Trigger finger

Shots are the first treatment for trigger finger and took care of me after just one shot. See an orthopedists sooner rather than later to stop it from getting worse.

I had a period about 14 months in on Letrozole where trigger finger (middle finger on just one hand) was waking me in the middle of the night. Very painful. Needed my other hand to straighten the finger. This happened on and off for a few weeks and then completely stopped, and so far has not recurred. Of course I don't know if the Letrozole was the cause, but if it was, it seems to have resolved on it's own. So I'd say don't jump to any conclusions yet that this will be permanent or will get worse. Of course it might, but it might not.

I definitely developed trigger thumb, dominant hand, while on letrozole. I wrapped my thumb in training tape (self stick, like that linked below or the kind they use after a blood draw, called Coban) tight enough to immobilize it but not so tight that I couldn't use my hand. This helped because my thumb did not have the opportunity to lock. I happened to have a routine appointment with my MO and he suggested changing from letrozole to anastrazole to see if that would help. I did, and after a month or so, the trigger went away. About a year later I developed a trigger on my left hand wedding ring finger, and one in my ankle that was intermittent. I changed back to letrozole, but to a brand with far fewer additives and fillers and never had issues with any more triggers. I think some of us are prone to triggers and in others either the anti-hormonal meds cause the trigger, or the reduced estrogen does. I never had injections to any of the locations I had problems with. I am no longer taking anti-hormonals and have not developed any new triggers. My advice would be to immobilize the trigger and look into taking a brand of letrozole with less or different fillers and additives, at the minimum. I added a link below for the website that shows all ingredients for prescription drugs. If this doesn't help after a few weeks you can pursue an injection by the orthopedic doc.

https://www.cvs.com/shop/cvs-health-breathable-gentle-tape-2-inches-x-2-2-yards-prodid-210000

https://www.amazon.com/Pangda-Adhesive-Bandage-Stretch-Self-Adherent/dp/B078P7Y5N8/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=coban+tape&qid=1608669372&sr=8-5

https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/

margun - it may take more than a few weeks, and both times for me it meant a change in aromatase inhibitor, and I have only taken generic formulations - my insurance does not cover name brand. My initial prescription of letrozole was the generic Mylan brand and I developed the trigger within about 6 months or so. I changed to Abbott generic anastrazole and the trigger left, but the new ones developed about 18 months later. I went back to letrozole, generic Roxane brand. Roxane's brand actually had less fillers and additives than name brand Femara and I had the least side effects while taking it. Unfortunately, Roxane merged with West-Ward and stopped making letrozole. I had the BCI test at 5 years, which showed high risk of recurrence and a low benefit from aromatase inhibitors. I continued to take letrozole for another 2.5 years beyond that for a total of 7.5 years. I went off when I needed a serious tooth extraction due to bone death and also needed a bone graft and my maxillofacial surgeon wanted me off all medication, my MO said why don't we just stop here. Fillers and additives have different effects on different people - the one that may cause me trouble, may be ok for you - you just have to experiment.