39 replies to this topic

[DawnMarie]

I had my one and only bone marrow biopsy about 2 years ago. I wasn't sedated but had also received an iron iv that day due to anemia. The iron iv caused a reaction so they gave me extra benadryl. All i can say is i typically have high pain tollerance but biopsy was painful but the benadryl helped to give me somewhat sedated feeling. Maybe the doctors should examine protocall (spelling) and offer the option of sedation for those of us that opt for it.

[RBJensen2006]

I had two Bone Marrow Biopsies.... They hurt so bad... Very uncomfortable

[threedprof]

John: Testing protocols have been changing over the last five years rather drastically.  When i was first diagnosed they said i needed a BMB every 3-6 months!  Having gone through five of them, i think...i'm very happy to see it not be as necessary due to more data on how these TKI's perform.

[matt92711]

Some people have softer bones and some like me have harder bones. Those with the harder bones hurt more when the BMB is done. I have a pretty high tolerance for pain (discovered this when I had a kidney stone) but man, I almost passed out from the pain during the BMB. It was intense. So far I have only had one (last Sept), my next one is scheduled for April, can't say I am looking forward. I still don't know yet what I will do about the pain, not sure I want to be sedated as I think I can survive the minute or two they are drilling into me, on the other hand it was pretty bad last time...

[hannibellemo]

Hi, Marnie,

I can finally relate to what you said about not liking how the sedation makes you feel. Until today I've never had a negative reaction but I just don't feel good 6 hours post BMB/A. I got the usual propofol and fentanyl but I have a vague headachy/nauseous feeling. No site pain though!

Did you guys get dumped on again last night? We were supposed to get 5-8" and Rochester, MN even more, so we went up last night to make sure I made my appointments today. It just started snowing about 1/2 an hour ago. Boy, they were wrong about that forecast over here.

Pat

[BY196]

I do think it's true that oncs discount pain, though mine was quite honest with me about how my first BMB would feel. I suspect convenience and reimbursement also play a role.

My onc would need to move over to the hospital (half or 3/4 of a mile away) to do a BMB with sedation and it would become much more of a production for me as well as him.  I suspect he couldn't do as many procedures at the hospital in an afternoon which would hit his reimbursements.  He is at a "safety net" hospital with many Medicare/Medicaid patients and low reimbursements so I am sympathetic. 

I am actually happy to have mine done with only local. At my first BMB, I was so desperate to get an answer (had it the same day my 125K WBC result came back) I was glad he could just squeeze me in between other appointments at his regular office. I probably would have agreed to have it without local I was so impatient! I was glad I was not out of it because he looked at the smear immediately and came back to tell me and my sister he was almost positive it was CML. For my second, I wanted it over quickly so I could get home to my family, so lidocaine only was fine.  It hurt much less because I wasn't so hypercellular.

Beth

[Marnie]

Hey, Pat. . .

DID WE GET DUMPED ON!!!  Here was my adventure this morning.  Got up at 5:30 expecting a dusting of snow (why I trust the Denver meteorologists is a mystery. . .they are never correct). .. looked out the window and we had a TON of heavy, wet snow, and snow coming down hard.  Hurried to get ready for school, knowing the drive in would be a nightmare.  Got the snow off the car, but neglected (was in too much of a hurry?? or just lazy) to remove the snow from the roof.  Headed down Morrison road.  Slickest the road has ever been because the snowplows weren't expecting anything, so the roads were not cleared.  Cars in the ditches everywhere.  Got onto the next main road, very busy traffic.  Big chunks of snow started sliding off my roof onto the windshield.  Suddenly, the windshield wipers stopped working. . .the motor had burned out (I figured out later).  Snow covering my windshield on a very busy major road!!  Sticking my head out of the side window, I was able to pull into a left turn lane and get onto a less busy road (terrifying!) and got into a parking lot of an apartment complex without hitting anything or being hit.  Got the cell phone out and called husband (his work had a delayed start, so he was still at home).  Then remembered that my colleague, Megan, was taking her turn picking up another colleague, Scott who was on crutches.  We've been taking turns driving him to school since we all live on the west side of town.  Called Megan to see if she was at Scott's house.  She had just come down Morrison road and did a complete 180 spin out, so she was shaking and crying.  She got to Scott's house and they waited in his driveway while I made my way to his house with no windshield wipers. . .driving along busy roads with my head stuck out the side window.  Then poor, shaking Megan drove us all to school. . .took an hour and 15 minutes. . .usually a 20 minute drive.  We got there a few second before the kids arrived.  Then it was parent/teacher conferences until 8:00 at night.  Tomorrow is conferences from 8:00 until 8:00.  I'm whooped. 

[hannibellemo]

Jeez, I'm sorry I asked! What a day, mine was 100 times better even with the BMB! Can't decide which I would consider the bigger trial - kids, parents, ice.

Hope the weekend is great for you!

Pat

[Marnie]

And the snow was AFTER the evening of 80 mph winds that blew down the fence in our back yard.  The weather has been wild here.  Today looks to be a calm one, though it will be a long, long day at school.  Heading out now for 14 hours of bliss.

[rjmeistro]

Had a biopsy about a year ago, I was totally awake and was astonished how easy it was.  The entry point was numbed and really.... I felt nothing but a little pressure when the Doctor was doing his thing.  If you think about it... the hip area is very close to the surface so no muscle is being punctured and bone has no nerve endings and your marrow doesn't either so it just a thin layer of skin and fat that has to be penetrated once.

[mikefromillinois]

You should be thankful!  I think we all "feel" and handle pain differently.  In my case the BMB was brutally painful.  I was a daily long distance runner for decades and have always considered myself to have a high pain tolerance.  All I can say is that when I have my next one....Mr. Morphine will be in attendance.

[willowbayfarm]

Ok, after perusing this thread over the past couple of days, I couldn't resist posting a scan of a "BMB punch card" given to me by a SCT patient while I was in the hospital.  It entitles the cardholder to a free BMB after only 6 BMB's!  Yes, it's sick humor, but sometimes any type of humor is necessary to get a person through!  (Hopefully he doesn't have this thing copyrighted...) 

- WBF

[Pin]

Hahah, that is excellent!

[pammartin]

that is a goodie, I might steal it for future use!  Thanks for sharing.

[hannibellemo]

Wow, you have to love the sense of humor that keeps people going even in the worst of times!

I also think it is interesting that "to sedate or not to sedate" for a BMB after the three + years I have been posting on this sight and the previous site still seems to garner the most replies and the most intense feelings.

Pat

[oldtree]

SICK sense of humor there very good.

When they took out the little blue handled hammer is when i knew I had dense bones.

I got them to vary the side they took the Bm's from as I felt it better to allow a bit more time for the donor side to recover.

[Marnie]

I hope the punchcard is not copyrighted. . .I just sent a picture of it to a friend who is having a stem cell transplant next week.  Thanks for the laugh!!  I didn't have the blue handled hammer, but when the doc told me I wouldn't ever have to worry about osteoporosis, as he grunted and laid his weight into the drill, I knew I had hard bones!

[smrt2run]

Yeah, they never really bothered me after the scare of the original one. I've had them and driven myself home afterwards and then went straight to work. I guess different people have difference tolerances. I also think it is who does the procedure. I've had some hurt worse than others depending on who is doing them. Same thing for when I get lp's .

[lthouse612]

Nice!  Good stuff right there!  Thanks for that!