I feel guilty as I had really no problems before, during or after it except for continued pain from crumbled vertebrae that happened before diagnosis.
The Stem Cell Harvest was done in July and meant a couple of days in hospital and three sessions, unfortunately they only got enough cells for one procedure (just over the minimum 2 million think) but lots of our other members here managed to release twice or three times that number!
It was a weird sensation lying there watching my blood wizzing out and into a big sort of washing machine, hurtling around several sets of tubing then returning down another line into me again, but I just sat and read books on my IPad to pass the time.
I did have to stay an extra night when the dressing over my femoral line "wound" bled like billyo after it was taken out, but no other problems.
Then my Transplant at the end of August (delayed because of me wanting to visit my Mum for her birthday on 12 August).
The transplant was not painful at all. First I went down to theatre to have a Hickman line put in which meant I had two dangling tubes near my collarbone which allowed them to take blood and give drugs without constant injections.
Then a heavy dose of something to kill off my cells (melaphalan I think but am a bit hazy on drug names). Then the transplant when they dripped several bags of fluid into me over a few hours.
I did as they suggested and sucked lots of ice lollies and ice pops while it was dripped in, which I think did the trick of me not getting any mouth soreness or gastric problems. They had warned me that I would probably have sore "tubes" right from the mouth down to the bum and to take unscented babywipes for use later, but I had no soreness at all!
Then it was just a question of waiting patiently till my immunity built back up again. Boredom was the main problem, but I did sleep a lot in between trying to eat hospital food, as I had very little appetite.
So really just a question for me of passing the time till they decided I could go home again, no pain or much discomfort at all.
Again the only problem I had was just before going home as I reacted badly to one of the pre-discharge drugs and had a couple of days of vomiting before they re-prescribed something else and let me out.
Since the procedure I have just been taking things easy, slowly feeling stronger. I was as weak as a kitten on release even thouh I had tried to get up and about while in hospital to get some exercise for my legs.
Now nearly a year later I am feeling "well in myself" though not very mobile due to continuing back pain. I only see my Specialist about every three months now but also go in to have an infusion of bone strengthener (Zometa I think) once a month.
We have a shop which luckily is so specialised that my customers are willing to phone or email me to arrange an appointment to buy their stained glass supplies, so that keeps me busy a few times a week and helps keep the cash flow trickling in.
I have just started at an "active back group" with the hospital physio department and surprise myself at how vigorously I can do 10 one minutes worths of exercise on the various "stations" of their circuit but am still not ready to get my gym membership reinstated. Time will tell!
I hope I have not bored you too much but once I started writing I couldn't stop! A touch of "verbal diarrhoea" I am afraid. 🙁
Lots of love
Eliz
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