Drain, Drain, go away . . .

Well it's funny that you say that, cos I was sitting at home after having surgery for a broken arm, two weeks after having had surgery to have my dead ovaries removed, with a boob like a bowling ball & feeling menopausal and a bit sorry for myself when I penned a little ditty to the tune of Katy Perry's "Your'e hot then you're cold".  The first line was "I'm hot then I'm cold" (which I was), however the rest of it is not fit for public airing.  Sufficient to say it DID cheer me up and cause much amusement amongst the family.  

The moral of this story is that if you dont laugh you cry, and I have a bad habit of poking fun at politically incorrect stuff but it does keep me smiling.  If I could only keep my lyrics out of the gutter I'm sure I WOULD be famous :) 

OH, Monkeygirl! A record... lol... you are SO my era and.. hey... If I can come up with the words, can you come up with the tune and we can start on our first song?!?!? What do you think??? We COULD become rich and famous... or infamous!! lol... 

Yay so happy to hear you are drain free (" DonnRee, Unplugged", sounds like a record:) i was wondering how you were getting on so thanks for posting an update.  Hope your chemo starts soon so it can END soon, geez it sucks having to go back for a second lot, I dread the thought of having to do it all again, but it's funny isnt it how you just plough your way through whatever get's thrown at you.  Maybe being a seasoned veteran the second lot will be easier?  Don't know, but fingers crossed for you.

Oh, and as for staying sane after eight weeks of drain strain, according to my husband and kids, my sanity has been in doubt for a long time before I ever had that drain!  

Thanks TonyaM. You may have read the post above, so I won't repeat myself, but just wanted to thank you for taking the time to respond. I really do appreciate it. I agree about the syringing. It wasn't painful and I can put up with my chest swelling. In fact, after surgery (and when i was draining well) I had something of a 'hollow' in my chest and found it hard to wear a bra, as it kept slipping up into the cavity where my breast used ot be and then everyting looked weird (one pertend-breast roaming about where it shouldn't be!). So, the swelling has filled the cavity and left a raised area, which is making bra wearing much nicer! So, there are always advantages to situations we may not think we like!! 
Funny thing with the fluid loss, it was always a bit bloody, but then got an infection and started on antibiotics abuot 10 days after the op. Then it gradually went pale and clear, but as soon as they changed to the other bag, it went all smokey again. I asked if that was normal and was told it was. But it seemed strange to me. But that slowly became clear, too. It took a couple of weeks. I have been on antibiotics for about 6 weeks non-stop, and I can't remember the last time ( a decade or more) I had antibiotics, as I prefer to heal naturally, but this time I needed them and they helped. But maybe the infection (or infectionS) have delayed the healing and made me drain more. Either way. I not have NO DRAIN PAIN and my SYRINGE don't make me CRINGE! :-) 
I hope all is well for you! Take care. :-)

Monkeygirl, Thank you so much for posting. Eight weeks... EIGHT WEEKS! That is a nightmare!! You poor thing. I don't know how you kept sane. I was going nuts after 5! You are a remarkable lady! :-)

I think I had just reached my limit when I posted the other day, and I just had the hugest whinge! (A little embarassing!!). I ended up phoning my breast care coordinator (nurse) and left a message, as my drain wasn't working. It was clogged (had done so several times) and my chest was swelling and getting tight and uncomfortable, but not really sore. As I had another appointment at the hospital the next day, she said for me to come in and she would look at it.. and she TOOK IT OUT! OHHH YEAH!!! Yep! It DID fell like winning the lotto!! hehehe

When I had the vacuum drain, it seemed to drain better, but the gravity one didn't. Mind, it was GREAT not to have to carry a bag around all the time! OH.. You SO made me giggle when you told me your airport story! lllooolll.. THANKS!!! It's funny, but getting on with life becomes more important (for me) and I just dragged my bag, then my sticky friend (bag) with me and even went about braless, which otherwise I would NEVER had done!! 
So, as for my drain, my wound (the hole) flowed like a river for several minutes (soaking pads and dressings repeatedly) when the drain was taken out, then it was was out for 4 days and I was due for another check and they drainded another 380ml. This is less than my average loss, but it is building again. This doesn't worry me. The draining wasn't painful and I am happy to have the bag out. I see my medical oncologist in two days and she will check the wound and decide if I can finally start my chemo. 

Funny thing is, while I am not looking forward to chemo, I want to start it, so that it will be all over. Chemo is not nice (well wasn't for me), but I have survived it once and can do it again. :-) It took me a while to feel better after chemo. In fact, It was probably just a couple of months ago that I was commenting to friends how I was starting to feel 'bored' on the weekends, rather than tired and needing Nonna naps! But that was approaching a year after I finished the chemo and radiation, which is pretty average, I think. Give yourself a little time and bit by bit, you get better, then one day you, too, will realise that you WANT, no NEED to do more! :-)

I hope you continue to improve. Remain well, and thank you for replying. Thank you for being honest and sharing. I am sure there are others out there, who will at least feel 'normal' when they read these posts. I know it made me feel better, knowing it just wasn't me. :-)