Vitiligo now covers 100% of my skin. ama

Does this make you sunburn more easily now? Does your skin tan when exposed to UV?

My skin does not tan at all. Only color I get is red. And yes I burn easy bit for some reason only in presence of water, rain, pool or waterpark. Dry heat does not bother me that much.

It's normal for all people to burn more around water, it reflects the light and gives you more sun exposure than you'd think.

So I guess that's where the difference becomes clear. People can lie and tan for hours, I burn in 10 minutes.

How do you still manage to look cool, before and after?

:)

Answer the question, sir.

"ThingsThatAreBoss" are you a bot? Its nice to get compliments and I thank OP for that.

Please, sir, this is still not an answer to his original question.

Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.

Have you noticed any changes in the way people interact with you based on how they perceive your race?

I do notice that they react different. Sometimes its funny.

Expand?

So once I was at target and someone behind me said something like "move along dumb ass" in my native tongue not expecting me to know it. He did not expect me to know. I moved my cart and said "I am sorry" in native language. His wife/girlfriend laughed so hard and his expression was priceless. Similar thing happened at the front desk of an Indian restaurant.

At a Chinese buffet me and some of my friends went for lunch the server handed me the check on a table of seven. It was pointed out to me because I was the only "white". We tried it twice more and no matter where I sat I always got the check.

Haha. Wow. Weird.

Me and my girlfriend who is not white were once at a beach and she noticed that few of the old people were giving us a weird look. It took me some time to realize that they did not like us being a mixed race couple. lol

We still have a long way to go!

If old people are the problem, then it's not too long of a wait.

lol! I know I should not laugh but this is funny.

Do you find it easier to get approved for credit?

My name on the application still does not sound white. lol

Change your name and you will have gamed the game.

Good Idea. Any suggestion for a good white name? lol

John Doe.

That would confuse the government so much. Arrest warrant issued against John Doe or John Doe owes 10K in back taxes. the file will go straight to cold cases.

Evan James

That would increase my credit score by 100.

Oh, some kind of name that's obviously from a very white country.

You could go Irish: Ciarán O'Malley

Or Dutch: Willem de Zwart

Maybe Scandinavian: Søren Jonsson

Polish?: Przemyslaw Czubak

Thanks. May be I will mix and match like. Willem Czubak. I will try to pick french accent. I think that will go nice with this name.

Tyrone Sango

Tyrone Sango

That doesn't sound very white. I need a name that makes me sound like an established KKK member. lol

Wesley snipes

Wesley Shoots

Kevin. Kevin is the whitest name.

Kevin Hart

Bobby or Hank Hill?

Well I feel like a moon shine smuggler already.

Michael Jackson ?

May be not, the name comes with a lot of baggage. :)

That is interesting, I didn't know it could encompass your whole body like that. (I know Micheal Jackson supposedly had it, but he just went from black to white and not speckles in between) My mom has this on her hands, feet, face and a few other random spots. Her's affects the color of the hair growing in those spots as well. Do people treat you better now that you don't have patches anymore? My mom was pale skinned to begin with so she just didn't tan and wore makeup.

For the first 2-3 years I sought after numerous treatment for vitiligo. Every treatment seem to increase it. I had so many dietary restrictions. starting 2012 I decided to give up on treating and enjoy. This is the result. I am happy with it. And yes I too have grey hair on a lot of places because of Vitiligo I shave some hair color some and don't care about rest.

Some sourceless comment I saw said that MJ had it, but used make up to cover up the "different" spots. So at no point did you ever see his condition as it should appear.

Some other people also claim he never really had it. I'll likely never know the truth.

There are some medication that help you bleach your skin and become white fast. That is a treatment advised for people who have over 60% area covered with white patches. The draw back is that it makes skin extremely sensitive to sun and all your hair turn grey. The reason why MJ had umbrella over him everywhere he went.

He had a single white glove. There are people that worked with him that said it was to hide the early onset of vitiligo. My dad has it only on his hands randomly. It seems to start there for a lot of people.

I knew someone who had just this one spot between his thumb and index finger of the size of a lays chip.

At that point its just a reverse birth mark :-)

Yes but that person was in his 50's and so self-conscious about it. Would cover it with makeup. The problem with Vitiligo is that the patient is his/her biggest enemy.

I'm pretty sure his autopsy confirmed it. And his son has it.

Yes it did. People still won't believe it because it could have been arranged.

Do you ever pretend to be racist because you look white?

