I'm being grumpy.

Oh, dear, you are feeling low, aren't you - that is a silly statement, but you do sound so fed up, there really isn't much anyone can do from a distance,but perhaps you feel better for writing all that down. I am sure you are not a pain in the wherever, just not your usual self, hope it all comes right soon.

Hi rubylady sounds like you are having a tough time there! Have you thought about seeing a therapist of alternative medicine? Some of the better healthshops have trained staff happy to advise, especially if some of your symptoms are due to menopausal change in your body. I have noticed changes in both my body and my mind since my menopausal signs started. Some days I dont know who I am anymore!

Constant itching can drive you crazy. Although this isnt a cure, keeping a bottle of aloe vera lotion in the fridge and covering the itching areas in this can relieve the itching and cool the skin down. As a sufferer of eczema I can fully sympathise with the itching which really can drive you mad!

Oh ruby, it's ok to be fed up! No answers for you but I do understand, chronic illness does get anyone down sometimes and the middle of the night is worse, it can feel very alone.

Dearruby please don't be sad and fed up. Your post brought tears to my eyes. I have no answers for you but wish you all the best in the world. I am sure things will get better for you.

living with chronic illness isnt easy! yes it does get you down where you just want to crawl in a hole and die! like you Ruby I no longer have 'a life' ( I have M.E.) I just make the most of the good days I have and plod on....theres always someone worse off and that spurs me to keep fighting this silent illness.

Oh you poor thing, no wonder you are feeling grumpy . It's really hard to keep up the pretence that everything is hunky dory, when actually it really isn't.
I too suffer from intense itching, partly because of psoriasis, but also in places where there's no evidence of any psoriasis or eczema. It keeps me awake at night for ages despite, like you, taking anti-histamines. What can help is E45 Itch Relief Cream, or another one is Aveeno lotion.
Hope your spirits lift soon

Poor ruby I do sympathise having a long term illness myself. As regards to the itching DD2 has been having a very bad year with eczema so eventually had a private appointment with a dermatologist who did sort it out to an extent (NHS list are lengthy for see one) sometimes a mild sedative helps at night. I would go back to the GP and tell him/her just how you feel. Best wishes and hope you are feeling better soon.

Sorry you are so down ruby . Hope things improve soon

Poor Ruby keep on with the antihistamines and ask the pharmacist about which are best and dosage.
Keep treating yourself and now you have your car try to get out if only round the block.
I am the last one to say try and see friends even if they pop in for 10 mins but like you I am antisocial at the moment so I do understand. I do not have real health issues apart from my knee and my eye. My knee will get sorted, my eye I am learning to live with so that part of your problem I can only imagine. As I say to people when they comment on my H's Alzheimer's and say it must be difficult " imagine what you think it is like, then multiply by 1000" that is what your health issues must be like.

Hi Rubylady so sorry life is so b difficult for you, wish I could give you a hug, so hope it all gets better

Do you have eczema Ruby? Or even just dry skin? My skin itches when it's very dry especially my feet. At night it can drive me insane. If it's only my feet I can get relief by putting them on icepacks as the cold masks the itching.

Is your room too hot? Are your bedclothes too heavy? I ask this because both these things make my itching worse.

Have you had your sugar levels checked and your kidney function as both of these can cause itching too?

I think your GP really needs to do more tests to find out whahttps://www.amazon.co.uk/Weleda-child-Calendula-Lotion-200ml/dp/B000YOFP3O]]t is causing the itching ruby, has he taken a scraping and sent it off for analysis?
As someone who reacts badly to bites I know anti-histamine is good if used on a daily basis but he/she could prescibe some soothing lotion too.

Do you have enough good oils in your diet, such as olive oil, rapeseed oil (cold pressed if possible) and best to cut out sugar. Or you could perhaps try a course of cod liver oil (liquid if you can stomach it)

I think a firm called Pure Potions make good topical creams and lotions.
www.purepotions.co.uk/pages/how-we-began
Hope this is not advertising, other products may be available!

Calendula flowers - supposedly good for the skin
[[

Oh heck ! What happened there!

