My father was diagnosed with multiple myeloma late December 2016. He has been on the Revlimid cycle of three weeks on, one week off, up until the end of August. At that point, they decided to take him off of the medicine and begin harvesting stem cells for a stem cell transplant. His final blood test before taking him off medicine had his M-spike at 0.0, which was great news.
They began harvesting stem cells the first week of September, but they did not have much success. The doctor said her goal was to get 5 million cells. He only logged 600,000 over the four-day period. They decided to give his body a break and try again starting again this week. His doctor said the minimum amount that they would accept to do the transplant is 2 million, so the goal was changed. So far this week (Tuesday + Wednesday) he has collected another 1,160,000 stem cells, putting him at 1,760,000. He has two days remaining to try to get 240,000 remaining cells.
My hope for this thread is to share my father’s experience. We are hopeful that he will collect the remaining of the 2 million by tomorrow and then collect some bonus cells on Friday. The transplant is scheduled for next Wednesday, October 4th at the Cleveland Clinic.
Forums
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Tydahs87 - Name: Ty
- Who do you know with myeloma?: My Father
- When were you/they diagnosed?: December 2016
- Age at diagnosis: 56
Re: Dan’s stem cell transplant
Update: My father collected another 200,000 on Thursday, which puts him just over the 2,000,000 threshold.
The stem cell transplant process begins next Monday with the high-dose chemo, followed by the transplant on Wednesday.
The stem cell transplant process begins next Monday with the high-dose chemo, followed by the transplant on Wednesday.
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Tydahs87 - Name: Ty
- Who do you know with myeloma?: My Father
- When were you/they diagnosed?: December 2016
- Age at diagnosis: 56
Re: Dan’s stem cell transplant
Hello,
Will your father be inpatient during all the steps of his stem cell transplant? My mom is about a 3 hour drive to the same center where your father will be. She's going to be admitted for everything.
Hope your father does well Good luck and God bless!
Will your father be inpatient during all the steps of his stem cell transplant? My mom is about a 3 hour drive to the same center where your father will be. She's going to be admitted for everything.
Hope your father does well Good luck and God bless!
Re: Dan’s stem cell transplant
Yes, my father will be inpatient. He was admitted yesterday and received his high-dose chemo, tomorrow is the big day for the transplant.
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Tydahs87 - Name: Ty
- Who do you know with myeloma?: My Father
- When were you/they diagnosed?: December 2016
- Age at diagnosis: 56
Re: Dan’s stem cell transplant
Father received his transplant today. So far he has had no strong side effects from the chemo that he received on Monday, besides being a little tired.
The stem cell transplant took around 6 hours. Before we began, the chaplain came in and blessed the first bag and we prayed. He had 6 bags of cells, one from each day he harvested.
So far he has had a small temperature spike, which has corrected with a little Tylenol (acetaminophen / paracetamol) as well as a lot of fatigue, which was most likely from the Benadryl (diphenhydramine). The doctor said that the temperature was most likely due to the preservative that was used in each bag of cells. Many times when a patient receives 6 bags, we were told they break it up into multiple days due to the nausea and fever side effects. Both didn’t last too long and went away soon after the transplant was complete. Currently he has low blood pressure, doing some research shows that DSMO preservative has been known to cause this. Hopefully this side effect goes away after the DSMO is washed from his system.
Another thing to note. I read that many times patients have an odor from the stem cell procedure. This happened to my father as well! It smelled as if someone was cooking cream corn in our room during the entire transplant. Either we got used to it, or it went away shortly after he was finished.
I’m sure we have some rough days ahead, but so far the procedure has gone pretty well.
The stem cell transplant took around 6 hours. Before we began, the chaplain came in and blessed the first bag and we prayed. He had 6 bags of cells, one from each day he harvested.
So far he has had a small temperature spike, which has corrected with a little Tylenol (acetaminophen / paracetamol) as well as a lot of fatigue, which was most likely from the Benadryl (diphenhydramine). The doctor said that the temperature was most likely due to the preservative that was used in each bag of cells. Many times when a patient receives 6 bags, we were told they break it up into multiple days due to the nausea and fever side effects. Both didn’t last too long and went away soon after the transplant was complete. Currently he has low blood pressure, doing some research shows that DSMO preservative has been known to cause this. Hopefully this side effect goes away after the DSMO is washed from his system.
Another thing to note. I read that many times patients have an odor from the stem cell procedure. This happened to my father as well! It smelled as if someone was cooking cream corn in our room during the entire transplant. Either we got used to it, or it went away shortly after he was finished.
I’m sure we have some rough days ahead, but so far the procedure has gone pretty well.
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Tydahs87 - Name: Ty
- Who do you know with myeloma?: My Father
- When were you/they diagnosed?: December 2016
- Age at diagnosis: 56
Re: Dan’s stem cell transplant
Day +1:
So far no major issues. He his heart beat sped up a bit, but it is also believed that it was due to the DMSO. His temperature is back to normal and hovering around 98.0 F (36.7 C), so all good there.
Because it took 6 days to collect the cells, he had 6 bags on transplant day. The doctor told us that with more bags of cells it is usually harder on a person. We had not heard this before. Does anyone know why that is?
So far he is feeling good. No side effects from the high-dose chemo on Monday and no current issues with the stem cell reinfusion.
So far no major issues. He his heart beat sped up a bit, but it is also believed that it was due to the DMSO. His temperature is back to normal and hovering around 98.0 F (36.7 C), so all good there.
