Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Where to go from here
The doctor from Cincinnati referred me to a doctor in California. He was very informative. After sending him pictures of my vitiligo he estimated the cost of surgery to be $14,000, not including hospital stay. Of course insurance will not pay a dime because it is considered cosmetic. I have since then written the Ellen show and Tyra show to see if they would talk about this topic and I have heard nothing. The reason I am now coming out about this more than ever is beacause I am just tired of living like this. I am getting older and I know that anything is possible,dreams can come true and I am not going to give up just yet. People that do not have vitiligo may not understand, but those of us that do knows what it feels like to have people stare and say things under their breath. If anyone reading this has vitiligo please send me your pics, maybe you can give me some advice.
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hi kelly,
ReplyDeleteim althea from the philippines and i have vitiligo, too. lucky you, you only have it on your right leg. Me? I have it all over. Can you believe that? My face, neck, arms, torso, back, all overrrr!!! but i cover it up with a fake tan, it works a bit well for me. pls email me at altheatuano@yahoo.com and lets share some thoughts. thanks kelly.
Hi kelly,
ReplyDeleteI'm David from the UK. I'm 25 and have vitiligo on my chest, elbows and knees.
I have had some success with UVB therapy.
I don't know if you have tried this but if you want to chat then feel free to email on dwozzi@hotmail.com
great job on that tattoo i be honest you are hot as hell who cares about a little white marks on your leg
ReplyDeleteI had a melonocyte transfer procedure for my vitiligo here in California. My picture is on the site Vitiligo net. I am the eyelid example.
ReplyDeleteHi Kelly!
ReplyDeleteMy name is Ricardo Martinez, iam from Mexico city. My experience with this disease is for a long long time....started with me in my right foot...but i didn't put much attention....then appears in my left hand....and i started to feel a little bit uncomfortable....in those days i started to dance, a hobby that provided me a lot of happiness...and suddenly my left-hand mark started to dissapear!...well.i think this disease can be faced finding some inner pace...doing something you like the most....i am still having this..but the doctor says that for the time i has been with this marks i am doing great...i have practiced Aikido,Mountain Bike, Dancing, Guitar lessons...and a lot of things...if you want to contact me...here is my email: ricks.mtz@hotmai.com
Hello Kelly,
ReplyDeleteI left you a message on youtube, I dont know if you saw it...
Anyway, I almost cured my vitiligo, I have couple of small spots left. As I told you, I bought a herbal tea and a creme from a man practicing traditional medicine. For me it really worked as well for the woman that recommended this treatment to me.
This "pack" is not available... anywhere actually, this man is not producing it in big ammounts nor he has a brand.
For all of you guys, I suggest to try to find something in traditional medicine, cuz I think that we can all agree that classical medicine has no long term cure. I saw some products in UAE as well. Here in Serbia, only couple of ppl know how to make this stuff.
Also I have heard of treatments in some clinic or smtg by Dead Sea, but I think its too long and too expensive.
So, my vote goes for traditional medicine and wish you all best of luck...
Sladjana
Hi Kelly! I've had vitiligo for 21 years and it's about 60 % covereage on my body now and still growing everyday. I like your tatoo idea, i've gotten one on my back for fun. I'm sorry you feel you need to cover up your vitiligo you're very beautiful and have nothing to be ashamed of. Your unique and nobody is like you in the world! I do understand though, i've just always embraced my vitiligo.
ReplyDeleteNice tattoo work, you picked a very complimentary one :) If you want to talk more, there are some awesome support sites for vit, one i'm a part of is vitiligofriends.org
Good luck and stay happy!
