jp drain clogged

blg4

My drain is clogged but it is inside the blub.. at the top where it meets the tubing. I have tried stripping the tube but I can't get it out. I have tried searching for solutions. Everything just says to strip it or flush it. I don't have the kind that can be flushed. Not sure if it is a big enough deal to call the on call line. (It is after hours when I am writing this.) Any suggestions?

ksusan

Call. That's what they're there for.

blg4

I called. The doctor that called back had me do stuff.. that I don't really want to list because it might not apply to someone else who is reading.. it should definitely only be done if advised by a doctor. It involved disassembling the bulb... so obviously you want a dr to tell you how so you don't get an infection. (then again she didn't actually tell me how.. didn't even tell me to wash my hands. I had to stop her and tell her maybe I should wash my hands.) She was talking about having me get a replacement bulb.. but I don't live close by. I was finally able to get the tissue out with her help. I have been able to get other clots out on my own.

For someone who might see this on a search... she told me if I started having fever, chills, more pain etc I should call back. If the drain started to drain I wouldn't need to call back. (It was draining but not much.) I told her I was already having more pain. She asked about redness or hardness around the area. I didn't really touch myself much because I didn't want to disturb anything so I don't know if it is harder or the same. My fever was 99.3. The reason I called and didn't just wait until tomorrow was because of the increased pain. I thought fluid might be backed up. I didn't know how fast infection would set in.

Too early to know if the drain is going to work after being "fixed"

jnKinna

I had the JP drains two years ago. Mine did not get infected, but it sounds like yours are. You won't have to guess if 'it' gets hard (directly on the incision site) or gets infection it will not be slightly pink but deep red.And very sore. It should not be sore or more pink than the rest of your skin. Any fever means there's an infection. If your fever is not gone by this time you need to go to your dr. office to have the surgeon tend to it. Don't wait. And don't worry that any list of stuff you post is senseless, it's all good. Hope you are taken care of by the time you read this .

blg4

The office called me. Said that the bulb was sterile. I think that the on call person was wrong last night. She shouldn't have had me disassemble the bulb.

I told her I had been stripping the bulb more than normal because it seemed nothing was going in on its own. Then again the output is on the lower side now.. so hard to know if it would have been low anyway or if it is still clogged where I can't see it.

The nurse is going to wait for an hour and call me back. She is going to talk to the doctor when he comes in. If I lived closer I would just go in and they could give me a new bulb. The problem is, it is a Friday afternoon. Hard to find someone to drive me up there on short notice. (It is over an hour drive.) If I say I am ok.. then I am really not, I am stuck because it is now a weekend.

I don't have a fever or the red skin.. but I don't know how long that takes to develop. That is why I called right away when there was a clog I couldn't get out on my own. I also called because my arm is more painful.

blg4

Got drain out! The nurse said it was hard to get out. She said I didn't flinch. I didn't know what to expect because I had read everything from it being nothing to have it removed, to it being very painful. Yes it hurt but not too bad. I have to keep a dressing on it for 2 days.

I was down to around 20 per day for the last 2 days