Just thought we needed yet another drain topic

I've been reading about everyone's seromas and swell hell.....and now i'm terrified.  I have one drain that's been draining less than 10 cc a day for almost a week now.  The other drain is sitll draining anywhere from 25 to 50 cc a day.  If they take both out tomorrow, am I going to be in swell hell too? Or will they take the one out and leave the other?  Both are bad scenarios.   Shee****hink I could cry.  Again.

I was stressed the night before my appt where I thought I'd get my drains out so I totally understnad your questions. I can't compare how many cc because I emptied the bulbs and my husband measured for me and when I looked at the cu it looks to me like it was measured in ML. (?? not sure why or if maybe I was looking at it wrong)
ANYWAY, mine came out Thursday and I've had very little swelling additional to what what already there, which still appears to be minimal compared to the swell hell I have also heard about.
Oh, and one of mine was draining a little more than the other one so I don't think that is very unusual either. All I know is that when my PS looked at the measurements we documentated he just said oh, you don't need those anymore....and I almost kissed him! LOL 
Best of luck, all will go well.   

I'll be a week out tomorrow and I'm draining about as much as you.  I see my doc on Wednesday and he said he MAY take it out then.  I'll have to wait and see.  I'm like you, not sure if that would be a good or bad thing!

I was two weeks today.  Surely they will come out.  I hope.  And not give me a pregnant belly. 

I was four weeks out this past friday from a LBL with anchor cut TT.  I had four drains and still have three in, all draining more than 30 cc's a day, which was what the Dr. suggested was the goal before he'd remove them.  I have almost no swelling or bruising and have had a smooth recovery and good incisional healing.  He told me last week that he may take some or all out tomorrow but in any event, will get them all out by next Tuesday because at some point, they can be the cause of the draining by irritating the system.  He's very good and I trust his judgment on these things.  He seems not concerned at all.

I understand the draw to have them out as soon as possible and the counter thought that you don't want them out too soon.  Having your cake and eating it too.  I get it.  Thing is, in the end, the time you'll need them is so short compared to the rest of your life, it only makes sense to just tolerate them for as long as you need them.  If you'd told me before surgery that I'd have most of the drains for over 5 weeks I'd have been pissed.  Now I just feel like you do what you have to do to get the best result and roll with it cause we're so lucky to have gotten these procedures and we want them to work out the best they can.  Trust your doctor and let whatever he tells you be okay cause it's towards a healthy and longterm recovery.  I suspect you'll be fine and I will be too.  Good luck.

The drains are annoying but as others said for the good. As I reached the minumum mine were removed. 1 or 2 at a time. It may be longer than we want but as Shrek said...better out then in I always say. It is better for that stuff to drain out of the body then be stuck and possibly become a seroma. I hope you get them out soon.




 

Don't freak out. You are NORMAL. Mine were JUST LIKE that. They took one drain out today and left the other till it drained less. And don't worry, it doesn't hurt whent hey take it out.

 The other key is to make sure you wear your compression garment as much as you don't want to it does help keep the swelling and fluid down. I wore mine all the time other than showering. and when I went back to work I wore it under my clothes and only took it off for a few hours when I came home but then I would LIE in bed and did NOTHING for those few hours I had it off. If I got back up and started moving around I put it back on. And then MAYBE I took it off to sleep at about six weeks out, But I wore that thing like a security blankets and it really did help keep my fluid retention down and i ==i think its what helped keep my stomach so flat. Good luck all.

I am the same way. I wear my binder all the time but when i shower (my doc said i could even with 2 drains in). Then I rest on my bed a while with out it and put on the ointments, etc. After less than an hour, it's back on.

Kristina - did you ever switch to a Spanx compression thing?  I ordered 2 the other night but had plans of wearing the binder for a while longer...