots of people reporting onset after stressful events). I've read quite a few reports of people achieving repigmentation, which encourages me to keep on researching and trying new approaches. I've been talking to 2 people recently who have coeliac disease and so I'm going gluten-free at the moment because my symptoms match theirs. I'm not going to have the test for stomach acid just now, or for coeliacs.
I'm interested to know if and how you are treating your vit?
Cheers, Gem :)
Hi Gemma
Thanks for replying.
Treatment - well, for years, I haven't let it bother me that much until more recently when it broke out around my eyes.
I have been prescribed protopic which I am willing to try.
I also have some tinted suncreams etc which aid my confidence.
I am more inclined to take the view that a genetic discovery would be good because I am sure that as scientists understand more about the genome they will be able to manipulate these 'possible' defects.
What a mystery :-(
Thanks Alexander & DJ for your replies :) Try a Google search of vitiligo & stomach acid/hydrochloric acid etc, it crops up quite a bit. The proper medical terms are: hypochlorhydria (low HCL) and achlorhydria (no HCL). My GP isn't keen on me self-diagnosing myself (!), but I think vitiligo is the result of something else going wrong in your body; to cure it you have to figure out the underlying issue and maybe, for some of us, this is it? Other symptoms that are identified on some of the websites I looked at include anaemia (lack of stomach acid means iron & B vitamins don't get absorbed), eczema/hives, fatigue, nausea and more. There are warnings though that you should only supplement with HCL if you're sure you need to, as the symptoms can be caused by high HCL as well as other conditions. Hmmm...
Sounds like you're onto something. I've always had stomach problems but I had it well before vitiligo. Please post more and share if it worked for you.
That's interesting. Where did you read that? I have digestive problems. So maybe I shouldn't be eating so many bananas, since they naturally coat the stomach
Replies
I too have read a lot of articles related to stomach acid (lack of) and Vit. Interestingly I've had stomach probs for years (thought to be too much acid) and have been prescribed inhibitors!
Are you going to have the test for low acid?
I think there is something in this notion of the body reacting to poor vitamin uptake, but I wounder how this would relate to Vit in young children?
I'm still inclined towards a genetic expalnation. What do you think?
Best wishes
Mike
I've been giving this lots of thought but still not sure on my opinion! I think autoimmune diseases are caused by a genetic fault, but this is always something that has annoyed me because it suggests you should just resign yourself to the fact that there's nothing you can do about it. Maybe it's in our genes but requires a trigger to start it off (lots of people reporting onset after stressful events). I've read quite a few reports of people achieving repigmentation, which encourages me to keep on researching and trying new approaches. I've been talking to 2 people recently who have coeliac disease and so I'm going gluten-free at the moment because my symptoms match theirs. I'm not going to have the test for stomach acid just now, or for coeliacs.
I'm interested to know if and how you are treating your vit?
Cheers, Gem :)
Thanks for replying.
Treatment - well, for years, I haven't let it bother me that much until more recently when it broke out around my eyes.
I have been prescribed protopic which I am willing to try.
I also have some tinted suncreams etc which aid my confidence.
I am more inclined to take the view that a genetic discovery would be good because I am sure that as scientists understand more about the genome they will be able to manipulate these 'possible' defects.
What a mystery :-(
Best wishes
Mike