hello everyone. My husband's blood count is very low. he had been bleeding
a little from his rectum, which we thought was caused by hemrhoids. He recently had a colonoscopy, it showed no ployps or tumors. It showed many hemrhoids however. at the follow-up appt the doctor stated he now wants to do a bone marrow test in 2 months. i have never heard of such a test, and i have only associated the marrow testing with leukemia. Please, if anyone here has been through such testing, can you tell me what it is usually for. And why 2 months, that is so long to wait. I am so scared and confused. He has not lost any weight and is otherwise healthy. What could the testing be for? Thanks
hi theres lots of reasons for a Bone Marrow test from to seehow your bone marrow absorbs nutriance to see if the bone marrow makes less of a certin blood cell and if it 2 months down the road he the doc just wants to see if it gets better or wores... I had one cause me Hemoglobin keeps falling i dident even wanna get put to sleep when they did it it wasent that bad at all.. Hopfully this helps you?
My husband has had numerous bone marrow tests...as he has leukemia. I'm not sure what other possibilities they may be looking for, in regards to your situation...nor can I understand the 2 month wait..
However, I can explain the bone-marrow test to you..but really, you should discuss this with your doctor more...
The bone-marrow test consists of an aspirate and a biopsy..
they will numb your area - (possibly in the hip, possibly in the sternum..)
once you are "frozen", they insert a needle to draw up bone marrow liquid..they will then insert again to take a small fragment of the bone to conduct a biopsy - to determine what's going on with the cell make-up..
It may take a few days to a few weeks to get all the results in...
If you are anxious about this, please discuss this further with your physician...also, know that they can give you some medication to help relax you..
It can be painful, I will forwarn you on this - but everyone's pain thresh-hold varies, right? You may experience some "soreness" for a day or a few days after that, but it will eventually subside...
Blood-work taken may help give some indication as to your potential problem - but I would suspect that if they want to do a bone-marrow, it is because it probably is the most definitive way of determining what's going on with you. Two months is a while to wait - I would suggest you question the reasoning behind this...
Bottom-line, it's your health and your body and one needs to take an active, assertive approach to it...
Write down all the questions you can muster up - go back to the doc and fire away - and write down the responses you get..so later you can refer back and thus, be well-informed...and remember, one can always seek another opinion, if you end up not satisfied with your answers...
Don't be afraid...you don't really know what's up, yet, right? Often tests are taken to RULE OUT possible problems...stay strong and think positively...If they do find something, educate yourself as much as possible - talk to people - explore options, etc. And if it turns out to be nothing, thank your lucky stars....Best of luck to you - and remember, stay strong - NO MATTER WHAT...
