Last Updated on 6th April 2023 by Caroline Haye
Or is it the other way round?
The subject of my previous post was the theory that a possible cause of vitiligo is so-called mitochondrial failure. And I will be returning to this subject later in this post. But first, I want to ask you a question: does your vitiligo make you sick and tired? Literally, I mean.
Identifying likely causes of vitiligo is a bit like the proverbial Chicken and Egg. If you are one of the many vitiligo sufferers that also have other chronic health issues, you may have wondered if those other conditions caused your skin to lose pigment… Or whether it was your vitiligo that caused your other illnesses.
My own medical history and subsequent near-recovery from vitiligo has led me to my own conclusions. Simple logic suggested my vitiligo might be the result of a malfunctioning digestive system. My reasoning was based on the fact that I had suffered all my life with IBS (Irritable Bowel) symptoms and vitiligo, both of which had only ever become worse over time, yet both of which improved dramatically and unexpectedly when I put myself on a specific nutritional programme. (See the nutrition summary page for details). This raised the possibility that poor digestion was robbing me of nutrients that were essential to the normal pigmentation process.
But, as I described in my previous post, getting to the actual roots of a condition like vitiligo is like peeling the layers of an onion away to reveal yet more layers beneath. And, if – like me – you suffer from several different symptoms at once, it can feel as if you are having to peel the layers off a whole string of onions!
Syndromes that make you feel sick and tired
My other “onions” are not diseases, as such, but syndromes… Clusters of symptoms that so commonly occur together that they have a name. In this case, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS, a.k.a. ME) and fibromyalgia. I have lived with both these syndromes all my adult life. And for decades I never made a connection between my constant exhaustion, sore joints and muscles and my loss of skin pigment. What on earth could connect such diverse symptoms? Well, I now believe that all of them were most likely the result of nutritional deficiencies due to poor nutritional absorption. And yet, that is obviously not the whole story. Otherwise, why wouldn’t everyone with poor absorption develop vitiligo?
But what caused my digestive system to malfunction in the first place? Well, I promised to come back to the subject of mitochondria. (These are the tiny energy-producing compartments within the cells of the body). There is certainly scientific evidence that points to the failure of these mitochondria as a possible cause of vitiligo. (Or, if not the mitochondria themselves, the DNA inside them.) But, what is also intriguing is that mitochondrial failure also be at the heart of CFS and fibromyalgia too. What’s more, there is evidence that mitochondrial dysfunction is part of the process in IBS too.
Obviously, I am approaching a very complex subject here from the point of view of someone with no scientific background. The whole area of mitochondrial research is, clearly, much more complicated than I am making it sound. But, as far as I’m concerned, the fact that vitiligo, IBS, CFS and fibromyalgia appear to share some sort of common ground is fascinating in itself. And I imagine will also be of interest to those of you who also suffer from two or more of these syndromes and may be sick and tired of feeling sick and tired.
