Bone Marrow Biopsy- a necessary tool in ruling out or diagnosing Myeloma

A bone marrow biopsy.  They go into the marrow and pull out a sample from inside the marrow.  I have had 8 or 9 of them now.  They typically will give you a small vial of morphine to drink beforehand to “help.”  I was told it helps with pain in the skin area when they go in but nothing can subdue the pain once they are inside the bone.  They can’t numb bone or the marrow inside.  They use lidocaine on the outside to help with the skin and some tissue pain.  Once they enter the bone, the pain is an 11 out of 10.  It is excruciating BUT it only lasts about 6-8 seconds, then it is back to regular pain. I tell new people you can endure anything for 6 seconds!  If you are new and reading this, ask for a sedation bone marrow right from the start.  I had 4 or 5 without sedation before learning you could be put to sleep during the whole procedure- um, yes please! When you get it with sedation, they give you a small dose of propofol, you fall asleep for about 10 minutes and wake up with the procedure complete.  In a typical biopsy, they may need to go in 1-3 times to get what they need.  They don’t always get it on the first pull.  When I had my first biopsy, we rushed the procedure to get it done fast.  There was no time to schedule with the clinic.  This doctor wanted to move quickly.  I had to have it done on a traditional exam table in a doctor’s office rather than in a bone marrow clinic.  I didn’t receive morphine, just a bit of lidocaine.  She had to go in SIX times to finally get something (probably a combination of having a weird angle on an exam table and the heavy disease burden at that time making it difficult to get anything).  Either way, it was one pull after the next, and it was not fun.