bone marrow biopsy after pain

Sable1416

Can anyone share experiences with bone marrow biopsy and pain for days after?    in my husband's case, his bones were so hard the doctor had to stand on a chair and literally broke a sweat getting it done.   Lots of back pain 2 days after - is this normal?   DX at this point is low grade Extranodal Marginal Lymphoma - a MALT.    This was after a right tonsil was removed.   Still in shock here, and not feeling much.   No results from tests except blood, which was normal.   We meet in another week with doctor.   And, we are in the middle of a house renovation.   Thanks for any help or shared experiences!

po18guy

Try not to panic

He must have really good bones. The needle must crunch through bone to get to the marrow, and the more force used, the more potential there is for discomfort. But, it all passes quickly. I have had "easy" bone marrow aspirations that were sore for two weeks or more, and others which I barely felt. Blood tests rarely show lymphoma until it is at late stage with widespread disease - by then it would be completely obvious. Here is an information page on MALT Lymphoma from the Lymphoma Research Foundation, an excellent resource. MALT is an indolent, or slow-growing lymphoma. As such, it may not need treatment for some time ahead - that is up to your hematologist to determine. There are advantages and disadvatnages to early treatment and it is often better to simply watch and wait, also known as active surveillance.  

dana-mihaela

Hi there

I had also pain from my bone marrow biopsy for a couple of days after. I remember it was extremely painfull at the time of the biopsy. Horror! I happen to have the same cancer dx as your husband, extra nodal marginal zone lymphoma. It is a slow growing cancer and sometime they recommend waiting period with no treatment specially if the tumor is on the part of the body that does not affect any organ. It was not my case, where the tumor was around spinal cord pressing on the nerves so I had to have treatment right away. Good luck!

Sable1416

Thank you.   He can barely

Thank you.   He can barely stand up, and he is not a baby about pain.  I wonder if he over did it as the day after he did a lot of yard work as he really felt ok.  We did get some pain meds so hoping that things will calm down over the weekend and we can make the dermatologist appt on Monday.   He has a few rashy spots that have long gone undiagnosed so we are not sure if they are related.    Dana, how was the R CHOP?

Sable1416

Just to update - feeling

Just to update - feeling better today after a night with Percocet.    THankfully, he has agreed to just lie down and take it for a day or too instead of trying to get things done around the house.   Some people just don't do resting well.....

dana-mihaela

Sable1416 said:

Thank you.   He can barely

Thank you.   He can barely stand up, and he is not a baby about pain.  I wonder if he over did it as the day after he did a lot of yard work as he really felt ok.  We did get some pain meds so hoping that things will calm down over the weekend and we can make the dermatologist appt on Monday.   He has a few rashy spots that have long gone undiagnosed so we are not sure if they are related.    Dana, how was the R CHOP?

R-CHOP for me

Hi Sable,

I had 5 infusions and after infusion #3 I had a PET scan that showed the tumor was dead. We did 2 more infusions just to be on the safe side and my tumor was kind of big around 6 cm in diameter. They recommended also radiation because the tumor was localized on the one spot only with no other spots. I refused radiation and I did only 5 infusion of chemo. How was it for me? First one was scary I did not know what to expect. Believe it or not the worst for me was the Prednisone part of the therapy. I had very bad side effects from it, agitation, insomnia and after finishing it (you have to take 100mg Prednisone each day for 5 days after the chemo you get such a low energy, fatigue very awful feeling. After one week after each chemo I started to feel better. Chemo 2 and 3 were not that bad because I knew what to expect and chemo 4 and 5 were the worst with all the side effects accumulating. Chemo is harsh on the body and the WBC goes very low. You are prone to infections, I had to have Neulasta shots between each chemo to increase the production of WBC. This was helpful and I did not have any infection thanks God. All in all it was not that bad. No infections for me and I kept going to work every day ( so then you know I am telling you the truth). The only missing day of work was the infusion day. I have an office job so maybe that was not too much energy consuming. I do think each person reacts differently and the mind/brain pays a very powerful role. Good luck to your husband.

Dana

lindary

Dana

You routine with chemo sounds a lot like mine. I had 6 rounds of R-Chop. My infusion day was Tues. That was the first of 5 days of Prednisone. Saturday was the last. While taking it I would have periods of high energy (not sleepy) and sleepy times where a bomb would probably not wake me up. The Mon-Tues after stopping the prednisone I felt like I hit a brick wall. All I wanted to do was sleep. I tried taking a nap on Sunday but I am not sure if it reall yhelped or not. But on Wed I would haul myself into work until the next round started. 

The bone marrow biopsies really do hurt. I have been told that my bones a fairly dense and they have to push hard to get the biopisies. Soemtimes I am not sure how I get through them. However I am lucky in that once it is done I am fine by the next morning. 

 

Sandy Ray

Hi,

Hi,

Sorry to answer your question for Dana. However, I am on treatment 4 of 6 on the R chop and wanted to give you my perspective. Thus far the RCHOP has not been extremely rough for me. Each treatment you learn a little more how to treat side effects a little better. Here are a few that have helped me. Understand I know everyone is different physically and emotionally in how they handle this.

1. Constipation is one of my most hated problems. I start taking senokot and colace the day of treatment and for about 6 days every night before bed. This may not be needed for everyone but the side effects from the constipation was a real pain. 

2. The Prednisone effects everyone different. I try not to nap during the day and I take it first thing in the morning and it does not appear to effect my sleep. I know this is different for others. It does affect my blood sugar (no i am not diabetic) so unless I want to take more meds. I do not. I eat a low carb and low sugar diet. Primary meat and eggs and vegetables. It takes about 8 days for my sugar to get back to normal. The sugar issue does not happen to everyone. Usually day 2 or 3 after the last dose of prednisone is a little rough. Aches and pains nothing severe. On that day I do take a nap.

3. Hair loss began the week before treatment 2. I just shaved it off got tired of seeing hair on everything.

4. There is some fatigue and it has increased with each treatment. Not severe but treatment 3 has been a little more than I expected. Sitting around watching TV or surfing the internet is not a problem. Going out and walking or doing anything of consequence I can make it 1-2 hours before I feel like I need a nap. Usually a 2-3 hour nap and I am feeling pretty good again.

5. The drugs can be rough on stomach and bladder. Keep something in both and it helps. So DRINK plenty of water and make sure you eat. If not you will most likely have some stomach pain and burning on urination. If it burns on urination I drink 2 bottles of water and it seems to do the trick. If that does not help you may need to call the Dr to make sure you do not have an infection.

There are other side effects but so far I have not had any. Well nothing serious. My blood levels have dropped but no infection. Some tingling and some taste issues during first week of every treatment each time. These were very minimal problems. If I can help in any way please let me know.

One final note. The first time you get Rituxan. The R in RCHOP you may have some reaction. I did. They stopped the infusion  gave me Benadryl in heavy doses and started again. Took 8 hours to finally get the whole dose. Came back next day to for the CHO. The next 2 treatments no reaction. Most people I do not think take 2 days for the first treatment. All in all it was not to bad.

I also have a port. If using a port get the lidocaine cream from your Dr and apply 2 hours before treatment and you hardly feel them access it.

Hoping things go well!