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Menopause

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Original poster

intense itching

45 replies

orangetriangle · 06/02/2025 19:59

Hi does anyone else going through the menopause suffer from intense itching
it's driving me mad it can be on my wrists ankles feet and hands including palms of my hands. I have been put on HRT which is tablets and gel tablets 2 weeks out of 4
My last period was just over a year ago and I am 56. The HRT has helped with the almost constant hot flushes ro a point
I have got vaseline handcream and body lotion which helps to a point
hydrocortisone cream seems to make it worse
sometimes my skin is red raw and my legs can itching so much it actually bruises them.
to top it all I am also diabetic so I need to be careful it doesn't become infected
It seems worse at night does anyone else experience this or have any advice other than stop scratching! I only wish I could

OP posts:
Doggymummar · 06/02/2025 20:02

My sil. Hers is called urticaria

Original poster
orangetriangle · 06/02/2025 20:05

mine has only been literally this last year or so going through the menopause

OP posts:
Onanotherhealthkick · 07/02/2025 09:33

Yep! Bed time moreso, my arms are unbearably
itchy. Drives me mad.
i also have dry sore skin in my eyelids which I initially thought was a reaction to a makeup product but it’s seemingly hormonal 😩😩😩

Octavia64 · 07/02/2025 09:35

I use Lanacaine.

Turkeyneck101 · 07/02/2025 09:37

Have you seen a doctor? Sometimes this can be a sign of other health issues. Go back to your GP.
Get your blood sugar under control and avoid perfumed soaps.

cheekaa · 07/02/2025 09:39

I have been having extreme itching in my groin for the last 5+ years ( I am in my late sixties). Was recommended Dermol 500 lotion by a local pharmacist. Then another friend with the same problem was recommended the same recently by her GP. So I finally purchased it and since then have noticed an improvement in the itching. If for some reason it takes time for the itching to go try taking an antihistamine.
Good luck!!

SmokeyToo · 07/02/2025 09:49

Yep. The my palms and the tops of my feet were ridiculously itchy for years. It's gone away now, thankfully, along with the sweats. Life is bearable again! But it took about 7 years...

reesewithoutaspoon · 07/02/2025 09:50

My back where I can't reach, but the worst is my ear canals, it drives me to distraction, have made them sore poking with q tips just to get some relief from the intense itching

Imgoingtobefree · 07/02/2025 09:56

I had an unexplained rash for a while which was unbearably itchy.

I went to GP and got various creams which I can’t say helped much. However cold flannels and cold gel packs did help, especially as night when trying to get to sleep.

Generally during the menopause keeping my bedroom cold (windows open in winter etc) helped me with sleeping.

glittermittens · 07/02/2025 10:01

Yes feet and hands were the worst, I started taking Benadryl every day 6 months ago and it's stopped, if I forget to take for a couple of days it's back.

RabbitsEatPancakes · 07/02/2025 10:11

Intense itching can be a symptom of certain vitamin deficiencies so maybe get a good multi vitamin- it might be since menopause your body isn't absorbing them as well as it used to.

Dermal 500 is a good soap replacement. Then maybe get a decent emollient to keep moisture in. Dry skin gets itchy. Avoid perfumes and fabric softeners.

Also a antihistamine- I was prescribed fexofenodine for intense all body itching- you can know buy it over the counter. It's non drowsy.

Also have you turned your heating up? Perhaps you're feeling the cold more, but central heating can be quite bad for the skin- or going from cold to warm environments and vice versa.

GreenManalishi · 07/02/2025 10:19

reesewithoutaspoon · 07/02/2025 09:50

My back where I can't reach, but the worst is my ear canals, it drives me to distraction, have made them sore poking with q tips just to get some relief from the intense itching

THE EARS! My god, the ears. At night. Waking me up. I have found a solution, I have been putting oil in my ears twice a day on a cotton bud and it seems to be taking the edge off, but my god THE EARS! I was convinced there was something crawling around in there to the point where I got a scope camera to have a look and check but nothing, no spiders, no ants, it's intense.

Original poster
orangetriangle · 07/02/2025 21:07

thanks for the suggestions glad it's not just me but 7 years possibly of this i think I will go bonkers!! I will try antihistamine as a starting point

OP posts:
Grapesandcheseseplease · 07/02/2025 21:14

I get this and it’s beyond irritating. I scratch in my sleep and have woken up with cuts on my face and arms. Ice packs on the areas that itch the most and antihistamines are the only things that help me.

cafenoirbiscuit · 07/02/2025 21:16

I second the Fexofenadine - lifesaver for me.

Original poster
orangetriangle · 07/02/2025 21:38

it's so bizarre as I itching like crazy in such odd places like creases round my wrists creases in palms of my hands top of my feet between my toes etc the list is endless and it's only come on during the menopause it makes me scratch until it's red raw at times it really is awful

OP posts:
Wickedstitch · 07/02/2025 22:28

I get the intense itching on tops of my feet and lower legs. It's unbearable.
I now take an antihistamine every evening and it has really helped.

Lovemybunnies · 07/02/2025 22:31

I had very itchy legs until I started HRT. What are the tablets? That doesn’t sound like body identical HRT apart from the Utrogestan if that’s what the gel tablets are.

MoonWoman69 · 07/02/2025 22:41

Exactly the same! It's always in difficult places on a night, soles of feet, ankles, the side of my calves. And no amount of scratching takes the itch away. It's like it's internal! I don't get it as much as I did in the beginning of the menopause, I'm post now. But when it flares up, boy, does it flare!
My problem at the moment is an itchy scalp and the feeling that something is crawling through my hair, to the point I'm paranoid about it. The same happens down the side of my nose too! There is literally nothing there! It's driving me insane!

justasking111 · 07/02/2025 22:46

Well fexofenedine is good. But, firstly I would get your bloods checked to rule out anything else.

Original poster
orangetriangle · 08/02/2025 00:29

it's a gel pump plus tablets
moonwoman 69 I really sympathise with youx

OP posts:
Original poster
orangetriangle · 08/02/2025 00:32

love my bunnies
mine started on my legs they itched so much they would be bruised. It then progressed from there

OP posts:
Apileofballyhoo · 08/02/2025 00:37

OP, how much gel are you on and how long are you on hrt? Usually if you are post menopause it is continous progestogen not 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off. Are they tablets or utrogestan capsules? Do you notice any difference in the itch during the two weeks you are taking them?

Original poster
orangetriangle · 08/02/2025 09:51

gel is 2 pumps a day
the tablets are 2 weeks on 2 weeks off because at the time they wasn't convinced I was post menopause
I'm not sure if there is too much difference in the itching
they are like an oral capsule 2 each evening for 2 weeks then stop for 2 weeks
I last had a period just over a year ago and I have just turned 56

OP posts:
Apileofballyhoo · 09/02/2025 15:45

Do you think the itching has got worse since starting hrt?

It might be histamine related and oestrogen can make that worse, but progesterone should help it. But if you're not experiencing much difference in the two weeks on maybe it isn't that. You could ask your GP if you could reduce your oestrogen dose.

I itch when I don't have enough oestrogen but I'm still peri. In full menopause women sometimes need less oestrogen.

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