Bone Marrow Biopsy

Hi folks!

I had another bone marrow biopsy on Wednesday, August 30. This was my third one, and I think they are getting worse (because I know what’s coming and the anticipation is getting to me). This is where they drill into my pelvis and extract bone marrow. There are several gut wrenching moments in this process.

1. They numb you with a few lidocane injections. The first 2–3 sticks hurt, and now they burn too because they said that there is a sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) shortage. Apparently sodium bicarbonate is normally added to lidocane to make it burn less.
2. They make sure you’re numb by sticking a needle in and asking “can you feel that” while tapping on the bone. You can’t feel anything except for the sensation of a needle tapping your bone, minus any pain.
3. They get a big noisy drill and go to work. This doesn’t hurt until they break through the bone, but it is extremely unpleasant to feel the pressure of someone drilling into your pelvis.
4. They insert a needle into the hole and then put in something that sucks the bone marrow out. This hurts. A lot.
5. Just for fun, they also go in to get a bone sample. You feel/hear a hard ‘click’ which I think is the tool chipping bone away.
6. Then you lay there and pray that the lab tech says that the sample is good, and that they don’t have to go back in for more.

Some of this is mitigated by the Ativan (Valium) and pain killers (Percocet) that they give you beforehand. I didn’t take the Percocet, but the Ativan dose was a bit too small and hadn’t fully taken hold before the procedure. Next time, I’m going to bring my own and take a bigger dose. Hopefully next time will be a long time from now.

My hemoglobin on Wednesday was 12.6. Still not quite normal, but better. I’m still having moments where I feel like I’m going to pass out, but they are happening less often.

The results of the biopsy should be back in 2 weeks, and then I have an appointment with my specialist on September 19 to nail down the next steps in my treatment. I will probably go in next week to have my monthly Myeloma labs drawn so that I’ll have those results before I see the doctor.

I did a workout* on Wednesday evening. This is the first exercise I’ve done other than walking in about 3–4 months. I was sore the next day, and really sore the day after. Today (Saturday), I had to ice my shoulders. I’ll probably do something lighter tomorrow to ease back into it more slowly.

Other than that, we’ve been enjoying time with our new puppy. He even got to come to work with me one day last week (he didn’t get much work done)..

*the workout was approximately what I used to do for a warmup. That’s a little humbling. For you fitness buffs, it was 10 air squats, 10 shoulder press with a 45lb bar, 3 sets of 10 burpees, and some stretching.