LBL question

 Did any of you have drains on your backside? I do not and they are really swelling. All my drains are in the front. I also constantly think I need to use the bathroom. Is that normal? Thank God for pain pills.

Hi Susie, I haven't had my LBL yet. In all my research and following this board for a while I have never seen anyone who mentioned drains on the backside. Not all surgeons place drains and there is some controversy as to whether they are useful or potential sources of infection.

As for the bathroom issue - do you think you might have a urinary tract infection? Or are you in the phase of getting rid of all the fluids pumped into you during surgery and/or the post op swelling and lymph fluid is finally going down - and leaving your body through your kidneys? I would call your surgeon just to be certain.

Hi Suzie,
 
I had drains in my groin area and on the outer tops of my thighs.  Your buttocks/hips/flanks/thighs will swell and subside, swell and subside.  The fluids will go to adjacent areas, and this is perfectly normal.  As to the feeling of needing to use the bathroom, I assume you are referring to feeling the need to urinate.  Excess urination is normal as you rid your body of the fluids, not just from surgery.  Your lymph system will continue to hold fluids and lymphatic massage when it is appropriate, will be very beneficial.  My husband massaged my lower back/buttocks every evening to get that fluid moving.  If you cannot urinate, just getting the "feeling," perhaps you ought to be on the lookout for UTI symptoms.  Otherwise, I think your experience is perfectly normal.

Hope this helps.

Terri

I had 4 drains, two at the top of each leg. But my PS explained that 2 of the 4 actually wrapped around to my back and was draining my back. They bring them out the front to make it easy to empty.

The feeling of needing to urinate frequently is usually a sign of a UTI. They probably cath'ed you while you were in surgery and females often get UTIs from being cath'ed. Talk to your surgeon to get some meds for it.

I had four in the mons area.  The two on the outside wrapped around to the back and the center two went up into the front.  Yours are probably the same way - with two of them wrapping to the back.  It would be very hard to manage protecting, milking and emptying if they were in the back.

The bathroom issue, that didn't happen to me.  At least not with the LBL, with a hysterectomy yes.

Check with your surgeon about the bathroom issue.

And yes - thank God for pain pills.  Except Talwin, that one is horrid (at least for me it is)

No drains in my back side. 2 in the mons area and 2 in the  hip/upper thigh area. Like Barbie my Dr. explained that the ones in my hips/upper thigh wrapped around to my backside (and once they took them out boy could I believe it - suckers were long). Didn't have the issue w/ having to go the bathroom all the time.

Hey Susie,

I am in the same boat.  I just had my one week follow-up  and I have four drains total.  Two in my groin area and two on my sides.  They are annoying and very painful.  My doctor gave me a new prescription for antibiotics and pain pills along with something for nausea.  I haven't been eating much because it is making me sit.  Protein shakes are staying as well as other liquids just solid food is the problem.

Hopefully according to him my drains should com out next week.  YES!!!  My last surgery I had them in for almost 6 weeks.

So hang in there I know it is tuff but it does get better.

Praying you have blessed and restful night.

Jasmine

The drain tubes are most likely wrapped around to your back to help drain that area. Also swelling is very normal after the LBL. I had a lot of swelling in my backside after my LBL. It took a while before it went away. I actually think my back was swollen more than my abdomen. It didn't hurt though.

 Thanks for the responses. I can tell some of the fluid is leaving. I can wear my rings again . I can't stay off the scales. I now weight one pound more than the day I went in for surgery. I wanna see the five pound loss . That what the doc told my DH he removed. Right now I am itching really bad. I am hoping that is a good sign. I hate the compression garment. It makes it hard to go the bathroom. I did get a freshette I heard people talking about and it is a life saver. The dreaded first BM hasn't happened yet. Not looking forward to that, I am passing gas so it won't be long. I just hope I get better soon, getting up and down is rough.

Itching is good, it means the nerves are regenerating. The worst is that you're going to itch where your are numb and scratching doesn't help! Plus I'm afraid I'll scratch too deep since I can't feel it, so I give myself a deep muscle rub instead. It seems to help a little.

The fluids are going ot come and go. My tummy is very flat in the mornings and I look pregnant by afternoon. The pounds are going to fluctuate too, give it time. I think I didn't see weight loss until 2 months out!