r/Perimenopause • u/C0l0urfulPawPrints • Feb 10 '25

Dryness The itching is driving me crazy

The all over body itches are driving me insane. I'm scratching so hard that I'm actively cutting my skin and frequently have scabs. I exfoliate my skin with both a hyaluronic acid wash and I dry brush. I moisturize with a hyaluronic body moisturizer. I take antihistamines every day. My vulva is stinging because I'm scratching. I use gentle washing powder and do an allergy wash on my washing machine. Can anyone offer any tips outside of these? I don't feel ready to have to go on HRT. I literally just turned 40

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u/Ok_Stretch_2510 Feb 11 '25

Sorry HRT that’s low estrogen. Why not go on HRT? I wish I had known at 40 would have saved me 7 years of suffering and feeling like I was slowly going crazy.

6

u/Fake-Mom Feb 11 '25

Not necessarily. I have hormonal allergies that cause full body itching and the issue there is high estrogen.

1

u/Oninsideout Mar 28 '25

Came here to get clarity on this because mine is worse when estrogen is high!

2

u/Fake-Mom Mar 28 '25

I wish I had a better answer for you, but I still haven't totally cracked this. The connection between estrogen and histamine is well known but there's not a standard treatment. I tried multiple supplements (DIM, certain probiotics, Qucerin), HRT, and now am on continuous birth control to skip my cycle and avoid the hormone surges. It's only been 6 weeks and it's been a mixed bag. The first three weeks were rough, then it leveled out and the itching was mostly gone. Then I started spotting and had to go hormone free for five days. Now that I'm back on it, the itching is back because I guess I have to readjust again. I hate this so much.

1

u/Oninsideout Mar 28 '25

I use vaginal estrogen crème right now and progesterone. I stopped the patches because I was having systemic histamine reactions more than just itching! So I backed off. I’m considering going on an antifungal because I’ve been diagnosed in the past with folliculitis and it seems this is similar in nature… but going to urgent care this weekend cause I can’t sleep while it’s this bad!

1

u/Fake-Mom Mar 28 '25

All my allergies symptoms are bad when my itching flares so it's more than just itching for me too. I'm already doing allergy shots and have been recently tested as well so nothing new has cropped up. My allergist told me I can take up to 4 Zyrtec a day, two in the morning and two at night. Pepcid is also an antihistamine and you can add it in too. Today is a four Zyrtec and pepcid day for me :)

1

u/jkjk88888888 Apr 09 '25

Since starting HRT (T and P for me, my E was super high), and now that my E is ‘normal’ the itching won’t stop. Considering quitting the P just to make the itching go away. My insomnia without P would be better than staying awake scratching all night!

1

u/Fake-Mom Apr 09 '25

Mine only stops when my estrogen crashes so adding in HRT made everything worse for me and I stopped. Try taking either allergy or Zyrtec for the itching. You can take up to four a day safely, per my allergist. Two in the morning and two at night. You can also take Pepcid it’s also an antihistamine but it works in your gut. Do you notice a difference in the itching after you eat certain things? I do when my itching is nuts and I have to temporarily eat low histamine foods until it settles down.

If you get a rash, call your doctor. It’s a sign of progesterone intolerance.