Last Updated on 8th September 2022 by Caroline Haye
… paints a thousand words
It has been five years since I first shared my vitiligo success story on the internet. I didn’t share it because I necessarily expected the same approach to work for everyone, but because I knew that many vitiligo sufferers feel helpless and hopeless. And their despair is only made worse by a medical profession that, by and large, tells them to go home and forget about it because there is no cure. Even if I am not in a position to tell the medical profession what they need to know, I at least wanted others to understand that it is always too soon to give up hope of getting your natural skin colour back, if that’s what you want to do. And I wanted them to know that, if I had found something that worked for me, it might well work for them too, but that – if it didn’t – then something else probably would… but only if you keep searching and trying. So my message is to keep on being proactive.
Now, many website visitors, blog posts and email conversations later, I want to reinforce my message by making it clear that many others have indeed tried the same approach as me and had success. Over the past five years I have received, and replied to, hundreds of emails from vitiligo contacts all over the world. Many of them have tried exactly the same nutritional programme as me and some of those have been kind enough to stay in touch and keep me up to date with their progress.
I’ve been aware for some time now that I ought to share some of these experiences but had never got myself sufficiently organised to ask the individuals concerned if they would be happy for me to publish their comments. I shall be making a point of doing this in future and, in the meantime, would like to start with one very recent and heartwarming example.
A few days ago, a lovely and courageous lady called Sylvie, from Halesowen, sent me a glowing progress report, along with the “before and after” vitiligo photos you see at the top of this post. When I emailed her back, asking if she would mind my sharing her news as I thought it might encourage others, she generously replied:
Yes of course you can use anything you like that I send to you, I am also keen on sharing my good news around to others who a suffering with vitiligo. I hope it gives others the confidence to give it it a go because it works!!
We had been corresponding since she started taking the supplements in June this year and it was obvious from her emails that she was going through the same sort of ups and downs that most of us experience when we hardly dare to hope that something will work and are disappointed when results are not as forthcoming as we’d wish. In addition to this, she was also under immense and ongoing stress as the sole carer for her sick husband. So she was in sore need of something to cheer her up, but at the same time, she was aware that stress can have an adverse effect on pigment loss and wondered, a few weeks into her supplementation, whether she was wasting her time trying to reverse her 40 year old vitiligo.
I was going to pull a few relevant sentences out of her emails but I think it will be more helpful to include the whole of her end of our correspondence as it really communicates the highs and lows that can accompany any attempt at defeating this condition and I am certain that it will strike a chord with many of you. But, above all, I think it demonstrates that everything can change in just a few weeks and that, if getting your skin colour back is important to you, it is worth persevering.
Hi Caroline, a little update – I have been taking my boost and 5 a day for 2 weeks almost now, my problem comes when getting in the sun !! It’s been years since I exposed my patchy body to the sunlight!! Nevertheless I have done in the hope of repigmenting like yourself. My problem is that my ordinary skin goes brown and my white patches have gone a bit pink, I look soooooo much worse now the patches stand out even more. I dealt with it before by letting it die down by keeping totally out of the sun and using factor 50 on hands and feet if exposed. How did u cope with this embarrassing ugly stage?. I have looked on Internet and sent for a small uvb light so that I can do a bit at a time , I will go for it completely if I get any sign of freckles but at the mo I feel a bit down about it standing out so much after being in the sun!!!! Any help and advise would be gratefully received.
Sylvie,
1st July 2015
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Hi Caroline, I am still persevering with my boost and 5 a day! Alas I have no repigmenting so far. Can’t help but feel a little disappointed! . Do you think I should stay with it or am I a lost cause ha ha. I wonder sometimes if stress plays a part in this condition, my husband is terminally ill and I have been his sole carer for almost 3 years. However I have had vitiligo for 40 years now , so can’t really put the blame on that. I am 60 this September and feel that this is my last ditch attempt to rid myself of this desease, do you honestly think I have a chance?
Sylvie,
17th July 2015
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Hi Caroline, IT’S WORKING !!! I have tiny little brown spots coming on my one arm!! I am delighted! !
I can’t tell you how relieved I am, in this very difficult time with my husband being so poorly this is just what I needed to cheer me up. I am so glad I read your blog and followed your advice, I just wish I had seen it sooner, ha ha ha.
Thank you for helping me to keep the faith when I lost hope , it’s going to pay off now I hope.
So!! what happens next? am I to expect that it will all come back in time or will some of the patches stay? My hands and feet haven’t got any little spots on , it just seems to be my left arm ha ha.
Thank you again for your understanding, and reading these e mails from me, and answering so quickly I really have appreciated it and it’s kept me going.
Sylvie,
6th August 2015
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Hi Caroline, I thought I would send you some before and afters of my arm ha ha. It’s coming thick and fast now, I am getting good results all over exept feet and hands and a few odd places. Legs are coming slowly but a definately improvement, so all in all I reckon that if it keeps up this rate I may be able to wear a short sleeved top by next summer! Just hope it doesn’t slow down to much . This is all down to you and your hard work, I still can’t thank you enough 🙂 🙂 xx
Sylvie,
22 Aug 2015
I want to end this post by thanking Sylvie for taking the time to keep in touch and for allowing me to share her emails and photos with you. She and I both hope that her experience will encourage others to keep their hopes of recovery alive. I wish her a very speedy and ongoing repigmentation and look forward to hearing more good news from her soon.
[See Sylvie’s latest update and other success stories on my new Testimonials page.]