5d ago
The itching is sending me absolutely round the bend. Not a rash, nothing to see, just this constant crawling sensation across my shins and upper arms that started maybe eight months ago. I mentioned it to my GP almost as an afterthought and she looked at me like I'd said something mildly eccentric. Handed me a leaflet about eczema. I do not have eczema. I am 45 and I am in menopause and my skin has basically stopped being my skin. The dryness as well. My face looks fine in a dim room and then I catch it in a car window in daylight and it's like someone stretched cling film over a walnut. I know that sounds dramatic. It IS dramatic. Nobody in any conversation I ever had about the change mentioned itching. Not once. I've got a GP appointment in three weeks and I want to actually be useful this time instead of walking out feeling fobbed off. So I've started photographing my skin weekly, arms and jawline mostly, just so I have something concrete to point at. And I've been trying to eat more salmon, eggs, avocado, that sort of thing, because I read something about skin barrier and fats and at this point I'll try anything that doesn't cost forty quid. Does anyone here know what to actually ask when you're trying to get a dermatology referral? Like the specific words that make a GP take it seriously? x