Will soon have a Bone Marrow Transplant: What can I expect?

My husband will also receive a bone marrow transplant in Feb. for MDS. We are very anxious especially since we had been told that he wouldn't be a candidate earlier in this process since re had a infection after his first round of heavy chemo and it left him quite weak and mentally disabled. But he has done super with the help of the hospital physical therapist and social worker and is now on target. A lot of prayers have been answered. We have been fully informed of risk and feel that this is the only hope for any kind of cure and some sort of normalcy in the future.
At the present time we are just waiting for his counts to come up from his last chemo treatment and keep him infection free. We have had all the pre test done and all are good. The donor marrow is on schedule to arrive also in early Feb. All systems a go. For anyone with this diagnosis it was very scary but hopefully will be worth it all. take the risk.

Hi @martetom You’ve asked some very good questions about a bone marrow transplant. Is it painful, uncomfortable? What about the chemo, and what to expect for side effects?
With the Autologous transplant, being able to use your own cells, the journey is a little less arduous than with a transplant using cells from a donor because your cells and body are familiar with each other. With cells from a donor it’s a little more complicated.

Your own stem cells will be harvested and preserved to be re-infused into your body after the chemo has prepared your marrow for the transplant. All of this happens through a port to make it easier for you. And the transplant itself takes usually less than a half hour. It’s given just like a blood transfusion. Pretty anticlimactic considering the buildup. ☺️

Generally an Auto transplant such as yours, will require 1 or 2 treatments of the preconditioning chemo. That is a strong chemotherapy treatment which cleanses the defective marrow from your bones and gets them ‘squeaky clean’ so that when your harvested cells are replaced, they have a healthy new start.
Once transplanted, it takes a couple of weeks for the cells to engraft, basically set up housekeeping in your marrow again.

During that time you’ll feel weak, fatigued, most likely nauseated, possibly have some tummy issues and sores in your mouth. That sounds awful but it is managed nicely with medications. The transplant teams of doctors and nurses do their best to keep their transplant patients comfortable and safe.

Safety to avoid infection is paramount so you’ll have directions for foods to avoid, the need to wear masks and cleanliness of the area around you. Those instructions are usually given in informational sessions before a transplant.

You’ll also be required to stay in or near the hospital where the transplant takes place for around 6 weeks and need a dedicated care giver to accompany you.

What I’d like to do is have you read this accounting from @capthondo who recently had a Auto transplant at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. I think you’ll find his journey inspiring.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/747475/
His story and others are in this discussion: Want to talk about Multiple Myeloma
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/multiple-myeloma-299aae/?pg=28#comment-747589
What blood disease is prompting your need for a bone marrow transplant?

Hi Lori. Thanks for responding to my message. The type of transplant will be Bone Marrow Transplant Autologous.

Good morning @martetom, Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. For your first time posting you’re jumping right in with a biggie! If you’re at the point where you’re ready for a BMT you’ve already gone through a rough patch in your life. If you don’t mind my asking, what medical adventure led you to needing a bmt?
There are different types of Stem Cell/Bone Marrow transplants. The most common being Autologous, using your own cells or allogenic, using cells from a donor. When being able to use your own cells generally the pre-conditioning is shorter, recovery is faster and the length of time required at the hospital is less. The cells already recognize the body so there is no concern for rejection.
The allo transplant, using cells from a donor, requires a longer preconditioning treatment, recovery is slower and the usual required time at the transplant location is at least 100 days. There can be some challenges with the new cells wanting to play nice with its host…your body…but these are all worked around and the gift is a second chance at life! Definitely worth the journey!

With both transplants, there is nausea and fatigue. But, as you’ve most likely already experienced if you have a blood cancer, this passes.

We have a number of shared stories in a discussion I prompted after my transplant. I’d love to have you meet some fellow BMT survivors in the group: We’re all more than willing to help you out in any way we can. Please meet: alive, @waveg @edb1123 @lisal64 @pamh480 @secglc2 and others in the group!
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/my-bone-marrow-transplant-bmt-story-will-you-share-yours/
Do you know the type of transplant you’ll be having?