Bone marrow biopsy

greenbicycle

Hello all,

Possibly have to get a bone marrow biopsy done soon and I'm fairly scared about it. Would like to hear people's experiences of it. I did have a lumbar puncture done a few months back and that wasn't too nice although I was fairly sick at the time so memories of it are hazy, is it much worse than this?

Any tips on making it easier to go through? I presume its just an in and out, out-patient procedure?

Not 100% sure it will happen yet but would like to be mentally prepared in case they send me off to get it done the same day I see the haematologist.....

greenbicycle

So has no one had a bone marrow biopsy done then? or is it so bad that you are all trying not to scare me

star-pants

You've only given it a day for someone to respond, with things that aren't as common you'll find it might take a while before someone happens across a thread that is relevant to them.

I'm sure there are a good few who've had it done but perhaps don't frequent this forum or haven't seen your thread yet. I would definitely not think that it's a case they don't want to scare you. People here post honestly about their experiences, good or bad. Hopefully someone who's got experience either themselves or experienced it with someone close to them will happen across your thread soon.

cltt97

I have no personal experience, but my brother's daughter had this done and he said it's nowhere near like a lumbar puncture, it's just a bit sore for a couple of days after but nothing dramatic. but as I said, no personal experience!

ChewChew

My Dad had it done a few years ago. It's uncomfortable. It is a needle into the hip and then the extraction of bone marrow so it's not going to be pleasant and not necessarily nice. My Dad didn't have a nice experience as they skimmed his hip bone, and as he was going through radium treatment at the time, they had to do some on the hip too. But I believe this is a very rare case.

The_Conductor

I've had it done recently- as my white cell count crashed (due to being on a chemotherapeutic drug). Its an outpatient procedure normally done under a local. In my case it took several attempts to get a sample (before they gave up). You do get a very good local anaesthetic- it doesn't hurt- but it is very uncomfortable (particularly if they have to make several attempts).

Its uncomfortable rather than painful- you may feel a bit sore afterwards- and as it heals I could feel a few small bumps on my hip (where they made the attempts).

In my case- despite the lack of a viable sample (my marrow was described as a thin soup- quite unlike what marrow normally is)- I'm now back to reasonable parameters again (this involved modification of my medication to get me of the chemotherapeutic combinations and onto other drugs).

Its uncomfortable- rather than painful in my experience- but its an outpatient (day patient) procedure- so you get in and out, and have no restrictions on driving etc after it (which was important for me).

Shane

greenbicycle

Thank you all so much for you responses, it's good to hear from people who have some experience of it directly or indirectly.

I suppose I can deal with "uncomfortable", it sounds like it will be just a grit your teeth and bear it experience, I hope that there are no complications or delays with it like some of you have had.

My white blood cells are up and down but mostly the count is quite high which is opposite of what is supposed to be happening as I am on immune suppressants so they need to eliminate the possibility of other diseases with me, hopefully it's nothing too bad and hopefully it's not something that makes getting a sample harder like "soupy marrow"!

Oh the joys of being unwell. . . .