has anyone experience to pass on regarding changes in their kp during perimenopause, and post menopause? thanks.

Hi persie, I noticed no one had responded so i figured I'd be as good as any at this point. I had KP/acne as a teenager, then didn't have it in much of my adult life BUT it has come back in the last few years after childbirth and definitely I get some breakouts when I'm having irregular menstrual cycles due to perimenopause. I think I also have some dietary, stress and climate factors but I have not yet figured how much any one aggravates my KP. but hormones definitely do. Supplementing with EFAs and doing very mild exfoliation has been improving my skin gradually over the last 6 months. It's smoother and more comfortable for me as opposed to itchy and breaking out and inflamed. My last menstrual cycle came early, 2 weeks early! plus I had been having bad PMS type symptoms for the week prior so it's been a he** of a month and a half! but it was a very menopausal moment and yes my almost perfectly smooth arms got a few bumps - maybe 6 each. I do get somewhat weepy and fatigued during my pms so if it's gonna be a rollercoaster over the next 7 years or so (I'm 43) I also may start supplementing with some soy, black cohosh and dong quai. When I remembered to take my dong quai this last time, it definitely helped as long as I took as much as is recommended. Do you ask cause you're heading into these years too? - bd

hi, BD, thanks for you reply and explaining your experience a bit. yes - i'm well in there now, about to turn 48 and pretty irregular, missing some months altogether. one thing, kp aside, that may b hopeful for you - i've always had pretty bad pms, but now that my periods are more irregular i find that some months i get it bad, but others it's almost the reverse and i can feel quite euphoric just before it starts(!) hope you may have the same experience later on. i havent had children but my kp cleared up for about 8years when i lived in rural france, then resurged and got worse than ever (i now live in urban spain), and it is impossible to know what parts hormones, drinking water, pollution, diet may have played in those changes. but it does seem that hormones play some part. my mother had kp mildly just on her arms, and that seemed to clear away after the menopause...so - maybe that will be something to look forward to when one comes out the other side! (i take GLAs, B12, and herbal capsules for circulation, but havent tried black cohosh etc yet).

Persie - do you know what's in the herbal you take for circulation? - bd

Bunnyday - i mostly take capsules from the Arkofarma range (its french and has a spanish subsiduary, i dont know if exists in the usa) and i vary a bit between horse chestnut; hammamelis; blackcurrant - i believe horse chestnut and red vine are indicated for general circulation, and the other two are more, like gingko, for micro circulation.