bone marrow biopsy
 

Is it painful?

I know i sound like a wimp, but I would rather have it done with a general anaesthetic!

They are a little unconfortable, but only during the few seconds that they take out the aspiration and bone marrow.:(

I second that. It's very uncomfortable for the short time they are trying to get the needle into your bone. They use a local anaethetic that helps some.

asurisuk,

The discomfort varies from person to person but pain management is important for all patients who are undergoing tests, so don't hesitate about bringing up the subject. I suggest that you read the Bone Marrow Biopsy thread, one of the Marrowforums threads where this was previously discussed.

You can always ask for conscious sedation if it is available. Medazulam sp. is used at Kings College if booked in advance.

I find them excruciatingly painful. I've tried the conscious sedation (I'm also at King's), and it really doesn't do much for me. It only makes my head fuzzy but doesn't do anything for the pain so I never use it. I'd rather be able to go home right away afterwards. The only thing that helps me is having my fiance there with my to hold my hand and keep talking to me to distract me. But the BMB room is so small, I often had to put up a fight to allow him to be there.

I am so, so SO glad I don't have to endure them anymore (knock on wood). I've had three spinal taps, a liver biopsy, IVF, skin biopsies, and several surgeries in my day, and the only thing that even came close to the pain of the BMBs was the lung biopsy aftermath (where I was cut open in three places under general anaesthetic and still have numbness near the site of one incision).

We must get the right medicine, the right dose, or just have a great anesthesiologist.

When my wife has had conscious sedation for a bone marrow biopsy, it's been with propofol (trade name Diprivan) and it has worked beautifully. It's the same drug that Michael Jackson overdosed on, but used correctly.

It's as if the anesthesiologist had flipped a switch. One minute my wife is talking to me, then she's out cold in seconds, and when the anesthesiologist wakes her up afterwards she asks "did they do it yet?" She has had no side-effects or after-effects, unless you count the higher bill (covered by our insurance).

I hope every institution learns to administer conscious sedation this well for those who need it. It's total anesthesia, not a topical painkiller, so you must have an anesthesiologist, not just a nurse.

Yeah, this isn't what King's uses (the nurses do it there). I wish they did though, it sounds wonderful!!

Conscious sedation sounds great. However, in case your insurance doesn't cover it, I wanted to let you know my experience with local anaesthetic. I've had a total of four bone marrow biopsies since January. In all cases, they used lidocaine to numb me locally (a shot in the behind) and I had only minor discomfort that passed very quickly without any aftereffects. My first time, like you, I was very frightened that it would be painful and traumatic. Even the second time, I was almost equally scared, thinking the first experience had been a fluke but I was okay again. Third and fourth, I was a lot less anxious. My first was done by a doctor but the others by a nurse practitioner. Hopefully, all will go well with you regardless of the type of anaesthesia.

It's sort of relative...
 

Since Feb.2008 to yesterday I've had the pleasure or rather "pressure" of having four BMBs. Two weeks ago I had the experience of passing my first kidney stone. So let's give pain a comparative rating:(

KSs 10, BMBs 1. :o

Kidney stone: 10, biopsy: 2 Additionally, the pain of the biopsy was over in minutes (especially my 2nd one which was done by a very experienced NP), the kidney stone lasted hours, and was combined with vomiting. So, on one hand, level 10 pain for hours, or level 2 pain for minutes: it's a no brainer :*) After the biopsy I went out to eat, the stone landed me in the hospital needing morphine to deal with the pain and I couldn't eat for 2 days.

Zoe