Heat and itchy skin

Right -- can't be the chemo.  How is it that it never happened before the chemo and  conitunes now 9 years later.  I have learned how to be as cool as possible and can go a pretty long time before it hits, but I still have it.  It is as if all of my nerve endings got fried during chemo.  My entire body has to cool down before it goes away. It happens to my arms first - so I know to immediatly find a cooler place.. Applying cold water doesn't do it.  Chemo does a lot of damage - seriously.  Funny how many of us who had chemo have this issue.  

I have been bothered with this problem too.  My symptoms also started after by full cocktail of chemo drugs. I am now finishing up my herceptin ( one more to go, yahoo) infusion and  am wondering if I will have this condition for a while longer.  I too didnt mention it to anyone. On my next visit to the Ocon Doctor I will bring it up and mention that several others suffer from the same thing..

During Taxol, my soles and palms would itch so intensely that I would literally cry. I had to carry ice packs to numb my feet and hands throughout the day. Just thinking about how intense and insatiable this itch was makes me want to cry right now. But I have been off of chemo for a year, had my ovaries removed due to ER 100% BC and started Anastozole immediately afterward (I have stopped taking for the past 3 weeks as an experiment but am still having these itching attacks with my hot flashes). Ever since I had my ovaries removed and started the Anastozole, I get intense, insatiable, itching whenever I work out whether low, moderate, or high intensity workouts it still causes hot flashes and this insane itch. I believe it is due to nerve damage from Taxol. I saw something called Neuropathic Itch on NIH's website.

I have been explaining this to my ONCs since February and they keep referring to it as a "skin" thing and dry skin is a side effect of Anastozole. I promise this itch in NOT on the surface or any layers of my skin it is a subcutaneous itch!! It feels like my veins are itching all over my body. I try to ignore it and not complain, because after all, I got the "all clear" from my ONC team and there are no lesions or lumps in my mammograms and my blood test are great. I just need to know if this is a permanent part of BC recovery or if its menopausal or is it nerve damage that will  be corrected as time goes on and I just need to wait it out a bit.

It so hard when you feel that people think you are insane because they are suggesting that you change lotions, soaps, and detergents or take an allergy pill or use a topical antihistamine and you will be okay. I wish they could understand that it is not that kind of itch and it is miserable. I have to literally stop what I am doing and keep perfectly still as to cool myself down enough to lessen the intense itch. If the doctors and researcher do not acknowledge this long term side effect, how can we get relief! The hot flashes are one thing, the itch is another all together.  Good know that I am not insane afterall and others are experiencing this problem, I just wish we get a solution! 

"Warm" regards, literally, 

Christiena

i have ended chemo on May 23. I have been dealing with itchy creepy skin when I get warm and it stops when I cool down. I see many others here have the same issue .... this is the second time I have had cancer and did not go through this last time 

KerryB said:

Me too - but not breast cancer

Hi,  I came across this thread while Googling "pricking skin when hot following chemo". I thought I would let you know that my diagnosis was Follicular B Cell Lymphoma so my chemo drugs were totally different to those used for breast cancer treatment and I suffer the same dreadful prickling when I get hot. I understand patients not discussing these types of symptoms with their oncologist's and nurses as you can feel that the issue is not important enough or previous symptoms have been ignored or waved away as not a side-effect of chemo.  I have felt this way.  However, maybe this is part of the reason why the doctor may not have heard the complaints often enough to immediately accept it as a genuine side effect of chemo. Anyway, I am pleased to hear that I can expect this symptom to go away. All the best for ongoing good health everyone. 

hope you are right that these symptoms will go away .. I messaged my oncologist again today to see if there is any creme that might help. 

Good luck

how long have you had the itchy skin? Is it getting less? 

gelainest said:

Same thing with me

Just wanted to chime in that I have the same thing and I'm trying to figure out how to treat it. I can't be outside pretty much...

me either I have been inside all summer!!!! Outside not even 10 minutes and have to run inside to be in air conditironing.... dread winter when heat is on!!

I too have experienced itchy skin, but it turned into a rash.  It has been awful.  The dermatologist gave me some cream and it finally started to go away, but 5 days ago, came back with a vengence.  It is so very frustrating.  The back of my legs itch so bad.  When I first got it and scratched so bad, my husband said I looked like I had been in an automobile accident as there was so much brusing.  It just feels so unfair after going through surgery, chemo, and radiation for breast cancer then to have this happen.  If anyone has any ideas on how to treat, please post them.  Thank you and good luck to us all!

I agree with you and keep ice water with me at all times.    Hot flashes and night sweats were so bad that I thought I was going crazy.  You all know what I mean.  Doc changed my meds up from Arimdex to Tomoxifen because of my bone damage.  Hot flashes got worse.   I was sleeping with a fan in my window blowing right over my bed.  Now it is winter and did it in below 0 weather and did not care.  I could of slept in a pup tent outside on the lawn and felt great.  I was also freezing everyone in the house and it was making me sick with a head cold.  So Doc suggested effexor and gabbipentin to combat the flashes.    The effexor and gabbipentin has helped.  I now take it in low dose  effexor 37.5 and Gab 300 mil. one time a day ea.  I still get some, always will I suppose, but they are not as intense and I can now just sleep with a fan in the room and the family is thankful for that.  The itching has lessoned some now.  I still use lotion all the time as the meds dry me out.  Maybe we should all buy stock in lotions!

I put away all my sweaters, heavy coats, and such and just wear summer clothing all the time no matter the weather.  And I try my best not to get stressed.  Stress just sets me off like a rocket.  That can be difficult to do but I try my best to avoid all the drama I can. 

It is about me, I have to take care of me to survive this awful disease or I am not going to be here.  So my family understand that and try not to stress me.  I love them so much.

Hugs,

Annie

ecurran7 said:

Itching skin/ neuropathy

I was sure glad to find people with the same symptoms i have been experiencing.  I mentioned this itching, burning, tingling sitution during my treatments, and after i was done with all my chemo and  noone would listen. The oncologist herself shrugged her shoulders at me and the nurse I was crazy! After they do there part, they don't want to hear about any residuals from the meds I had my cancer in 2014 and I still have issues with it. I cant go in the sun, if i get into a hot vehicle, I have be careful with the water tmp. in the shower.  As I am writing this i am researching this dilemna ........

@ecurran7, I'm 8 years out of treatment but this has been the worst year for itching, seems like every summer I would start itching and I to thiught it was flees lol I have a dog in the house but no one else got bit then I thought it was what I was washing my clothes in changed that, but after 3/4 summers I realized it only happened when I got in the sun, but this summer is the worst and it's all from my knees down, but I had surgery own my shoulder last year and had to wash in hiberclens before surgery and I had a whole bottle left and I started washing my legs in that and it's drying the sores up because I had scratched so bad