Because it took 6 days to collect the cells, he had 6 bags on transplant day. The doctor told us that with more bags of cells it is usually harder on a person. We had not heard this before. Does anyone know why that is?
So far he is feeling good. No side effects from the high-dose chemo on Monday and no current issues with the stem cell reinfusion.
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Tydahs87 - Name: Ty
- Who do you know with myeloma?: My Father
- When were you/they diagnosed?: December 2016
- Age at diagnosis: 56
Re: Dan’s stem cell transplant
Day +4
My dad's white counts, which had stayed steady the past couple of days, began dropping quickly. He is feeling the need to throw up, but the nurses here at the transplant center got meds into him fast, and he has not yet.
He's very tired today and has asked for no visitors because he doesn’t want to be rude if he sleeps the whole time. Mom is staying there to keep his spirits up and get him to try to stay active when he can.
Praying that this goes faster than expected!
My dad's white counts, which had stayed steady the past couple of days, began dropping quickly. He is feeling the need to throw up, but the nurses here at the transplant center got meds into him fast, and he has not yet.
He's very tired today and has asked for no visitors because he doesn’t want to be rude if he sleeps the whole time. Mom is staying there to keep his spirits up and get him to try to stay active when he can.
Praying that this goes faster than expected!
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Tydahs87 - Name: Ty
- Who do you know with myeloma?: My Father
- When were you/they diagnosed?: December 2016
- Age at diagnosis: 56
Re: Dan’s stem cell transplant
Day +5:
My dad's white blood count was down to 800 last night, I assume that it is near 0 today. He felt good when he woke up, but when he got out of bed he felt very weak and sick. He was able to get a shower, but when he did, he felt as if he was going to pass out. Currently relaxing / sleeping.
My mom was able to get him out of bed to walk around yesterday for a little while, but it's not looking like he will today. He also ate a full meal last night for dinner.
His platelets are currently at 84,000 and the doctor said he wouldn't need a blood transfusion unless they went below 10,000. Hemoglobin is at 11.2; the doctor said that if it gets below 8 they will get a transfusion for red blood cells.
He has lost 6 pounds since yesterday as well.
When the nurse practitioner came in today, he said my father is on schedule, and he suspected my dad would be discharged next Tuesday?
My dad's white blood count was down to 800 last night, I assume that it is near 0 today. He felt good when he woke up, but when he got out of bed he felt very weak and sick. He was able to get a shower, but when he did, he felt as if he was going to pass out. Currently relaxing / sleeping.
My mom was able to get him out of bed to walk around yesterday for a little while, but it's not looking like he will today. He also ate a full meal last night for dinner.
His platelets are currently at 84,000 and the doctor said he wouldn't need a blood transfusion unless they went below 10,000. Hemoglobin is at 11.2; the doctor said that if it gets below 8 they will get a transfusion for red blood cells.
He has lost 6 pounds since yesterday as well.
When the nurse practitioner came in today, he said my father is on schedule, and he suspected my dad would be discharged next Tuesday?
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Tydahs87 - Name: Ty
- Who do you know with myeloma?: My Father
- When were you/they diagnosed?: December 2016
- Age at diagnosis: 56
Re: Dan’s stem cell transplant
Day +5 Evening
They had removed the IV’s a few days ago because he was staying hydrated. Today they hooked him back up due to his nausea and dizziness,thinking it was due to dehydration. So far it has helped. He said he is feeling better and my mom was actually able to get him up to walk the halls for a bit tonight (although he was grumpy). He also hasn’t felt as tired and didn’t sleep as much today. WBC is 0.
They had removed the IV’s a few days ago because he was staying hydrated. Today they hooked him back up due to his nausea and dizziness,thinking it was due to dehydration. So far it has helped. He said he is feeling better and my mom was actually able to get him up to walk the halls for a bit tonight (although he was grumpy). He also hasn’t felt as tired and didn’t sleep as much today. WBC is 0.
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Tydahs87 - Name: Ty
- Who do you know with myeloma?: My Father
- When were you/they diagnosed?: December 2016
- Age at diagnosis: 56
Re: Dan’s stem cell transplant
Day +6:
Last night my dad was feeling pretty decent considering the circumstances. The fluids helped a lot, and he didn't take any Compazine (prochlorperazine) the entire day until late at night because of some indigestion issues. Late in the evening, he also had his first dose of Neupogen post transplant.
This morning he said that he has felt the best he has in the passed couple days. He says he feels that if he is up for a little bit he gets short of breath, which the doctor said is due to his red blood count decreasing and less oxygen in his blood. His main complaint is fatigue and smells. He seems to be very sensitive to the smell of things, which can make him feel nauseous.
Last night my dad was feeling pretty decent considering the circumstances. The fluids helped a lot, and he didn't take any Compazine (prochlorperazine) the entire day until late at night because of some indigestion issues. Late in the evening, he also had his first dose of Neupogen post transplant.
This morning he said that he has felt the best he has in the passed couple days. He says he feels that if he is up for a little bit he gets short of breath, which the doctor said is due to his red blood count decreasing and less oxygen in his blood. His main complaint is fatigue and smells. He seems to be very sensitive to the smell of things, which can make him feel nauseous.
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Tydahs87 - Name: Ty
- Who do you know with myeloma?: My Father
- When were you/they diagnosed?: December 2016
- Age at diagnosis: 56
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