Home from panniculectomy

Hey all.. Well, I made it!! Had my panni removed on the 18th.. 23 pounds removed!! YAY!! Dermatolipectomy of the mons as well. Everything went smoothly except I became very anemic in the hospital (which was actually not a shock to me or the docs) they gave me 2 units of blood, needed more, but I seemed to be doing well so they didn't want to do anymore. I'm currently taking iron. Not in a whole terrible amount of pain. I have 4 drains, which are another story...
What is the fluid/blood supposed to look like in these drains? I have 2 on each side. My #3 drain is (and was in the hospital as well) the one that drains a whole lot. I'll try to explain this as best as I can....
The 2 on my right are good, they are pretty clear, and don't fill up a whole lot. The 2 on my left side are dark red and somewhat thick blood/fluid..Not sure if the dark red and thick is ok??? No pain from them and my incision and drain site all look fine.. Should I be concerned about what color the fluid is??
The drains are my only concern at this point. I even stopped taking my pain meds the day I got out of the hospital. Oh, and one more little "it can only happen to me" funny note... My period started when I was in the hospital on Monday as well... JUST what an anemic person needs, right??!! LOL
If you have ANY advice on these drains and as to why my left and right sides are looking/draining so different I would appreciate it.. PLEASE just email me at my personal email address, as I'm not on the computer much right now, but can get my email on my phone... I would REALLY appreciate any advice on this. I don't really feel like going all the way back up to the hospital! LOL My personal email: [email protected]
Thanks everyone!!

so glad your doing well....keep up the good work =)

The drain color sounds pretty normal. Mine were a bright red at first and as the drainage slowed down it became more of a lighter color, almost a light brownish or yellowish color. Kind of hard to explain.

all my best to you! i had my panni done almost 2 months ago.

We appear to be in the same boat.  My surgery was the 18th.  Stomach skin removed as well as a huge hernia.  I had four units of blood during my stay.
My problem is that I am not hungry, get nausea often, and back hurts.  I don't even want to drink water. I am pleased that I don't have alot of pain just uncomfortable.
Guess my problems are normal.  Will keep reading posts to find out more. Glad your surgery went well.  hope you will continue to improve.

How are you feeling? Recovery is going so SLOW for me... I can't stand these drains either. How many do you have? All I want is to get back to my normal routine. Get these drains out so I can wear normal clothes, you know? LOL... I get my stitches out in 3 days. Drains are still doing the same thing I posted about. Went to the nurse to get the ones that weren't draining much out, and she said it's way too soon and she didn't want me to end up with a seroma and have to get drains reinserted.. yuck, neither do I so we kept them in. Feeling a little depressed as well. Not about the fact that I had the surgery done, I'm thankful and happy with the results, just that swelling isn't going down as fast as I'd hoped and I'm so limited... Anyway, just curious as to how you're doing! :)

I am feeling better every day.  Had two drains and most of the staples removed last Wednesday.  I go Tuesday to get the others out.  He left the staples in longer around the intersection of the two lines.  I tire easily and still have back aches.  I don't sleep more than about two hours at a time but wasn't doing much more than that before. 
I love my stomach.  It is flat and NO overhang.  I don't know how much is swelling.  Dr said it would not be where it will stay until about 6 months.  I bought a few loose fitting sundresses to wear until I can comfortably where my zippered pants.
Hope your drains come out in 3 days.  I hate that feeling of them between my legs!
Keep me updated.