Swelling Issues after panni?

Hi 

I just joined this site today.  I've been searching on ways to get swelling to go down (Googled several different different ways).

I had a panniculectomy on Oct 11th.  The surgery itself went well, and I was doing great.  I had 2 jp drains, and got the right side out on the 21st, and went back to work on the 22nd (I have a desk job).  He removed 21 lbs of skin and moved my belly button up to a normal spot.  

I was around 310 before the surgery and 294 10 days after the surgery (he told me not to look at the scale while I'm swollen, but couldn't help).  

I've had various complications, but the main one I'm wanting to get rid of is excessive swelling.  The original left side jp drain came out around the 1st of November, because the output just wouldn't go down far enough, but the site was starting to get infected.  

Nov 18th, he had to put a jp drain back in because I was so swollen in my abdomen that it was painful (yep, I've been wearing my binder 24/7).  The stupid drain went in my incision line down by my pubic area, and the tube was up against my fresh scar tissue of my incision line along the pubic area (making me feel fresh from a c-section).  I was in soooo much pain, but we had to leave it in, since the first evening, in about 4 hours it put out over 100 mls.  It stayed around 70 mils for about 3 days, then dropped to 47 mls, 30 mls, and 25 mls on the 24th.  I got the drain out yesterday (11/25), and aside from the pain of the irritated inside, I was doing pretty good.  

I woke up this morning swollen up again (wore my binder tight last night while I was in bed).  I'm wearing a tight girdle during the day, and binder at night.  

Does anyone have any ideas, or things that worked to help bring the swelling back down?  I can't get yet another jp drain put in.  

So far it's not painful, but it is rather uncomfortable.  

Thanks!

Brandy 

If you discover a good way to get the swelling down, you could be a millionaire!  Swelling is normal as the lymph system re-establishes itself.  And it's irritating as heck.  And it can go on a lot longer than the docs ever tell you.  I had a LBL in January, and still find that I'm a little puffy by the end of the day.  But it's much, much better than the first few months.

Keep your compression garments on.  Drink lots of water.  Limit your salt intake.  Some people swear by pineapple to reduce the swelling.  If you like pineapple, give it a try.  Do NOT take diuretics/water pills.  They won't help and can dehydrate you.

Congratulations on the surgery!  With that much taken off, you must feel a world of difference.

The more you have removed, the greater and longer your swelling post op will last.  I had 19 lbs removed and my swelling lasted over 6 months.  I bought several very good full body compression garments and wore them 24/7 for 12 weeks and then I wore them during the day only.  www.designveronique.com is the company where my surgeon purchased his garments and I bought some extras.  They are expensive, but very worth it.  The swelling is part of the game.  It's really bad post work and at the end of the day.  I minimized my sodium intake and increased my protein intake greatly.  Those two things help a lot. 

i am almost 3 years out from my panniculectomy and i STILL have swelling by the end of the day. i firmly believe its because my surgeon never had me wear a binder or compression garments.