13 Jun
Denise, 45. I want to talk about the itching because honestly I thought I was losing my mind. It started on my shins. Then my arms. Then this maddening patch on my back I can't quite reach. No rash, nothing to show anyone, just this constant crawling under-the-skin itch that gets worse in the evening. I slathered on every moisturiser I owned. Switched washing powder. Convinced myself it was something I was eating. It took me an embarrassingly long time to even connect it to the menopause because nobody, not my mum, not a single leaflet, not the GP who confirmed I was in menopause last year, mentioned that your skin could just... stop working like skin. And the dryness on top of it. My face looks different. Not just older, different. Like the texture has changed underneath somehow. I've spent more money in the last six months on serums and creams than I care to admit and I genuinely can't tell if any of it is helping or if I'm just less stressed about it because I'm doing something. I've got a dermatology referral coming (finally, after going back to the GP twice) and I've been trying to think about what to actually say. I've started taking photos because I know I'll walk in there and go blank. Also writing down when it's worst, what I'd eaten, how much water I'd had, that kind of thing. I read somewhere that omega-3s and getting enough protein can support skin from the inside and I've been making more of an effort there, more eggs, more oily fish, less skipping meals. Whether that's doing anything I genuinely don't know but it feels better than just buying another cream. Anyone else had this? Did your dermatologist take it seriously or did you get the 'use a good moisturiser' brush-off? x