Yes yes I do. Just as a joke and only among close friends. Its funny for I can get away with it.

Tell em you're indonesian, or filipino, then say a line of jibberish, or real tagalog, they won't know the difference. ;P

I am can just say my native country and I do speak 3 languages other than English.

What is your native country, and what languages do you speak?

Lets just say I am from somewhere in Asia and I speak 3 Asian languages.

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No. Guess again.

I'm guessing Taiwan

Chinese Taipei

FTFY

Republic of China

FTFY

I never thought anyone would call me Chinese, well there is a first for everything.

Now guessing my country of origin is a game. Cool I am in.

Do you have any before pictures? Oh, and in the imgur album why did you block your eyes out in 5 of the pictures but on the 6th you didn't? Seems kinda pointless lol.

I do not have any digital images. Might scan them and post them later. I had the last pic with eyes blocked but that one showed up in Google image search so I posted another one and forgot to block the eyes. LOL.

Neat.

How does it feel to be white?

Did your penis also change color? How has this affected your sensitivity?

How long did the process take? Did your changing skin itch?

Can you change back and forth like a chameleon now?

Honestly it feels good to be of one color after a long time. Yes it did. Only change in sensitivity was towards sun. So unless I am making love to a girl out in the open on a sunny day everything is still the same. It tool almost 12 years for total transformation. Vitiligo causes no itching or pain of any sort. This is the reason it is a disorder and not a disease. Yes I can change color depending on my surrounding.

have you ever heard of re-vitiligo?

Only in case of Uncle Ruckus.

I suspect my brother has it, even working inside most of the daylight hours, he just looks more and more like a damned red indian every year. Course, it doesn't help that he's in Florida, so 4-5 hours outside, and poof! From tan to red indian. ;)

Dude, we need to work on these racial epithets...

What if the Brother is Indian and he turns red making him red Indian.

Well if he has vitiligo he will glow under black light. He should use sunscreen getting burns is not good for skin.

Glow? I want a picture of that.

Next time I go to a bowling ally I will get remember to take a picture.

Do you know anyone else with Vitilgo? And if so, what's your relationship with them?

6 years after I was diagnosed with Vitiligo, my father also noticed a few patches on his skin. His vitiligo is also progressing very fast.

Can this just happen at some point in your life or have you always had this?

It could happen anytime. Most o the cases I have seen generally start after some sickness or injury when the body is weak and recovering.

Good sir, I believe your vitiligo is contagious. Soon everyone around you will be white.

In that case I should start a business. :)

Did your penis get smaller when you turned white?

I was worried that might happen. For some time there was contrast with the base color and it looked even bigger, but now its the same size but white. ;)

How does it affect your life now that it covers your whole body?

For one I am less self conscious and more confident. I take more care not get sun burnt and I see people treat me better specially while out shopping or in Job interviews.

Can you tan? I guess this is similar to Infernal Wedgie's query, but just yesterday I was scratching my head about this whole Zoom Tan craze. I live in Southwest Florida. I am extremely tan. The sun sears every single day. How has this business become so successful here? Anyway, can you get a tan?

I can ton only the spray kind. Sun/UV only burns me.

Is your skin more sensitive to touch now?

No, not really but I did notice that get scratches easily. I get cuts or scratches that I have no idea how I got them.

Wow, I didn't know that Vitiligo would progress this way, effectively changing your entire skin color... Did you notice a change on the way people treat you based on how you look? I think that the aversion that some people experience towards persons affected by vitiligo is more based on aesthetics... So, did people started "accepting" you more as the patches started becoming less and less?

People were already accepting. I never faced any kind of rudeness. There was at times by my overly self-conscious issues but rarely from someone else. I do recall some people being curious and this one dumb girl who thought it was contagious and she could contract it by shaking hands with me.

Same thing happened to me in elementary school :(((

Elementary school can be brutal. I am sorry about that. No grown up or teen has ever been rude to be about vitiligo back when I had patches. But small kids would always ask what happened? Why are you like that? And its never easy to explain to them.

1. How long did the change take, all in all?
2. You say that you feel people react differently to you now that they think you're white. Can you elaborate on this? I'm really interested to hear an objective account of what it's like to 'change race', so to speak.
3. Did you ever contemplate wearing makeup to try and blend the spots or did you just leave it as is? Did that ever make you self-conscious?

Sorry for slow reply:

*1. It took 12 years in total. Till 2011 I did not have many spots on my face so I was taking precautions to prevent if from spreading. Once it reached my face I stopped doing anything for it.

