[Ruth Cuadra]

Dan,

I often had residual hip and leg pain after BMBs until I began to have conscious sedation. I remember that during the first BMB I had (without any sedatives, only local anesthetic), I felt the pull of the aspiration all the way down my leg. It ached for days after that. With later BMBs, even valium was not enough to keep me from feeling pain during and after the procedure. Bone density in the hip area can vary from spot to spot making some places harder to penetrate than others, so it's not surprising that you might have been more uncomfortable this particular time than you might have been earlier.

When City of Hope piloted a program for using conscious sedation for BMBs (requires an anesthesiologist to administer propofol), I tried it and would never go back. When you're completely out, I think you don't tense up or "fight" so there's less pain and virtually no recovery.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Ruth