Hi Tina! My name is Janie. I'm 55yrs old. I just had my stem cell transplant on April 5, 2024. I was diagnosed Dec 19, 2023. Started treatment on Dec 26,2023. I did 4cycles of drvd and achieved mrd negative 3-21-24. The next week I started preparing for the transplant. Had a shot of Pegfilgrastim which is a stem cell stimulant to increase your wbc, got my central line placed (painful), had a shot of mozobil which mobilizes the stem cells out of the bone marrow and into the blood stream( side effect diarrhea..had 3 episodes before i even left the clinic), harvested stem cells (painless and took about 6hrs), was admitted into the hospital and received my dose of melphalan a very strong dose of chemo (no immediate effect), received my transplant (painless and took less than an hour)the next day. For me the side effects from the chemo started about day 4 (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, mouth ulcers and hair loss). It was the worse side effects I'd ever experienced. I felt awful and extremely tired. I was in the hospital for 14days. I was so happy to be discharged. It's hard to get good rest when you are interrupted so many times by the nurses and drs coming in your room to do their job to take care of you. For the next couple of weeks out of the hospital, I was still very sick with side effects. It started getting better about a month after the transplant. I'm now on day 86 after transplant and I feel pretty good. I still have no stamina. I tire easily. I walk a mile everyday on my walking pad. But I still battle with chronic fractures in my back. Unfortunately the fractures and the pain hold me back from having a normal life. I'm scheduled for another MRI and another PET scan. I'm still MRD negative and should be so grateful, but my back pain stills my joy. I haven't started any post transplant treatment yet. My oncologist wants all my test results first. He hasn't decided if I'll be doing another 2cycles of drvd or go to monthly daratumumab and daily revlimid. I have been fortunate to not have any side effects from the drvd treatments. Melphalan is the only one that kicked my butt. I'm very glad I did the stem cell transplant and hope I never have to do it again but I would reluctantly.
I hope this helps. Prayers for you!