Is there any point seeing GP for vitiligo? (Pic)

[teafordds]

I’m pretty sure I have vitiligo.
It started a couple of years ago with just a tiny white spot on my eyelid and my eyebrow hairs coming in white. Never bothered me and I wouldn’t have said it was noticeable as I have quite fair skin anyway.
Over the last few weeks though it has become a lot worse, it’s spread across the side of my face and I have some dark patches on my stomach too, and lighter patches on the inside of my elbows.
My dad has vitiligo (over his whole body) and I wondered if there was any point mentioning it to the Gp? Im slightly concerned at how fast it seems to have spread lately, but am I right in doubting they could really do anything anyway?

And excuse the pic 🙈

I have it too but on my hands and feet, not my face yet. There's nothing they can do. I just got pretty much 'yep, that's vitiligo. Oh well' from the gp. Have you been stressed lately? I think that can cause it to progress faster

Oh really? Yes I’ve had a lot of stress lately, didn’t realise that could have exacerbated it. Do you think it’s vitiligo looking at the pic, is it similar to yours? The reaction of your gp is precisely why I wondered if it was worth going!
I do have other health issues but I think it’s a stretch to wonder if any of it’s connected, If stress makes it progress faster then that makes more sense.
Thank you.

Yes it looks like vitiligo. You prob have an autoimmune disease could be related to diabetes, thyroid issues etc. in the family. sorry there is no cure, but at least there's more publicity about it now reducing stigma. The latest Victoria secrets model has it all over her body.

Yes
Some auto immune conditions linked
And dermatologist may be interested to see you

If you have one auto immune condition then it's more likely you have another also. I think it's something like 20% of people with vitiligo also have another related condition.

For this reason it wouldn't do any harm to see your go to confirm. It could be that your health issues are linked. There are other things like fungal infections that can cause skin to lose pigment but it does look like vitiligo.

A couple of years ago I had large patches on my hands that spread fairly quickly. For some reason a lot of them have filled back in now, it's mainly just my finger tips and thumbs that are white now. I think it may be related to diet, stress levels and exercise so that could be something to look into.

If you use Facebook come and join us Vitiligo uk support. We are a lovely (patchy) bunch. I have it on my face.

I’ve vitiligo as well, I’ve had it tho since I was a kid (very small patches) and learned to try and love it. Easier said than done!

My son has vitiligo. He’s very fair and it’s mainly noticeable when he has a bit of a tan. Years ago he was prescribed light treatment through the physio department, I can’t remember what wave length but it helped repigment several areas.
Worth mentioning to your dr.

Ah thank you all so much - I realise I don’t actually know much about vitiligo at all!
My dd is being tested for sle (which is autoimmune) - could that be linked too? This is all so insightful.
The doctors don’t actually know what’s wrong with me tbh, a few years back I started with a terrible back pain and ended up in hospital for weeks, I need to use a catheter now and have dystonia in my foot and walk with crutches, but the doctors have never been able to find a cause.
I’ll definitely mention this vitiligo, either to gp or to my neurologist when I next go.
Thank you all, I wouldn’t have thought to even discuss it at all

I have it in exactly the same place!

I went to the GP, just to get it added to my medical record. My GP was also pretty much "Yep, that's vitiligo, we don't do anything about it" ....

I have patches mainly on my hands, feet and face. They do spread quickly with stress which is annoying.

My GP couldn't be more unbothered about it if he tried.

I wasn't a fan of the Facebook group (found my feed filled up with people intent on trying reverse it with various treatments) but really like L'Oréal true match minerals powder foundation. It doesn't cover patches the way a full coverage makeup would but sort of evens out my skin tone overall. Like you, I have small areas of hyper pigmentation too so a bit of powder make up really gives me a quick confidence boost when I feel like my skin looks a bit muddy and uneven.

I'd mention it when you next see a professional about your other health issues but on its own, I wouldn't bother. It's unlikely to give any of them a eureka moment.

I’ve had it for 20 years on my body but it’s now spread to my face. GP referred me to the hospital who simply shone a light on my patch (only one in those days) and said ‘yes, it’s vitiligo, no, we can’t do anything about it, just make sure you wear sunblock on that patch when you go out as it’ll burn’. However if you have any other autoimmune conditions it might be good to mention it to your GP.

Thanks everyone for replying, and advice. I’m surprised how many people actually have vitiligo.
I’ll mention it at my next appointment, but won’t make one specifically for it.

My dd had a patch on her back for years but I've noticed that recently she has it spreading on her face. I am reluctant to take her to the Dr as I don't want to draw attention to it (barely noticeable as she's fair) but after this I think it would be sensible. I probably have an autoimmune condition so yes, will get it checked out.

Definitely worth getting checked in case you have another autoimmune condition which needs meds or monitoring. I have vit & an autoimmune thyroid issue. If you see a dermatologist you can get prescriptions for camouflage make up if you want d to help cover the white patches.

As an aside, I was recently on holiday (& the tan obviously exacerbates the white) & a lady approached me to say she'd had vitiligo & started taking vit b12 sublingually & 40mg ginkgo biloba daily & it helped re pigment her skin so she urged me to try it. Have been looking into getting the ginkgo so haven't started yet but going to give it a try.