Denise

Right, I need to talk about the itching. Because I was prepared for the hot flushes. I was prepared, sort of, for the mood stuff. Nobody, and I mean absolutely nobody, mentioned that my skin would turn into this dry, angry, crawling thing that wakes me up at 2am because my shins are on fire for no reason. I'm 45. I thought dry skin was a winter thing. A getting-older thing I'd deal with with a slightly nicer moisturiser. Not a full-on scratching-through-my-tights situation in a meeting. I've got a GP appointment in three weeks and I'm trying to actually document what's changed so I don't just sit there and go blank like I always do. So I've started noting things down, where it's worst (arms, shins, weirdly my ears), when it flares, whether I've eaten well that day or not. I've been making more of an effort with oily fish, avocado, eggs, partly because someone in another thread mentioned healthy fats and it stuck in my brain, and I genuinely think my skin looks marginally less papery when I do? Could be nothing. Could be placebo. I don't know. I want to ask the GP whether this warrants a dermatology referral or whether it's squarely a hormonal thing, and I don't want to be fobbed off with "try E45" again. Has anyone gone down the dermatology route and actually found it useful? Or do they just send you back to the GP anyway x

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

Can I just say, nobody. NOBODY. told me about the itching. I was prepared for the flushes. I was sort of prepared for the mood stuff. I had heard about the hair. But the skin? The constant, crawling, dry, itchy skin that feels like I've been wrapped in fibreglass insulation? Not a single person mentioned that. Not my mum, not my GP, not one of the leaflets in the waiting room. It started on my shins about eight months ago and I thought it was just winter dryness. Then it spread. My forearms. My back. That weird patch on my collarbone that I cannot stop scratching in meetings. I've been through three different moisturisers, two of which made it worse, and I've started sleeping in cotton gloves which is both deeply unglamorous and only mildly helpful. I've started taking photos actually. Sounds odd but I read somewhere in this community that a visual timeline is useful before a dermatology appointment, so I've been doing that for the past six weeks. The redness, the flaky bits, the general sadness of my forearms. Because I want to be able to show someone rather than just describe it and get fobbed off with "it's just dry skin, use E45". I've also been eating more deliberately. More oily fish, avocado, eggs, that kind of thing. Not following anything specific, just trying to give my skin something to work with. Whether it's helping or it's wishful thinking, genuinely cannot tell yet. Is anyone else dealing with this? And has anyone actually got a useful dermatology referral through their GP, or is that a pipe dream on the NHS right now? x

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

Right. Nobody. Not one person. Not my mum, not my GP, not a single leaflet or magazine article ever said anything about the itching. I thought I had an allergy. Spent about forty quid on different washing powders. Saw my GP twice about a rash that wasn't really a rash. It's my skin, it's just... dry and angry and sometimes it crawls, which sounds dramatic but that is the only word for it. Shins. Upper arms. The back of my neck at night. I'm 45 and in full menopause after a surgical one two years ago and I genuinely feel like I was handed zero information about what would happen to the outside of me. I knew about the flushes. I was not prepared for the skin I've been living in since. I've got a dermatology referral finally (took some pushing, I won't lie) and I'm trying to go in with something useful rather than just 'it's itchy and I feel awful about it'. So I've been writing down what changed and roughly when. The texture shift came first, I think around six months post-op. The dryness on my face maybe three months after that. The weird itchy patches probably started last winter. Also started eating more deliberately, more oily fish, eggs, avocado when it's not an outrageous price, just because someone in a thread here mentioned skin and protein and it stuck with me. Can't say it's fixed anything but it feels like doing something. Has anyone else had to fight for a dermatology referral? And did you bring anything written down or photos? I'm wondering whether to show up with a little timeline or whether that makes me look unhinged 😅

