12 Comments

Hey neat! I was thinking of writing about itching (what it is, why it's a thing, and precisely how and why it's different from pain. I think you just did most of the heavy lifting.

I'm definitely trying not to feel itchy right now.

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much more to say on this, so have at it. and geez, it's so psychosomatic too along with the very real physical stuff. I can't read my own post without losing my mind.

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Evolution makes some really weird turns.

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Mine helped w hormones and thank god bc it was keeping me up and waking me up!

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Good to know the hormones really help.

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My wife @kristik is going through this right now. One more thing to add to the list of perimenopause things she is experiencing

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No one warns us about any of this

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There's a lot of that.

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(Written while scratching.)

YEARS of inexplicable itching (focused on my lower legs). Dermatologists mystified, treatments useless. For me, it SEEMS to be connected to Mast cell/Histamine reactions.

Right after I eat I get ~10 minutes of intense sneezing, eye watering, and plain discomfort. (Does not matter what I've eaten). Then, as quickly as it came...it stops.

The itching does generally start when the colder weather does, but...not always.

I've had inflammation issues which seem to be allergy-related, but again ENTs and Derms are kind of like [insert shrug emoji].

It is maddening.

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Oh awfulness, I’m sorry you’ve struggled with this

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The power of suggestions and murphy's law/just my luck combined would mean I get a scratchy back just from reading this - heh, but knock on wood, so far I'm itch free! I'm so sorry this is happening to you. I've not had this particular issue but let me add my voice to the chorus that says HRT is a gift and I wish I had started it sooner!

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Wow, sorry you're suffering this. Tangentially it is reminding me of my friend who wrote a book about allergies, which showed over and over that we have so little idea what we're doing with this stuff. Just an allergy? Just an itch? No.

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