Hi guys! I think this will be my last top-related post pre-op, but this one kind of jumped on me in the last couple of days, especially as I read into what stripping a drain entailed and thought about my poor mom, who might just throw up or pass out doing it. Since she will be taking care of me those first few days post-op, this is kind of a problem.

Did anyone have experience with emptying their own drains, even on the first day? I don't want to make my mom feel terrible, trying to measure the fluids and stuff, especially when I know I'd be mentally fine doing it myself and would gladly do so, if necessary. I doubt my dad would do it, that seems even out of his comfort zone—I'm the kind of person that would easily be able to watch my own surgery if they just gave me local, whereas my parents... probably not in that same boat, if I had to place money on it. What to do, guys?

My mom stayed over for two days after surgery and insisted on doing everything for me, however I was perfectly capable of emptying my own drains. It's really simple and not an intensive process, the most annoying part is figuring out where to clip them when you're done so that the tubes don't annoy you lol

Haha okay, maybe I'll be good to do it myself then, at least the first day. My grandma and aunt, who are both nurses, are coming down the day after and will probably insist on doing it all for me that day, but I just don't want to force my mom into more than she's comfortable with.

My wife emptied my drains for me but I would have been fine to have done it myself if I had to. It's super simple to do. One recommendation I'll make is this. .. I'm not sure what you set up will be after surgery but after my surgery I was put into a compression vest with the drain tubes under the vest. The nurse forgot to inform us that the drain tubes needed to be moved around 2 to 3 times a day and as a result I got some pretty nasty painful blisters from the rubber tube being compressed against the same spot on my skin.
Good luck with your surgery! I'm one month post op now and have never felt better!

Thanks man! Now my biggest hurdle is not getting sick... my deskmate at work just developed a cold, I moved work spaces the day she started sneezing; the next day (after I moved) she started coughing. So yeah, I'm in the final stretch, and it's getting dangerous 

But thank you guys, I'm thinking I'll just empty the drains myself. I'm not sure what kind of setup I'll have either (I'll know next Friday at pre-op, I assume), but I'm pretty sure it'll have drains involved, since that's the norm with most DI results.

My best friend helped me my first day out of surgery. I was really not looking forward to the drains at all! I'm not much for seeing that stuff in person but I can look at it online (morbid curiosity gets the best of me sometimes lol). It's actually very simple to do on your own. Just get an alcohol pad in one hand and pinch the top or middle of the tube with your other hand and pull it down slowly with the alcohol pad. The pad helped a lot so it would glide down the tube easy with no friction (if that makes any sense).

Don't get scared if one tube is a darker red and the other is clear and yellowish. My one side was darker and that side ended up being my problem side with swelling.

The drain type I had was called a  Jackson-Pratt Drain. You can look it up, that's usually the one they use.

I'm with everyone else--they're quite easy to strip, and I had no problem doing it myself from the start. Alcohol swabs help, but I found they'd dry up halfway down the tube so I ended up just using water and cleaning them off with the swabs after. Whatever works for you, but I'd say the most difficult part of stripping them is when you get a nice chunky blood clot or piece of tissue in there. They always get stuck at the end of the tube and won't go into the bulb!

Quote from: kaidenhendricks89 on July 16, 2015, 12:12:46 PM
The nurse forgot to inform us that the drain tubes needed to be moved around 2 to 3 times a day and as a result I got some pretty nasty painful blisters from the rubber tube being compressed against the same spot on my skin.

I had this same problem! Although they were less blisters and more just long scratch-like things that itched really badly. I'd definitely recommend moving the tubes around under your compression bandages/vest at least a couple times a day (definitely when you get up in the morning).

I'd also recommend putting some kind of fabric between your skin and the bulbs, not because they'll make your skin blister but because they tend to stick and get very warm and it's really uncomfortable in the already hot summer, haha.

Also another thing, the bulb has a stopper on top. Be really careful when you open this and make sure you are opening in the toilet. When I first opened mine blood shot right out of it and got all over lmao. Oh and obviously don't EVER remove the bulb from the tubing, it's sterile and it's meant to stay on there. I never cleaned the tube from the incision site. I just cleaned it from where the tube appeared from under my binder. I dunno if any others actually did it from the incision site but I was just too scared of ripping it out.

This is all really great for me, thanks a million. I'm trying to be as informed as possible, so I can be a resource for people taking care of me who might not (and probably won't, even my nurse relatives) have experience with my sort of recovery and such. Plus I'm pretty independent, so it makes me feel better, knowing how to do it myself.

Quote from: Dante on July 16, 2015, 01:30:53 PM
I'm with everyone else--they're quite easy to strip, and I had no problem doing it myself from the start. Alcohol swabs help, but I found they'd dry up halfway down the tube so I ended up just using water and cleaning them off with the swabs after. Whatever works for you, but I'd say the most difficult part of stripping them is when you get a nice chunky blood clot or piece of tissue in there. They always get stuck at the end of the tube and won't go into the bulb!

I had this same problem! Although they were less blisters and more just long scratch-like things that itched really badly. I'd definitely recommend moving the tubes around under your compression bandages/vest at least a couple times a day (definitely when you get up in the morning).

I'd also recommend putting some kind of fabric between your skin and the bulbs, not because they'll make your skin blister but because they tend to stick and get very warm and it's really uncomfortable in the already hot summer, haha.

i never had those issues. my nurse also put the bulbs against my ace bandages and near the front of my chest a bit so they weren't in the way and never got sticky/warm. if you did have those issues though i recommend doing what these guys say.

the most uncomfortable thing of the whole process for me was the drains tbh. they're so uncomfortable even if they're not in the way and when they come out and you get that vest, bandages, etc. off it's the biggest relief ever. my drains were only in for 3 days and same with my ace bandages. i just had to keep my tape on for as long as possible (which is another thing, let the tape fall off on it's own, you'll see way better results that way) and keep my nipples covered. every surgeon is different though but the tape thing i definitely recommend.

I'll have my drains in for exactly a week, as far as I'm aware; my scheduler auto-booked an appointment for the Monday after my previous Monday surgery, and I can only assume that'll be when I get my drains out.

I'm actually kind of surprised you guys all found the drains so easy to deal with, seeing as though we kind of have the mobility of a t-rex post-op  guess I'm overestimating!

Yeah, man...you'll be able to do it yourself, no problem.  The drains will be gone before you know it.  Your range of motion at the elbow and wrist will be pretty normal...just the movements that involve lifting your shoulder joint are gonna be tough for a while.  Sounds like you are stoked and ready!!!