Hi Den,
I agree with Elaine. I had a transplant 4 years ago and am doing well. I also volunteer as a mentor with Be the Match. There is so much information to convey. Please let me know if you have any specific questions. In general, be positive and do whatever your team recommends. Also, the hospital staff is there to help you. Do not hesitate to ask questions and to report any discomforts you might be having. They will address them. Make sure you avail yourself of the services at the hospital e.g. Physical therapy, chaplain, social work, nutritionist. Bring tops that open in front to accommodate whatever kind of central line that is used, hoodies are great. Bring an iPad or laptop, stuff to read, and a TV Guide if you are a TV watcher. Be prepared at home for being a germaphobe for the first 100 days. I wish you all the best!

I had an autologous Bone Marrow transplant used my own Bone marrow!!! That was Oct 1987!!! Whoop Keep punchin!!! I was 25 when I got sick I'll be 63 in Nov!!! You can do it!!!! GOD BLESS you!!!!

You went through a lot. Gd bless.

Thank you ,that sounds like a lot to go through after I've been in remission but I'll do what they tell me

Good information Patricia. Den-Some nausea that can be controlled by meds. You may have vomiting. My doctor explained that the chemo they were giving me kills my cells from my neck down and those dead cells are shed through diarrhea or vomiting but it’s controlled by meds. My nurses made sure they didn’t let my nausea get out of control so make sure to tell them if you need meds. No significant pain that I remember but Patricia may have had a different experience. The stem cell itself is kind of anticlimactic. It took 7 days of chemo to get my bone marrow prepared for the donated cells. Those are the worst days. I had a chart on my wall showing how low my red and white blood counts dropped every day and on day 8 I had a day to rest-no chemo. My counts were down as low as the doctor wanted and my donor was in the hospital in Scotland going through the donation process. On day 9 the donated cells came in from Scotland around 1PM. They brought them to my hospital and the lab counted out what I was going to get and dyed them purple. At 4PM they brought them to my room and while a rabbi prayed with me they hung a small IV bag and started the transplant. It was done by 4:21. My nurse stayed in my room and told the other nurses to take care of his patients because he’d be in my room for the next 12 hours or so. By 10 that night there was evidence in my bloodstream that they were there. From that point on I did well. No transfusions, no nausea meds. I had stomach shots of a bone growth med for 12 days. Not much pain. I checked into the hospital on 10/7/19 and went home 11/12/19. Make sure you take sweats so you can walk around the floor without worrying about exposing yourself. You’ll feel like walking. Good luck!