The link should have been at the bottom, not in the middle at the top
This tablet drives me crackers.

www.amazon.co.uk/Weleda-child-Calendula-Lotion-200ml/dp/B000YOFP3O

I hope you can fathom out what I mean

I do know how difficult it is to stay upbeat when you have chronic conditions, so do not beat yourself up about having mopey days - I have them too, as do most of us. Pain, itching etc are so hard to endure when it goes on for a long time. I am not sure that your GP is being very helpful with the itching and you might like to have a chat with a different doctor in the practice. You should not be having to deal with this untreated. A referral to a dermatologist might be in order - can you ask for this? Have you had blood tests? - sometimes itching is not a skin complaint but a sign of a general condition. Lots of good luck with getting this sorted - and I hope that your spirits will rise a little soon.

Rubylady,sorry to hear you are feeling so down, it seems that some doctors do dismiss things as just an age thing particularly if you are a women. Is there a lady doctor in your practice who may be easier to talk to? I hope you feel better soon

Sorry to hear you're feeling low just now-so understandable when you have hurdles to jump every day. Have you had blood tests done? Often itching can be a symptom of an underlying health issue. Hope tomorrow is a better day.

I am so sorry you are feeling so low rubylady. I can't add anything to all the advice above, but I am thinking of you and sending you all my best wishes

Rubylady sorry this is getting you down so much. I don't have itching but I do have tinnitus. Sometimes the noise drives me mad. It is such a high pitch I can't sleep or think of anything else. I do know the more you think about it, the worse it gets (big help I know . Have you got or tried one of those cold pads that you can put in the bed? Another thought (not sure if you can still buy it over the counter) is phenergan liquid. Phenergan is a antihystamine in liquid form which has quite a high sedative effect. Not suitable if you are driving but might give you a good night's sleep.

mumsy. for you. My DH had ME for many years. If it is any consolation, he did eventually recover and now has a good life.

Thank you all for your lovely comments, they really have spurred me on to keep going, although there is no option, is there?

I have wondered if it is ME, the constant tiredness, lethargy, breathlessness, lack of mobility etc. I don't know, I'm fed up of thinking about it.

The itching is more like prickly skin, I should imagine, like someone is sticking pins in me, all over my body. I don't have dry skin (not yet) and it's not any rash or any marks at all, it just feels like pins being stuck in me.

I have had the heart condition from birth so it does all get me down at times and I do try to be upbeat but the other day, due to lack of sleep, I could have screamed. I went and bought a big pedestal fan yesterday, I couldn't have another night not sleeping (how did I do it when my babies were little?). My son put it together for me and last night it went into my bedroom. Yeah! 4 hours sleep! Then another 3 after a little time downstairs and then another 3 again this afternoon, so now I feel a little more human again, thank goodness. Let's hope it continues, hopefully.

I have been asked to go and have another cervical biopsy too. On the first one they didn't take any skin cells so they need to take another. I thought that was over for now and I was ok. I'm not happy at all about this. Why tell me all was ok if they didn't get any skin cells to test?

Anyway, I changed my hotel for September in Wales to take my son to uni. Now I am on the top floor, in the attic, but with a big double bed all to myself (and my doggie), a lovely sea view and a lift to get me up the stairs, plus room service and some fantastic bara brith to look forward to. I also want to go and stay in Blackpool, see the lights this Autumn, eat some fish and chips along the front. Can anyone recommend anywhere where they take dogs?

Does anyone know of any good menopause books at all?

Does anyone take probiotics?

Thanks again to all of you, you are wonderful and supportive.

You sound more upbeat ruby and making plans, looking forward to things. I hope someone can suggest somewhere in Blackpool for you and your dog. Or try googling and see what you come up with. Hope you get better sleep tonight as well.?

hi ruby pleased to hear you feel just a little better. I do take probiotics when I remember to help my seriously sluggish digestive system. They work for me and I feel better than I expected. I'm not evangelical about them but suggest people try them for themselves in case they help. Good luck, hope the feeling better continue yes.

Oh ruby, I sympathise about the itching. Isn't it horrible. I never had dry skin or eczema until I hit my sixties. I get little circular spots, that itch like crazy, and then turn into patches of eczema. I'm told it's age related, but why me? I have yet to find anything that relieves it for long either! I keep my legs and arms covered as they look patchy. Old age is a trial.

I take Fexofenadine for the eczema. It was prescribed by a skin specialist. Might be a good idea to talk to your GP.