Trigger Thumb/Painful Thumb with Aromasin

I had a trigger finger on Anastrozole. Had a cortisone shot a few days ago. It definitely stopped hurting. Now I am waiting for the joint to stop clicking.

Hi Everyone- I've been on Anastrozole for 9ish months, with some stiffness and joint pain but it was tolerable. 2 months ago I woke up to a trigger thumb and hand pain and it's continued. My PC said its so common they've labeled it Arimidex induced arthritis. She's referred me to a PT to start there. I did message my oncologist and she said I can stop this AI for 2-3 weeks and switch to Letrozole. Of course I hate where I am, but also get nervous for what a new med can bring!

I have now been on Anastrozole for 12 months. Painful thumb joints have been vaguely noticeable, and now they've settled into always sore. I take NSAID's. Sigh. I do not love this, because one of my hobbies is classical piano! All of the arthritis that I already had before starting my AI at age 61 (hips, knees, feet, hands) has gotten achier on my AI. Not screaming pain, just annoying, and enough to make me feel grumpy! Also, thumb joints are weaker than they used to be. Harder to grab things, and I have to do a lot of 'work-arounds' just to pick up a quart of milk, or a heavy pan, etc.

All of my other arthritic body parts don't complain as much when I do regular (1 hour daily) exercise, but there's not really a solution like that for thumbs---the general plan is to be nice to them, so that's what I'm doing.

I have Rx Meloxicam, which lasts 24 hours. If I feel particularly achey, I take that. If it's fleeting or not as bad, I take OTC Aleve or Ibuprofen. All NSAID's do a good job of keeping me comfortable.

Feels very good to have this safe place to whine a bit....

this is what I got, for anyone curious...it’s beautiful and I got tons of compliments. So it has dual actions: trigger finger splint and pretty jewelry!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/683394773/sterling-silver-spiral-splint-ring

Help!! After radiation my MO put me on Femera (Letrozole). Within 1 month I had terrible mouth sores and my hands very swollen, trigger fingers and extremely painful. My MO said that swelling and pain in the hands was not a common side effect but took me off the Femera. She had me go to a hand specialist.

Now the hand surgeon wants to do carpal tunnel surgery. My MO put on Aromasin on August 24th. I was doing very well with no side effects but the last few weeks I am getting swelling and pain back in my hands again. I don’t think it’s carpal tunnel and don’t really want to have surgery. Can anyone shed light on this… Have you had the same side effects??

Thank you!!

Cindr (Castle Rock, Colorado

Cindr- i developed tingling and numbness in my right hand after about 2 weeks on Letrozole. My MO told me that now way was it from the med. I thought it was a bit of a coincidence so asked to switch to something else. I started taking Exemestane. The numbness was still there so i had a nerve conduction test which indicated carpal tunnel. Since this was my BC side, I was not keen to rush into surgery. I wore a brace on my hand while sleeping and did a lot of physio with a BC specialist. I am happy to say that now about 18 months later my hand is pretty much normal. I don't wear the brace and can even knit again. I am happy that I didn't do any surgery!

I've hesitated posting on this thread since my cancer is/was hormone negative and I didn't have any of hormone treatments, but it may give some help to those who don't believe in immediate surgery.

I had trigger thumb shortly after I was diagnosed with BC & before any cancer treatments. Because I didn't want to get sidetracked with any other surgery at the time, my orthopedic hand surgeon suggested a cortisone injection. I had two shots several months apart and two the next year. Since then I have had no problems. Two years later, the other thumb did the same & we treated with the same shots since my body obviously had a good reaction it solved the problem both times.

Even though he is a surgeon (and remember, surgeon's cut) he said I should just come back if the triggering becomes active again. It's been more than 5 years with no problems at all. I do hand stretching & flexing exercises several times a week. I saw him this year and one of the thumbs has increasing 'tenosynovosity', but is not triggering so we're doing nothing. The following is from 'wiki':

Injection of the tendon sheath with a corticosteroid is effective over weeks to months in more than half of people. When corticosteroid injection fails, the problem is predictably resolved by a relatively simple surgical procedure (usually outpatient, under local anesthesia). The surgeon will cut the sheath that is restricting the tendon.

I have had cortisone injections in both hands. Helped for a while but the trigger finger in my pinky finger is back. My biggest issue is the severe swelling and pain when making a fist also a lot of numbing especially when sleeping. I can’t even get my ringson my fingers 😢.

I appreciate everyone’s input and was just wondering if PT world help with my symptoms and if you have had success with PT what type of PT did you have??

Thank you sweet ladies for your help ❤️

Hi lovefromphilly!

The doctors haven’t really given me any thoughts snout the swelling which is what bothers me the most and causes the most pain!! So frustrating!

I like your suggestions... I’ve never tried acupuncture for this but I’m definitely willing to do that and PT. No surgery for me!!

Funny you mention neck and shoulder issues with these symptoms. For many years I have had issues with bulging disc at C 4 & 5 which has caused a lot of numbing in my arms but have never had this issue in my hands?? I’ve gone to a sports chiropractor for years and stopped going about 9 months ago because I didn’t feel it was helping much any more. I started having issues with my hands after going on AI’s ;-(

Is there any specialized accupunture you would suggest?? Thank you again for your input!!

Cindr what part of CO do you live in? Feel free to PM me if you’d rather answer privately.

I would recommend an acupuncturist who does hands on work with their patients. Some types of acupuncture and acupuncturists practice in a way where they simply insert the needles and then walk away and the patient typically takes a nice nap and feels Very refreshed and relaxed afterwards. At times these types of treatments can be INCREDIBLY effective in treating the patients symptoms.

However in my experience and the way I practice is that I do a TON of hands on work with the patients. I massage and stretch them, as well as other physical manipulations and adjustments. My experience as a clinician and as a patient has led me to believe this is the most effective type of treatment to receive for best results.

Hi Exercise guru, I think my am MO wants me to be on an AI because of my age? Maybe I should talk to her about trying tamoxifen? Worst part about this is nobody seems to know why am getting all the swelling and pain?

Thank you for suggestion I’ll talk to my MO about it!! 😊❤️

Hello. I'm new to this site. Just saw your post on AI articles.

Thank you!

I'm having very bad muscular-skeletal pains, trouble

standing up, sitting down, walking. Switched two weeks ago from Letrazole

to Exemestane. Hope it gets better.....

Deborah at the beach

Thank you Lovefromphilly!!! I’ll check it out!!

Hi All, I just thought I would update here.

I have now been splinting my thumbs for close to 12 weeks. It has helped, but I still have pain with ordinary activities, and some "popping" when my thumb tendons move. I did follow up with the hand doctor again, who recommended that I continue with the splint for now, since I am showing improvement. We will reassess the cortisone shot option in late December. (I think even the Dr is afraid of aggravating my lymphedema side. My lymphedema is in a really good place right now, and I don't want to rock the boat.) So I guess I am kicking the can down the road, still waiting for my thumbs to heal.

Also, my MO switched me to Faslodex instead of switching me to another AI. My MO said my hands were the worst they have ever seen from an AI, even though they have seen this problem a number of times. So far, Faslodex is better for me, and I am glad to have another option for effective hormone treatment, besides AIs and Tamoxifen.

One day at a time. I hope I make a full recovery from this - it has been really upsetting for me. I hope everyone else recovers, too!

Button - so glad that things have improved some. Hoping your thumb problems will go away for a good long while. I'm at 6 years now after 4-5cortisone shots.