I thought I would give my take on my first B M biopsy experience, and hopefully it will give others that have this pleasure to come some comfort.
I had heard many stories about this procedure some good some bad, as for me I will be honest it wasn’t pain free but also it wasn’t awful either, I certainly wouldn’t shy away from having done again. The worst part and most painful was when the marrow was being extracted, The insertion of the needle was ok a little pushing and pulling but practically pain free and since having it done the site has been sore, but I haven’t needed any pain relief. So if you have this procedure to come and are worried about it, try not to be, ask for plenty of local anaesthetic and you should be fine. Good luck to you all.
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dandelup
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I had mine done and it was very much as you described. Unfortunately the pathologist decided against the dr’s orders that FISH wasn’t necessary. I was so mad. Thank goodness it wasn’t a critical life or death situation with me. Because have SLL there aren’t a lot of cancerous lymphocytes in my peripheral blood but they’re hoping to find enough to do the test.
Thanks for the reassurance dandelup. We all need support and reassurance on this sight. After all our sickness is a scary experience for all of us. I agree with everything you experienced but for me the most painful thing was taking off the bandage (would you believe)? I told my haemotologist and she said I should of taken the bandage off after having my shower not before. Bad mistake for me. I’ll remember that next time. Good health to all. Take care.
Thats good to know. My first was very painful and they clipped a nerve so my right leg kept collapsing. Took a couple of hours before I could walk unaided. next one is in two months hoping for better luck this time!
I was warned that I may get a tingling sensation down my leg as they extracted the liquid marrow, but I was very fortunate I didn’t get that at all, just a pain for a few seconds . Hope your next one is a better experience
Mine is coming up in two weeks, so I’m hoping the experience isn’t too bad. 🤞My husband has had several over the years (he has CML) and he says it depends very much on the person who does it.
My husband did it before 2 days , it was good but he suffers from a headache ,dizziness and nausea yesterday we had a check up in the icu the tests were okay but he hadn’t ate anything the whole day did anyone have the same symptoms??the said it is from the Anesthesia
Dandelup, thanks for your post - it good to let others know our experiences. I’ve had a few of these and only one was painful - but not unbearable! Gas and air always helps + having a lift home.
Hi! I'm pathetic when it comes to needles, never mind bone marrow biopsies! I did a 'deal' with my CLL team (they really are a wonderful gang) and agreed to the biopsy without general anaesthetic but WITH Entonox/gas-&-air + local. It made me care free and virtually discomfort free - and so simple. Just ask!! you can check it out here: hey.nhs.uk/patient-leaflet/... I'm sure your doctor would rather have you happy and still, than squirming around on the end of a needle!
I am on the FLAIR trial in UK. I have volunteered to have more BMBs and blood tests than normal, to help their research. I had my first BMB at Macmillan Centre last week. Virtually no pain during or after, and flew on holiday to Spain the next day. The site of the needle going in was not my spine, but actually nearer to the hip, which made it less worrying at the time.
I'm glad to hear your first one was OK. I hear the first can be the worst, given the burden inside the marrow. Unfortunately, in my case, it wasn't until *after* my first that I found out, through pushing for a "better way," that I could get light sedation for it. I've had two since then, both under light sedation. The first of this two wasn't great because they weren't sure how much sedation I could reasonably handle. The third one was perfect because they didn't worry about titrating me up to my tolerable sedation dose. They recorded it from the previous one and just gave it all to me as a single dose. This made it simple, easy and, via my altered perceptions of time, very quick. Even though I was awake the entire time, it seems like it took only a few seconds. So, for those really concerned about this, just ask. They might have the ability to do this for you.
Hello Dandelup, it's good to hear that your BMB went well. My first one was a little rough. My doctor let a trainee do it and she could not get the tool to pierce my bone. She actually bent the tool in the process. Then my doctor got a bigger and stronger tool and took over. He said that my marrow was so impacted (98%) that it was tough to get a sample, but they finally got enough. It was a little painful, but mostly pressure. The site was pretty sore for about a week after that. My second BMB went much better. A different doctor performed that one and had no problem. That was after my fourth round of FCR put me in the hospital for a week. They were checking for a ricters transformation. Luckily that was negative and there was no CLL detected. They also could see any good cells either so that was a little concerning. They said that FCR can do that and that it would take a long time for the good cells to come back. Overall the BMB's were much easier to take then I thought they would be.
That is interesting to know, my bone marrow was 95% impacted and it sounds like degree of impaction makes extraction more difficult. The registrar under my specialist handled the my first BMB and took three attempts to get enough of a sample. Hopefully after 6 months on Ibrutinib , impaction will be reduced and hopefully less painful. Also this time I will ensure I am available when the specialist is to do BMB!
That echoed my experience with my bone marrow biopsy. I did not have any pain, had local only. I should add that my GP did my BMB as he was the most qualified, having done over 100 BMB before.
My initial BMB was a bit strange, as I was not told what we were doing before hand.
It was my first visit after diagnosis, and I was under the impression that it was an informative visit to discuss what CLL meant. Instead, without any briefing I was taken to a surgical room, placed face down on a table, and a the BNB was performed on my left hip. In addition, I was experiencing sciatica in the left hip from two previous lumbar surgeries and a recently healed dermal infection. As a result my left leg provided an involuntary spasm that lasted about 5 minutes.
Would not have been a big deal if the doc would have involve me in the process, so that I could have explained to biopsy the rights hip.
I had one on April 5th,2019 down at CTCA Atlanta, and they put me under with Propofol, it's been 3 weeks and my left hip still throbs,but I have a messed up lower spine and that could be a reason
Mine had some pain, but tolerable. For me the sad part was the first pass they couldn’t extract enough marrow so they had to go in a second site to extract more.
While it’s not my most favorite thing in the world, for me it was doable/tolerable.
I’ve had 3 - 2009, 2018, 2019 - and the first was the least painful experience. I’m wondering if that’s age related (I’m now 71). However, I was helped through this last one a fortnight ago by using a Penthrox inhaler. Still sore but, boy, I’m glad I was able to use it!
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