Dear Sarah
I had stem cell harvesting 2 weeks ago. I was told to expect two days of collection but fortunately they got all they needed on Day 1, in a 4 hour session. This was at the Oxford JR hospital.
The worst part of the whole process was in the week previously. First the cyclophosphamide they gave me on Day 1 of the preparation made me feel pretty listless and low for two days. Then 48 hours before the actual harvesting ( on Day 10 of the procedure ) I started to get a pulsing pain in my back. They had warned that this was a possible side effect and a “good sign” as it was caused by the pressure of the newly created cells ( I had been injecting myself with Growth factor all week). I took pain killers ( paracetamol and codeine) and after 24 hours they eventually stopped the pain altogether.
I was connected up to the stem cell extraction machine through a line in each arm. I was in a reclining chair and the nurses kindly arranged pillows so that I could read a book, eat and drink etc. So for me the harvesting was the easiest part of the whole procedure. Hope this helps and that things go well.
Mike
