7d ago
Fifty-six and back on the dating apps. I genuinely never thought I'd type that sentence. Divorce came through eighteen months ago and I spent most of last year just... existing. Keeping the house going, keeping myself going. Not much more than that. But something shifted a bit recently and a friend basically bullied me (lovingly) into signing up to one of the apps. So here I am. Had a first date last week. Actual dinner, not just a coffee. And the days beforehand I was in a complete state. Not about him particularly, just about my body being so unpredictable now. The dryness is something I've never had to think about before and suddenly it's this enormous thing in my head. The flushes. The way I can look completely fine and then feel like I'm radiating heat from my face for no reason. I kept thinking, how do I explain any of this to someone new? Do I even have to? Date was fine by the way. He was perfectly nice. Nothing earth-shattering but I got through it and I didn't die, so. I've got a GP appointment coming up and I've been writing things down beforehand because last time I felt so flustered I forgot half of what I wanted to say. I want to talk about the dryness properly this time. I've been embarrassed about mentioning it but I'm going to make myself. Also want to raise how much this is all affecting my confidence, because I don't think I've ever said that out loud to a doctor. That it's not just physical. It's this whole layer of feeling like my body is somehow working against me at the exact moment I'm trying to start again. Anyone else navigating this? Dating after a long marriage while your body is doing completely new and frankly inconvenient things? I could do with knowing I'm not the only one 😊 x