*2. There has been a shift on the behavior on every side. For example I get better service at restaurants. Once this elderly guy walked to my car in parking lot to tell me that I should be careful in snow as he just say a mustang like mine get into accident but when he saw two other people in car he realized I am not white and got very awkward and said "namaste" and left. There are many more.

*3. I never wore makeup never felt the need to. I was self-conscious when the first time some spots appeared on my hand. I would keep my hand in my pocket all the time. I realized none of the people were bothered or said anything. I was the same person/friend/cousin with or without these marks. I stopped caring about them. There were some dark days when I would see some new area covered be a bit sad but I guess everyone around me was supportive by not pointing it out.

Edit: Format

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I don't see why I can't use the "N" word. Just not a good word for anyone to say. No people have no clue even after knowing my name. A girl i worked with thought I was from Egypt and for someone thought I am from Ukraine or somewhere.

Have you considered being a spokesman for Fair and Lovely?

If they pay the right price, sure.

My husband has vitiligo and he was told it was inherited and can only be passed down on the mother's side(his mother had it) and not the father's side. I'm not sure that's true but he was very happy he couldn't/didn't pass it on to our child.

The wikipedia article doesn't seem to be entirely accurate. It didn't mention a genetic connection as a possible cause.

So onto questions: 1) Do you know if your case is inherited or caused by an autoimmune disease? From your description, it doesn't sound like there was a trigger event that started this.

2)If inherited, do you worry about passing this on to future offspring?

Well from all my research online and talking to over a dozen of doctors, there is no known cause for vitiligo. My dad also has vitiligo, his was diagnosed six years or so after me. Yes I am a bit worried that I might pass it on to my offspring, but there is always a small chance that they might get it even if I never had it. I wish your husband good luck. I was lucky to have friends and family who supported me and I guess he has too.

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Vitiligo is heredity; no surprise there, but it can start at any age. For me 16, my dad 52 some people never. I know kids as young as 2 and people as old as 80 getting it.

Doctors don't know why the cells fail or die. It may be related to:

A disorder in which your immune system attacks and destroys the melanocytes in the skin
Family history (heredity)
A trigger event, such as sunburn, stress or exposure to industrial chemicals

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/vitiligo/basics/causes/con-20032007

Why did you cover your eyes in all but the last photo? I know it's really not the most important question in the thread, I'm just genuinely curious

I replace the last picture at the last minute. Now I feel i should not have covered the previous picture as well. It really doesn't matter.

Yeah, definitely not a big deal. You seem to have a great outlook on everything. Keep it up! Cheers!

Thanks. From what I have learned ones appearance might be good for first impression but its ones personality that makes the lasting impact that matters.

Sorry if it's been asked, but are you happier now that it's 100%, as in it's not noticeable patches anymore and people just assume you're a white guy?

I was never shy about my vitiligo. I am not very attractive, or tall or athletic but that was one thing that made me stand out. No one who meet me once could forget me for I was different. As a kid I never had to do yard work or chores that meant going out in sun. Since I turned all white I am one among all. I blend in. Seeing how I am in America being white has its privileges too. So i guess I am some what happier.

Cool, I imagine myself I'd be very annoyed by people staring and whatnot in public, but if you could own it then more power to you my friend!

Well you got to make the best of every situation. I still get staired at times.

Do you wanna be startin somethin?

I didn't get it.

It's a Michael Jackson reference.

Thanks for explaining. To answer OP. Yes i be starting somethin.

Will your skin ever get its old color? What are your thoughts on losing this vitiligo?

I doubt that my skin pigmentation would ever return. I am happy that I am of a single color after a long time. I hate that I get sun burn so easily. Lucky for me this disorder does not cause any pain or discomfort. On a day to day bases I never really worried about it or thought of it as a problem.

What has been the biggest effect of Vitiligo on your life?

It started when I was 16 so it killed my chance with girls or that's what I thought. What I learned from my friends and my first serious girlfriend that it was all in my head. I learned to value myself.

For girls, there's always pervs out there, like me, who want to see where all the fade out spots are. :D

So, I imagine there are females who are similarly curious the other way round.

That's the reason I am on Reddit. To find a girl/s like that.

What treatments did you use: UV light? Cream?

What dietary restrictions were you on? Did stress cause it to progress?

Yes I tried UV, creams, herbal, some steroid medication, etc, etc. The main dietary restriction was no vitamin C.

