11 Jun
Nobody told me about the itching. Genuinely nobody. Hot flushes, yes, I'd heard about those for years. Brain fog, fine, I'd read about that. But this? My shins feel like sandpaper. My forearms are itching at 2am. The skin on my chest looks sort of... papery? Like it aged about ten years while I was getting on with everything else. I'm 45 and only just realised I need to start actually documenting what's changed visibly, because when I finally get in front of a GP or a dermatologist I am going to stand there and go completely blank. So I've started taking photos. Boring ones. Just my face, my arms, a close-up of the dry patches near my hairline. Date-stamped. It feels a bit strange but I want to be able to say "look, this is what it looked like in January, this is now" rather than just waving vaguely at my face and saying it's worse. Also started eating more oily fish and eggs because I'd read something about fats and skin barrier and I figured it couldn't hurt. Can't say if it's doing anything yet. Probably too early. Has anyone actually got anywhere useful with a dermatology referral on the NHS? I don't know if this is a GP conversation or a skin conversation or honestly just a menopause conversation dressed up as a skin conversation. All feels a bit tangled x