I have been diagnosed with hives letrozole looks like being the possible cause.
Every time my body gets hot ie hot flushes, a bit of sun (and I mean a bit) hot in bed - I get the most pinpricking itching all over my body, it does not last long but it is so uncomfortable I feel as if my whole body is been stabbed with little pins followed by the itching - which passes as soon as I cool down again.
Has anyone else experienced this my GP was not keen to accept it’s the letrozole but a search on the internet pulls up lots of info about this?
Thanks
Poppy xx
Yes!!! I also get the itchy prickles anytime I’m startled, whether it be someone sneaking up on me, or if I almost drop something.
I also have some hive-like bumps on my forearms, shoulders upper back, and just barely on the back of my neck. They itch like CRAZY!!! Like, I’m scratching until my skin bleeds! Rubbing witch hazel over them gives me some relief… but the best thing I’ve found that works is the Lidocane cream I was given to put over my port site before chemo. I had tried every anti-itch cream on the market & nothing worked!! Then I remembered… about 15 years ago, I had a tiny itchy patch right by my belly button… but when I’d scratch it, it felt like I was rubbing sandpaper on a sunburn. Went to my primary care physician & was diagnosed with Shingles. I caught it very early, so it didn’t get any worse than that little patch, but when I asked about the itchy-but-painful-sunburn feeling, she said… the signals for ‘itch’ and ‘pain’ are almost identical to the brain. Most “pain” signals are from large sources (headache, stubbed toe, burned skin, etc) and the brain has no problem receiving the correct signal. But for a teeny tiny signal from a nerve ending, it can’t quite tell, so it just picks one. This totally explains why the anti-itching stuff didn’t help, and the anti-pain/numbing cream did!! When I rubbed a little bit of the Lidocaine onto a severely itchy spot, it stopped itching for somewhere around 8 hours. It was pure bliss!!!
BTW… my oncologist also poo-poo’d the idea that the itching is being caused by the Letrozole, but it’s the only variant in the medications I take. She said I need to see a dermatologist, but I’m pretty certain a dermatologist is going to send me right back to the oncologist. I very much doubt any physician wants to tinker around with a potential reaction to an active chemo/hormone therapy regiment. I’ve been dealing with this ridiculous itching since mid-July… it’s now mid-January. I’m at my wits end!! I look like a tweaking Meth addict when I really get to scratching!! LOL
You’re not alone!! I’m 100% in the same boat as you!
Cathy