Tamoxifen and hives

ChelseaSculler

After 11 months on Tamoxifen without major SE's, I switched manufacturers (from Mylan to Mayne) and BOOM! Hives.

I didn't put the pieces together immediately, I started the new scrip a week ago Friday, and noticed weird bug bites under my arm and on my elbows on Saturday (spoiler, not bug bites). I figured it out late Wednesday night (so 5 days on the new brand), had an MO appointment on Thursday and was given the go-ahead to take a Tamoxifen vacation until I can get a Mylan refill next month as it seems I have an allergic reaction to one of the inert ingredients in the Mayne scrip.

In the meantime, I'm now 5 days off the Tamoxifen and the hives are not going away, in fact they've spread, and they itch like anything. I'm using a hydrocordizone cream, cold compresses, Benadryl occasionally but it doesn't seem to help.

Has anyone else had this issue? How long did it take for the (assumed) allergic reaction to subside? Any advice in the meantime?

(I confess, I was pretty excited about the Tamoxifen vacation but I'd trade it to get rid of these hives!)

gb2115

Oh wow, that sounds miserable. I was allergic to the radiation lotion and Benadryl didn't work on that either. I had to get a steroid shot to calm it down which worked extremely well. It was pretty low dose too. It took an emergency derm appointment to get that to happen though. Oncology was perplexed and couldn't handle it, but got me set up with a derm next day appointment.

You could call tomorrow and see if there is something stronger they can offer you. There are stronger RX creams that work better.

Ingerp

Wow, Chelsea. I am so relieved to read this post (hold on--I know that sounds weird but I'll explain). Last week I had a cluster of what looked like bug bites on my neck, plus one on my arm and a few on my back. I was googling and googling and all I could come up with was bed bugs. EWWWW. I happened to have a check-in with my PCP and she really doubted that was it, but I just couldn't figure out anything else. I don't think I've ever had hives in my life, but maybe that's what this has been? I'm on an AI, and the container I get it in seems to change month-to-month, so maybe the manufacturer/filler is changing? Anyway--sorry to hear of your ongoing itchiness. Mine has definitely calmed down, although they're still visible. I used cortizone cream for a day or two, although that seemed messy. I also often take a Claritin-type generic, and a couple of nights since they popped up I've taken Benadryl. I also think an OTC pain reliever helps with itchiness. Have you tried your favorite NSAID? (And another wacky idea I have is that I *do* have seasonal allergies and the pollen where I live has been pretty bad lately. I have it in my head that if your body is reacting to some kind of allergy, it's kind of hyper-sensitized to react to something else??)