I have had Vitiligo for about 20 years. It was episodic but I have some long term discoloration on my feet and legs. I tried cortisoid creams with some success, but it always came back.
During this 20 year period, I have been on Proton Pump Inhibitors (Omeprazone and friends) for quite a bit of the time. I read somewhere that Vitiligo might be related to a Vitamin B-12 deficiency. I think the causes of Vitiligo are probably more complicated than that, but I started using sublingual (under the tongue) Vitamin B-12 supplements, and all of my recent Vitiligo disappeared. In addition, some of the older discolorations have started improving. The outbreaks were always accompanied by itching, and that is gone as well.
So, if you are using PPI's, or possibly other acid reducers, try some sublingual Vitamin B-12. Tablets you swallow don't work because the acid reducers interfere with B-12 uptake. I have gotten off of PPI's completely because I figured out they were causing kidney stones and hyperparathyroidism among other things, but I'm continuing with the B-12 supplements in hopes that it will continue to help the older Vitiligo discolorations.
If this helps anyone, great. Good luck everyone.
-g
Replies
I suffered from vitiligo too, but I was cured now. It was bad, and makes me very unhappy. I live in China. Here we use Traditional Chinese Medicine to treat skin problems, I went to many hospitals like this and tried many different treatments, but the effect is not very good until I went to a hospital in the North of China. It works, and now I am a happy person again, I am glad to share this with you, you may not able to go there, but you can talk to their doctors for advice. you can find more information on the website of vitiligotcm.
My local health shop only sells Sublingual Vitamin B Complex (which contains B12).
Would this be sufficient? (better than nothing?)
I can't say for sure since I didn't do a lot of research on this. I saw an article about B-12 deficiency and vitiligo here:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9394983
So I got some and started taking it. I think anything is worth trying until you can get exactly what you need. I know that 500 mcg seems to have worked for me. I don't think a vitamin B supplement can hurt you.
Good luck
Please tell us the total strength of the vitamin B-12 are you taking?
I have some areas that started 20 years ago and stay more-or-less the same. But I have outbreaks of more spots during the late Winter and Spring. I don't know if they would also stay, but I have been using Clobetasol on them and by the Fall, I usually get rid of them. This year, no outbreaks so far.
I get my vitamin B-12 from Swanson Health. It is their own brand but their products seem to be good quality.
Good luck.
I suffer from vitiligo at such an early age,my parents went to doctors in many places with the hope of curing me of the disease. However, my conditions did not get any better despite the expense of a lot of money. They decided to have a try and took me to a Chinese hospital. The affected sites on my body had improved significantly in less than a month. After reinforcement treatment of experts, I have completely recuperated my health and I have become cheerful. see more psoriasis and vitiligo sucess stories on the website of www.vitiligotcm.com
What treatment did you receive? Herbs?
yes, pure chinese herbs
Hello
thank you for your words :)
Still get better with b12?
So far. This is the time of year when my outbreaks start, and I haven't had any problems this year.
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