3d ago
The itching. Nobody mentioned the itching. I genuinely thought I had an allergy for about three months. Kept switching washing powder, threw out my favourite body lotion, convinced my husband to stop using his aftershave near me. Turns out my skin has just... changed. It's dry in this deep way that no amount of moisturiser seems to properly fix, and I get this crawling, prickly feeling across my shins and forearms mostly, sometimes my scalp. I've started taking photos of the dry patches because I want to show my GP something concrete rather than just saying "it's itchy and weird". She's lovely but last time I came in without anything to show her I felt like I was describing a dream. Hard to take seriously I suppose. So now I've got this slightly grim little photo album on my phone of my own legs. Very glamorous at 45. Also been thinking about what I actually eat because I read something about skin needing decent fats and protein to hold moisture properly. Whether that's true or not I have no idea but I've been making sure I'm eating things like eggs and oily fish most days rather than just grabbing whatever. Feels like doing *something* while I wait for my dermatology referral to come through. Did anyone else get this symptom and just... not connect it to hormones for ages? I feel a bit daft that it took me so long x