Trigger Thumb/Painful Thumb with Aromasin

Oh yes, letrozole was the culprit for me but this side effect also affected another musician friend so it is not uncommon. I was referred to a hand surgeon who injected a steroid and got relief however had to discontinue aromatase inhibition due to other reasons. Hope you can get resolution soon!

Yes anti-hormonal can cause trigger fingers, trigger thumbs, and carpel tunnel. I had for six minths, both thumbs. Then it went away. Bought two thumb splints at Walmart, also at Amazon, and an electric can-opener.

https://trueremedies.com/home-remedies-for-trigger...

Yep, me too. PCP did a cortisone injection, never had any more problems with it.

I had trigger finger, very rarely now I have been off for 3 years

Hi ladies,.....Following, I developed pain and trigger finger (middle finger) on my cancer side on Aromasin. My MO just switched me to Letrozole, however so far my hand is the same. I had one cortisone shot already which helps temporarily. Just wondering if this will go away or its permanent.

Thanks,

Traci

Elsa, I'm in a similar situation. My MO said to stop Aromasin, let my hands heal, and then we'll try Letrozole. I'm willing to give Letrozole a try, but I'm expect it will cause the same problem.

It's been about a month since stopping Aromasin and my hands have improved, but they are still not normal. My MO referred me to the hand clinic and we'll see about cortisone shots and such.

My MO said that often when this happens they'd consider a switch to Tamoxifen. One day at a time.

Elsa: I was hormone negative so never took any of these drugs. However I had left trigger thumb when I was just starting chemo. You're right, the pain is awful. I went to an orthopedic hand surgeon. They can do surgery, but we tried steroid shots first. I had 4 shots over the course of a year in 2013 and have never had any more problems. When the right thumb started triggering a year later, I went back and there was not even a discussion of surgery. Just two rounds of cortisone shots and voila. Hope you can find a hand surgeon who understands.

Elsa, you and I are learning about this problem together, unfortunately!

I've been off Aromasin for over five weeks and my hands aren't better enough to start Letrozole yet. Strangely, this week my hands even seemed to get worse! On top of that, I've had trouble getting into the hand clinic (I guess they are very busy?), so that is also delaying things. Tamoxifen is also out for me, because I had a local recurrence while on it.

This is definitely discouraging for me. We need better treatments. Anyway, please keep us posted on how things are going for you.

Hi Elsa, I hope the injections help you! Please keep us posted on how you're doing.

I did get into the hand clinic, and they offered me either a cortisone injection, or they said I could try a splint for a few weeks first. I chose to try splinting first, but a cortisone injection will be the next step if that doesn't work. My Dr said the same thing yours did - that steroid injections have a 50/50 cure rate for this, and that down the road there are surgical options too, but I hope it doesn't come to that.

I've been off Aromasin for over 6 weeks and my hands are better overall. My fingers are normal, and my left thumb is better, but my right thumb is still a mess. I hope it heals, and that no permanent damage was done. I'm still really discouraged that the Aromasin caused such big problems - I just hope Letrozole is better for me.

Also, has anyone with lymphedema had a cortisone injection in their affected side? I'd like to hear other's experiences with that too.

I had a trigger finger, after discontinuing AI drugs it was rarely an issue.

I developed trigger thumb on my left hand and my right ring finger after several months on Letrozole. My GP has referred me to a hand surgeon for possible cortisone treatment. While waiting for the appointment the symptoms have eased up (kept playing my guitar through the pain, maybe that helped!) Now the thumb is okay but ring finger problem is back. For a while I had severe pain in joints of both hands - that also comes and goes,

My appointment with the hand surgeon is this week, not sure what to tell him! I don't see the point of the cortisone shots if the pain is going to come and go regardless (and I hear the shots can be painful)!

Those who have had the shots, can you tell me if I will be able to use my hands as usual right away? Wondering if I will be able to play guitar the next day...

Thanks MinusTwo, good to know

Good info Button. My trigger thumb was not caused by Aromatase inhibitors since I am/was hormone negative, so my experience is not exactly relevant. In fact, the problem came up before I had any chemo at all.

Saw an orthopaedic (hand) surgeon today for my trigger finger and thumb. He said this condition does tend to flare and subside, so I decided to leave it for now and will get back to him for a cortisone shot if it flares again. I also had an occurrence before starting the AI, and assumed it had flared up due to the medication, but I guess there is no way of knowing for sure