Dietary restrictions because of the medication? Or is vitamin c bad for vitiligo?

Vitamin C is bad for Vitiligo. Good for skin. A lot of other acidic food as well including soft drinks not good for Vitiligo.

Ah, kinda wish I knew that before it spread...

In that case consume a lot of these and you will be all white sooner.

Ha ha, I already am white though. Some parts more so than others.

In that case you should invest in good sun screen.

A few questions if you don't mind brah:

• Do you prefer to have some spots or do you prefer to have just turned white?

• Also, Is Vertiligo just an issue that affects appearance or is there a legit health problem/effect to it?

• How long did the whole process take?

• How did people react to you when you looked like in picture 2?

I am here to answer questions, thanks for asking.

• I prefer to be of a single color, white, black or any other shade in between.

• Vitiligo effects skin and hair pigmentation. It does not cause any physical damage to health. All the damage is physiological.

• For me it took almost 12 years.

• Most of them made joke about my hairstyle. No one ever said anything mean. A lots of time people had questions specially because someone they know also has it. A few times they wanted to know how it happened and what not to do so they don't get it. At times kids would ask why are you like that? But no one made a big deal out of it no one treated my any different.

I have vitiligo on my face though not on my arms nor my legs. Will this thing grow? Have you had them in your armpit and your crouch first?

For me it started on my chest. It grew to my knees and my elbows. And later to my fingers and toes. My face was last to get white patches. Yes it did spread to my genitals and my armpit as well.

I literally have it on my dick. Lets hope it doesnt spread.

Won't you like the color of your ball sack match the color of your dick :P

On a serious note you should see a doctor because if you have just one or two patches the treatment is fairly easy.

Have you noticed a difference in the way people have treated you when you looked more white?

Yes I did. For one people stopped asking me "Where are you from?" Also the store attendants are less suspicions that i would steal something. Although that might be because I am not a student anymore and I dress better.

How does its spread, like does it just fade or what? Also how long did it take you to find out what it was and what did you first think?

Most of my spots had rough edges. Some even like spray, small white dots on normal skin and they would slowly grow and cover the area. Some times there were spots which i would see and be like, "where did this come from?". Also all cuts and scratch would turn white leaving an outline of the original cut/scratch. Shaving was a bi**h and that is how lot of my face turned white.

Do you have, or have you ever had, any freckles?

No never but at times the colored patches near my nose looked like freckles. Freckles are clusters of concentrated melanin and my skin has no melanin not anymore.

Have you considered moving to cloudy/rainy places the like UK?

I did move from Texas to NJ. Thank god for sun screen I can enjoy sun.

Have you experienced any negative health problems from it?

No health problems. Only things I notice that I get sun burns easy and my hair turn grey in the most unexpected places.

Michael Jackson apparently felt the need to change his features to be more Caucasian with plastic surgery after he began to get whiter from vitiligo. Have you considered it?

Just don't do your nose ten times until just falls off.

I am and have been very comfortable in my own skin, dark, patchy or white. I have never thought of any alteration. May be braces for my teeth but that's it, nothing more.

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So this is what I know to be fact. He used treatment to bleach his skin white. Naturally vitiligo won't progress that fast. The underlying reason he did it can very well be vitiligo. Which can be a kind of deal breaker for a famous celebrity.

For some reason today for a musician to be popular he/she has to be good looking. In MJ's situation I might have done the same thing.

Which color would you rather be? You personally, how are you side effects other than aesthetics?

All I can say is I would like to be one color. Either would work. If I had to chose. My original skin color because I like out door activities.

What are your thoughts on the actor Milo Ventimiglia?

I really enjoyed is role in the TV series "Heroes"* and I think he has potential to be next Hollywood star, but I am not sure what he has to do with Vitiligo.

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lol and No. Life has been more or less good to me. :)

Can you get a tan with vitiligo?

Vitiligo is caused because the skin pigment cells start dying. So the areas that have white patches can not create more pigment (tan). The rest of the body does get tan. That is one reason vitiligo patients are told to avoid sun. Because of they get tan the contrast makes white patches more visible.

Does your chocolate starfish should be called vanilla starfish now?

lol

How to I make waffles just the way I like them without damaging my nipples?

Using a good waffle maker.

But I said just the way I like them...

Using the Waffle maker that makes waffle the way you like them.

Isn't this more of a cure than a disease?

cure for racism maybe. Humans are smart, if racism ends we will find something else, money, religion or the size of a persons genitals.