Bone marrow biopsies very painful

[Lennyr]

My 75 year old husband is being considered for a trial on rigosertib. One of the problems is the Bone marrow biopsies are very painful for him and to be on the trial he must get them frequently. Can anyone offer information that would make these tests more tolerable. He may opt out of the trial bc of this. Thank you . Lenore his wife

[bailie]

Welcome to the forum! Bone marrow biopsies, like these diseases, seem differently for many people. I have had 19 BMBs and have had no problem except the ten seconds when they draw the marrow. That gets most everyone's attention. I have had no after effects ever. The important thing I think is to match a person's pain tolerance with the pre-medication. For me Lidocaine was used for local anesthesia followed by Fentanyl 50 mcg IV. Some people need to be "put out" completely. I wish both of you the best.

[Lennyr]

Thank you for your response Bailie. What is fentanyl. Is that through an Iv?

[bailie]

From Wikipedia, "Fentanyl (also known as fentanil) is a potent, synthetic opioid pain medication with a rapid onset and short duration of action. It is a potent agonist at the μ-opioid receptors. Fentanyl is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine.

I can't tell the effect from the fentanyl but it must work fine for me. Yes, it is administered by IV.

[Neil Cuadra]

Lenny,

My wife had quite a few bone marrow biopsies. For her, local/topical pain relief wasn't enough, so for bone marrow biopsies the hospital started giving her the surgical anesthetic propofol (brand name Deprival), by IV. It worked perfectly to prevent the pain, and recovery was quick and easy. As an added benefit, her hematologist said that they got a better bone marrow sample because her body was relaxed instead of tensed due to the pain. Not all treatment centers take pain issues seriously enough to do this, so you have to speak up about it. Start by asking what pain relief options they have available, and let them know if the answer isn't satisfactory. That's what we did.

[rar]

I had about a dozen BMB. Most of them was no worse than a mosquito bite. On one the local anesthetic didn't work and hurt pretty bad. Find a NP who knows how to give a shot and stay with them.

Ray

[lisa3112]

I LOVE fentanyl and midazolam! They both don't last long in your system and you feel totally relaxed. Maybe ring and ask them. Im sure they will help you in any way to get ppl in study. Good luck.