A stem cell transplant is an intensive treatment and you’ll be moved to a room on your own while your immune system starts to recover. This is sometimes called isolation. The isolation and visiting restrictions can make you feel lonely. You might think that you’ll have a lot of time on your hands but you’ll probably feel so tired you won’t feel up to doing much. Take in plenty of books, magazines, computer games and CD’s for the times when you do feel like doing something.
If you’ve had an allogeneic transplant, you may only be allowed to have immediate family visit you. If you’ve had an autologous transplant, you may have other visitors depending on the policy of the unit. If anyone is ill, they’ll be asked not to see you until they are better. Visitors will have to wash their hands and wear protective clothing so they don’t pass on any infection to you.
You’ll be in hospital for between 4 and 6 weeks, maybe more while you recover. Your central line might have been changed to one with 2 or 3 tubes (lumens) so that you can have more medicines at the same time. This means that hopefully there’ll be no need to give you medicines through cannulas, although occasionally you may still need to have one. Around this time, you’re likely to get quite a few of the side effects mentioned earlier. Your nurses will be coming in and out of your room quite a lot, looking after you. You’ll have blood tests every day and all your medicines through your central line because you won’t be able to take them by mouth. You will have:
- antibiotics and anti-viral medicines for the infections
- painkillers for your mouth and throat
- anti-sickness medicines
- blood and platelet transfusions
- liquid food (TPN) or you might have a different type through a tube in your nose (NG feed).
Your blood pressure and temperature will be checked at least every 4 hours but sometimes it can be as often as every hour. You will need to use the portable toilet (commode) each time you need the loo because everything must be measured (including any diarrhoea).
The new stem cells make their way through the bloodstream to your bones. They replace your bone marrow and start to grow into new blood cells. It takes about 2 or 3 weeks before some of these new blood cells are released into your bloodstream but it’s likely to be a few more weeks before you can go home. This is because:
- you’ll still be vulnerable to infections for a while, until your body starts to recover
- you’ll need frequent blood tests to check the levels of all the blood cells in your body
- you might need blood or platelet transfusions until your bone marrow has recovered.
If you’ve had your own stem cells, rather than a donor’s, you may be ready to go home in about a month. You’re at risk of infection for a shorter time and there are usually fewer complications. In some hospitals you won’t be restricted to a room of your own once your blood counts start to go up.
Having a donor’s stem cells is more intensive than having your own. It takes longer to recover and there’s more risk of other complications. You might be well enough to go home after about 6 weeks.
