About twenty seconds after the first marrow bone extraction from the back of my hip for my stem cell procedure started, I wanted to ask “Excuse me? Did you forget the anesthetic part?”. In my polite British manner of course. I actually would have except my face was buried in a hole in a treatment table and I was too busy using my vocal cords to make constant ‘arrgggh’ noises.
I eventually mumbled, “Fuck that hurts!!!”.
The usual dose of local anesthetic had been applied, but it didn’t seem to have much effect. For probably 3 or 4 minutes this meant I had to put up with pain as intense as I think I’ve ever experienced. I think I had deliberately ignored the details of a bone marrow extraction procedure. If you are interested, this is what happens. I imagine as I was having two knees worked on, I went through this procedure twice in two different places.
No wonder it hurt. Needles in your bones are really, really painful. I think I’d request stronger drugs next time!!
It didn’t get much better when the liposuction started from my lower back. As the nurse said afterward, there’s not much fat there so they struggled to suck some out. I would have happily rolled over and let them suck from my beer belly if they had asked!
Ah well. what’s seven or eight minutes of sheer agony in the scheme of things, right (see Part 1 for background)?
After that, it was mostly smooth sailing. The stuff extracted my back was mixed with my blood and injected back into my knees. The knees were swollen due to the volume of fluid, and hurt, but I hobbled out to the car and straight to pick up some hydrocodone from the pharmacy. At least you can get mildly high for a day or so after procedures like this 🙂
I needed those painkillers in the night. I think they helped me sleep a bit too. By morning, the knees had stiffened up and staggering like Brett Kavanagh at a freshman party is an optimistic description of my movement right now.
After making it downstairs (very slowly) and munching on some muesli and coffee, I broke out in a whole body sweat and felt nauseous for 20 minutes. Nothing projectiled from my mouth, but it was a close thing. I think the painkillers are wearing off. Bring on 11am!!
I was hoping to be able to stagger to the local noodle house for dinner tonight. Maybe with a day of ice and rest and minor hobbling around the house, things will improve? But right now tonight’s goal seems very unlikely.
Anyway, let’s finish with a picture of before, and today. just for posterity!
More in a day or three. Now, where are those painkillers?
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