#vitiligo xtrac

[vitiligofriends]

I must admit that taking photo’s of my XTRAC treatment results is a bit trying because I feel exposed- no pun intended.

Usually, during the day I wear makeup or I apply the Vitiligo Cover Lotion to hide my imperfections, but to show you the true effects of this laser treatment all must be natural and unretouched.

It’s important to me that we find a treatment that can help a lot of people with their vitiligo, so I will endure the embarrassment, lol.

My 4th treatment was on Friday, December 28th. Remember, the areas which are being treated are: my forehead, my elbows, and my hands.

Because I have a fair complexion, it is difficult to see the beginnings of pigmentation, but the pinkish areas on my forehead do indicate that the skin is responding to the NBUVB rays.

[vitiligofriends]

The morning after Christmas I found myself sitting in a chair at the dermatologists office instead of being among the myriad of shoppers at the mall.

Before the treatment began, I asked the dermatologist the question which appeared most this week on the blog…”how much do these treatments cost if your insurance won’t cover it?” Unfortunately it’s a subjective question, so a definitive answer could not be given.

First and foremost, it was suggested to find a dermatologist who offer the service on a sliding scale according to income. What a fantastic idea since this option should be open to everyone. It also dawned on me that there may be many people who have a hard time finding a job because their vitiligo may deter a potential employer from hiring them. It’s not fair, but this may be a fact of life for some.

Secondly, the amount of vitiligo coverage must be factored into the total cost because the more white patches that need to be treated, the more visits which need be made. When using narrow-band UVB, many dermatologist prefer to treat patients with less than 10% coverage to lessen exposure. It was estimated that 5% of my body has vitiligo, but that sounds rather high to me.

All in all, the treatments would cost approximately $100 to $200 per session. Remember, this is a guesstimate and you should call dermatologists in your area to better grasp the treatment costs.

Here are the photos of my treated areas after the third visit:

[vitiligofriends]

Color me impressed! The new method of applying the laser is making an incredible difference in my treatments. I’ve seen more pigmentation appear over the past 2 months than I have in the previous 5. I’m not taking any additional supplements, but i do go to the pool about 4 times per week, so this may be helping as well.

It seems only natural to assume that because the white patches of skin are not protected by pigment that we should stay out of the sun, but I feel that with careful monitoring of time spent under the rays one can benefit two-fold…your skin will begin to repigment and spending time outdoors will certainly lift your spirits.

I don’t use SPF, but i suppose for safety sake i should recommend that you do.

Now, go out and enjoy the beautiful sunny day!

[vitiligofriends]

My XTRAC laser treatments have produced fabulous results so far and yesterday they made a change that i feel will make a huge difference.

First, let me explain a typical treatment session: Read more

[vitiligofriends]

It’s been a long time coming, but here they are; recent photo’s of my Excimer XTRAC laser treatments. I don’t have the before photo’s at my immediate disposal, so when you’re looking at these, keep one thing in mind: wherever you see little dots of pigmentation…that’s all new. And even though you can’t really tell in the photo’s, my skin also began pigmenting from the outer white lines inward. Oddly enough, because I’ve been in the sun a bit lately, the newly pigmented skin is also tanning, so it appears darker than my normal pigmented skin. Read more

[vitiligofriends]

I received an email from a reader in London letting me know that the same treatments that i am getting is now available in London, England. Here is the link to the site: http://www.londonlaser.com/vitiligo.html

Cheers Qadeer for sharing this info with us.

[vitiligofriends]

Here we go…pigmentation is starting. When you look at the photo’s, notice the darker areas, that’s the newly pigmented spots. A few can be found in the middle of the white patches, but for the most part, the new pigmentation starts from the edges and works its way inward.

I had my 7th treatment today and my dermatologist was very happy with the progress…and so am I!