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

45 and I have genuinely been losing my mind over my skin. Not the flushing, not the mood stuff. My SKIN. It itches. All the time. My shins, my arms, the back of my neck. I scratched myself raw one night thinking I'd picked up something from the garden and it was just... me. My own body. And the dryness on my face is a different kind of dry to anything I've had before. Like the moisture has packed its bags and left without a forwarding address. I've tried three different moisturisers in the past two months and I feel like I'm putting water on sand. I'm trying to eat more protein and good fats because I read something about it and it can't hurt, and I have noticed my skin feels marginally less angry on days I've actually eaten properly. Marginally. Don't get excited. What I really want is to go to the GP with something concrete, so I've been taking photos of my face and arms every couple of weeks. Sounds a bit odd but I want to be able to say "look, this is what changed and when" rather than just sitting there going "it's just... different?" while she nods politely. Has anyone actually got a dermatology referral through their GP for this stuff or does it get brushed off as cosmetic? Genuinely asking x

The itching. Nobody. NOBODY. I cannot stress this enough. I was prepared for the flushes, prepared to feel a bit tired, even prepared for the mood stuff. But this? My shins at 11pm feel like they are being attacked from the inside. My forearms. The side of my neck. I scratched myself raw in bed last week and genuinely thought I had some sort of allergy. And the dryness isn't just, y'know, dry skin. It's tight. My face feels like paper by 3 in the afternoon. I used to have normal skin. Not great, not terrible. Normal. Now I look in the mirror and I don't know whose face that is. I've got a GP appointment coming up and I'm trying to put together a proper timeline of what changed and when, because I know if I walk in and just say "my skin's gone weird" I'll get a leaflet about E45 and a polite goodbye. So I've been writing things down. When the itching started, where it is, what the dryness feels like, whether it's worse at certain times. I took a few photos too because I figured I'd forget the details. I've also been reading about protein and fats and skin integrity (fell down a bit of a rabbit hole honestly) and I've been trying to eat more eggs, oily fish, that sort of thing. Whether it's helping I genuinely don't know yet. Probably too early to say. Does anyone know what I should actually be asking a dermatologist? Like if the GP refers me, what are the right questions? I feel like I'll go blank the second I sit down. x

Nobody warned me about the itching. Genuinely nobody. Hot flushes, yes, heard about those for years. Mood stuff, fine. But this constant crawling, prickling feeling across my shins and upper arms? I thought I had scabies. I genuinely googled scabies at half eleven on a Tuesday. And then the skin itself. It's just... different. Dry in a way that no amount of moisturiser seems to touch. I've spent a small fortune on things that promise to plump and hydrate and restore and they all just sit on top like I'm a laminated surface. I've got a GP appointment coming up and I want to actually be useful for once rather than saying 'I don't know, it just feels worse?' So I've been taking photos. Which feels deeply embarrassing to admit but there it is. Arms, jawline, that weird dry patch near my hairline. Dated on my phone. Because I have a feeling she's going to ask what changed and when, and I want to have an answer. Also started being more deliberate about protein and fats after reading a thread on here a while back. Eggs, oily fish, bit of avocado. Not doing it religiously but more than before. Whether it's connected I genuinely can't say yet. Has anyone here specifically pushed for a dermatology referral through their GP? I don't want to go in demanding things but I also don't want to be fobbed off with E45 again. x

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

Jun 20 · Replied to Community post

Just popping back to say thank you, especially Susan. I read all of these with a cup of tea and had a little cry, in a good way. This community is such a relief sometimes.

Jun 13 · Replied to Community post

Just popping back to say thank you, especially Mara. I read all of these with a cup of tea and had a little cry, in a good way. This community is such a relief sometimes.

Jun 12 · Replied to Community post

Thank you Ruth, and everyone who replied. This is exactly why I posted. Reading these has made me feel much less ridiculous, and I am adding a few notes before my next appointment.

Jun 11 · Replied to Community post

Thank you Clare, and everyone who replied. This is exactly why I posted. Reading these has made me feel much less ridiculous, and I am adding a few notes before my next appointment.