Hi there,
ReplyDeleteI know exactly how you feel... Mines started about 5-6 yrs ago... I started getting a few white eyelashes... and I thought it was due to stress... you know how they say.. people get white hairs when they get stressed.. anyway.. then i started getting white hairs on my eyebrow ( only right side ) and then the whole right side of my face around my eye turned white.. sometimes i feel okay with it.. i guess.. and then there are other times where i just really wish it would turn back normal.. and i'm not one of those girls that like to spend hours in front of the mirror putting on make up.. so i never bothered really to cover up.. unless it was for weddings and what not.. and yes I know how it feels where nothing seems to work.. creams, light treatments.. god i actually had light treatments for a whole YEAR.. 3x a week.. and the waiting to actually get treatment was HORRIBLE... i think that whole experience made me stress out even more so than the disease itself... sometimes i think i am okay with it because i tell myself that i have to be.. rather than to stress out so much about it.. when theres nothing i can really do? since i've tried almost everything.. Anyway so I was reading up on it again since the whole healthcare bill passed and haha it just reminded me of it i guess, anyway.. i actually read about a new treatment? atleast i think its new.. since i've never heard any doctors talk about it.. its called the " excimer laser" ? im not sure if you've heard about it.. but heres the site.. i know that this clinic is located in California. this is close by my location.. and i really would like to try it.. one day... haha like you.. i can't afford it right now.. I called in the other day to get a quote.. and they said it would be about $2000 for 6 weeks? http://www.laskinmd.com/psoriasisvitiligolosangeles.html ... i can't tell you this works because i havn't tried it, and obviously everyones different.. but if i should ever try this, i will repost and let you know how this goes.. and maybe you can find a dr. that does this treatment where you live and find out more about it as well. I know i'm a very optomistic person.. and gosh.. it sucks because I feel like i've been scammed a LOT of money from previous pills or creams, and random crap i've found on the internet.. so Hopefully this time around.. its' legit.. but hang in there.. youre not alone, and yes it does suck sometimes when people say " oh its not that bad..." or " i barley even notice it" its like OK if you don't have it, you don't really have a right to say its NOT THAT BAD.. haha but i guess they just tell us this because they care.. so keep your head up.. and hopefully i can try this treatment soon and let you know whats going on with it.
wow i wrote this long post.. but i don't know if it worked..
ReplyDeleteBTW, haha those tattoos are awesome.. and great idea for covering it up.. :)
ReplyDeleteits me again from the previous post... I forgot to add.. i'm not sure if your tattoos help protect your skin or not.. but don't forget sunblock when you are out in the sun just in case! :)
ReplyDeleteI just saw a new product called MICROSKIN on tv. A lady had lots of vitiligo spots on her face and it completely covered her up. Also check out Airbrush Makeup like DINAR. good luck :D
ReplyDeletegud day to all, im deejay, 18 years old from philippines, i have a vitiligo on my face, i have try a lots of treatment for this disease but my vitiligo is not response, still here. i want to remove this and to live a normal, i hope some one can help me..
ReplyDeletethanks.
Hoowwdyyy, I'm Janie, 43 y/o from Texas, I read Kellys' blog after seeing her video on youtube and just had to reach out to all with vitiligo. I've had it since I was 10 and I know it's not easy but just hold your head up smile, greet everyone that stares and have pride in yourself. It makes it easier.....contact me if you want d1panthina@yahoo.com... or here. Hope to hear from some of Ya'll....
ReplyDeleteHello, my name is Alana and I have some vitiligo on my back,
ReplyDeleteI want to get a tattoo on my back, not really to cover it up (I dont mind the look of it) but to protect it from getting burnt and from me getting sking cancer, does anyone know if a tattoo would protect it? please let me know
kelly
ReplyDeleteif you have segmental vitiligo,this responds best to melanocyte transplant surgery,i have been doing this for 12 years now, it is not expensive at all,
you can check out my web site
www.noblevitiligoclinic.com
it is unfortunate that people affected by vitiligo in usa do not have a lot of treatment options at all
dr vivek
hi i am also vitiligo affected person i treated these white patches but no better result i get i am very disappointed but i believe on Allah that one day he will recover me soon
ReplyDeleteHi Kelly, I am 38 years old and have had vitligo for 20 years. I started out on my face and spread from there. believe it or not the spot on my face (which was about 1 inch around on my forehead) repigmented about a year after realizing I had vitiligo. Vitiligo is an auto-immune disease and as of now has no cure so please don't let anyone tell you that there is some special medicine or homeopathic remedy to cure this. There is however many options available for treatment. There are topical creams that may help, PUVA Photochemotherapy, Oral medicine and of course coverup options. The first 3 options actually help your patches repigment using ultraviolet light or natural sunlight in addition to a topical cream or oral medicine. The final option is simply makeup. One makeup that I have read some great reviews on is a product called Dermablend. It can be found at Macy's and online but apparently there are many different shades so I suggest just going to a place that actually stocks it so you can get the right shade. It is a difficult disease to deal with at times and anymore I laugh when people look at my patches onj my arms, legs, and yes back on my face again.
ReplyDeletehi to all followers of this blog and also to kelly..i'm jr from philippines...i thought i have a vitiligo too..but i'm not 100% sure if it's really a vitiligo..i have it in my knee and feet..it was very white and the biggst one have a small round brown patch in the middle...but i'm sure it's not a fungi or a ringworm..i just want areply from all of you if it's a real vitiligo..and may you give me an info how to cure it..specially using tradional or natural treatment..pls help me..it greatly affect my social life..contact me at jr14_cabal@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteYes, surgery cost but it is effective. I had it done at International Vitiligo Center (most experienced in the field) and therir price is slightly lower than the one you refered to. See www.vitiligocenter.eu
ReplyDelete