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Itchy skin...help.

StephieH
Offline

Hello

I have bad itching on my arms and sometimes neck which drives me crazy.  I am on Anastrozole and  I had my last Phesgo injection 7 weeks ago and I thought the itching would stop once I was off it.  

It hasn't and I am still scratching away, especially in the evenings.  The skin on my arms feels like rhino hide!  I have barrier cream from my oncologist which helps a bit.  Then only relief is ice blocks to numb the skin. 

My question is....how long does it take before Phesgo us out of my body and the itching to stop?  Also,  it could be the Anastrozole,  so has anybody suffered itchy skin while being on Anastrozole?  My oncologist has told me to stop taking it for 1 month to see if that is the cause.

If anybody has had a similar  experience and can offer any helo, advice or insightsbI would be really grateful. 

 

Thank you

Steph

  • Hello Steph,

    Thank you for your post, I am sorry to hear about your itchy skin this must be difficult to live with .

    I see that you have been given a barrier cream, so I wonder if changing that for another type of cream might help. It is possible to buy an anti itch cream too, I don't know if it will work but may be worth a try. Does taking an antihistamine tablet help too?  

    You are probably doing this but using non perfumed creams and wash gels might help. Wearing clothes with natural fibres might help too.  

    It might help to read general itchy advice from them NHS , you can see it on their website here

    Follow the advice from your team about stopping the anastrozole for a month , Itchy skin can happen during the menopause so I do wonder if it is related to you hormonal treatment. I can't see that Phesgo causes itchy skin but it can cause a rash (do you have one?) and sometimes a rash can itch.

    It might be helpful to find out how other people have coped with this. Posting in another area of Cancer Chat (you can see a list of them to the left of this page) could be seen by more people than just here.I hope this has been of some help. Please get back to us if you need any more information or support.  You may find it helpful to talk things through with one of the nurses on our helpline.  The number to call is Freephone 0808 800 4040 and the lines are open from 9am till 5pm Monday to Friday.

    Take care,

    Caroline

  • Offline in reply to CRUK Nurse Caroline

    Hello Caroline,

    Thank you so much for your reply and helpful comments.  I have tried various creams and they sometimes help a bit but do not stop the itching.

    I don't have a rash as such but do get little raised bumps here and there which itch.

    I will invest in some perfume free shower gel and body lotion.

    I do take loratadine but don't think it does much to help.

    I just hope I can eventually be itch free, so I have stopped taking Anastrozole which I will do for one month.  I am a little concerned that I will have nothing suppressing oestrogen for a month, but I need to stop the itching!

    It is a good idea to post again so other people can see it, so I will see if they gave any tips or ideas to help.

    Thanks for your support.

    Steph

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