Perimenopausal Itching ... Sensation Of Crawling Skin

[IfOnlyOurEyesSawSouls]

Hello

I am 44 and peri menopausal im fairly sure.

At night im struggling so much with itching right from the top of my head down to my toes

I am desperate to make it stop , it sends me beserk as i am literally scratching until about 5am.

My skin is well moisturised and iv no eczema .

Has anybody else experienced this and what have you tried ?

I have read that some people try antihistamines.

I have just sprayed Magicool cooling spray on my vulva and everything in between

Hormones are bloody awful things .

I had similar awhile ago and have had bouts since. I am 55 now I find its usually worse when I am in bed but it occurs other times as well.
What helped me when it was really bad and driving me to distraction was two lots of tablets and some cream from my GP. One was anti histamine i can’t remember the other names sorry.
To keep it at bay now I avoid overly hot showers or baths, pat rather than towel dry myself, i use an olive oil soap homemade by my local greek delhi, i also use either the navy blue Aveeno lotion or a one from boots beginning with a C.

Thankyou so much @Tiramisuiloveyou that's really helpful. Im going to get a phone appt with my gp and request some help with meds.

I literally feel disgusting , as though insects are sitting on my face and crawling all over my vulva .

Ooh I had not heard of this, I have been feeling a crawly feeling for a while, over my head in particular (those have dc so could be lice!) and like an ant is walking over my leg - yet can see there is nothing there. Am 50.

Sorry OP, yours sounds a lot worse and I hope you get some relief

For a couple of weeks now I've had a sensation on a small part of my lower arm of an insect crawling on it. Freaked myself out trying to be Dr. Google. I hadn't heard it could be a menopausal symptom. Interesting.

@Mistressiggi & @Redazzy its called "formication" apparently.

Ps Thankyou @Mistressiggi thats kind 😊

Yes I get it and it drives me nuts!
I sometimes take an antihistamine for it which helps but not always. I lay there thinking things are crawling on my and I made shin bleed the other day. Then lather on Weleda nappy cream. I sympathise OP.
Bloody menopause

I think it's worse if I have had wine that evening. Sadly!

Its bloody awful @wildthingsinthenight im laid here with an itchy flute, itchy backside, itchy arms , itchy bloody everything 😭

I'm 48 and definitely peri-menopausal gradually going into menopausal.

Amoungst numerous other bloody awful
Symptoms itching has definitely been one of them. I am a psoriasis sufferer though which I think has masked the problem for a long time. The worst is itchy arsehole, itchy labia. Itchy neck, itchy scalp, itchy lower legs. The only relief I've found for most of it is slathering on heavy duty moisturiser for body and sudoream for the fanny and arse.

My GP has just prescribed me some low dose HRT. A friend of mine (a few years older than me) had horrendous itching with her menopause and said HRT has made a huge difference.
Like I said, I have other problematic symptoms and the GP was happy to prescribe me HRT. I haven't started on it yet though.

Can I ask whether those of you who experience formication whether it is usually in the same spot or if it varies?

Yes x 100 to cooler showers and Aveeno.

Sorry about all the whethers in there - it's late.

Mine is my mostly my bloody scalp, to the point I dream I have nits, and down the centre of my back.

@Milicentbystander72 yes to all of that.

Mine tends to affect the same areas , face & head , vulva , anus .

Im so glamorous. Not .

I spend most of the night scratching & riffing.

I've had this, the only thing that works for me is Phenergan, helps me sleep as well.

Take Menopace vitamins specifically designed for menopause and peri menopause. Made a huge difference to me.

My itching was so bad at one point it was affecting my sleep, i was struggling to think and concentrate and was totally unable to relax. I remember driving up to Asda pharmacy and seeing the pharmacist in an interview room and bursting into tears with it. I often used to get dry itchy skin around Dec, Jan, Feb time most years (i blamed central heating and dry skin) but nothing like that. My GP never put mine down to menopause but looking back I think it probably was related. Hope you get sorted OP it really wasn’t pleasant and I felt like it was affecting my mental health and it was encroaching on every area of my life. I think my head was the worst but also had it on chest, stomach, legs, back, arms as well as other intimate places.

This is so shit! I've read all the menopause at work type documents and can't remember if they mentioned itching, but the feeling of something crawling on your skin isn't normal itching is it? Another lovely thing for women to go through!

@Wilberforce42 thankyou , im already taking menopace and its as bad as ever 😞

Out of curiosity, are you on any other meds?

Me too. I'm 46 and gradually noticing some changes, but the itching is horrendous. Mine is one my legs mainly - front and back. Plus my arms. I could literally scratch until I bleed. Nighttime is even worse. I spoke to a pharmacist last week and she advised someone antihistamine tablets, but they didn't really make any difference. I'm using Eucerin twice a day and it's marginally better. My skin is actually sore. It feels tight like it's sunburnt. It's so miserable. I'd love a long hot bath but I know it makes it far worse for a couple of hours. When I was pregnant I also suffered with itchy skin, so fairly sure mine is hormonal. I really don't know what to do next.

I find that a hayfever / anti allergy tablet works an absolute treat, used to scratch and draw blood before taking one daily.

I'm 67 and went through the change at 44. I still remember the dreadful sensation of insects crawling all over me - they'd start lower leg and run up body and down arms. I don't remover it as being peri though, I think mine came on about the same time my temperature gauge started to go wacky. You do come out the other side but I still feel the heat and cold more than I used to. Good luck all.