After Mastectomy

The drains are really a pain, especially the first few days when you're getting used to having to move slightly differently with them. I walked like a funny penguin from the waist up when I had mine to avoid bumping them as my arms moved.

How long they stay in depends on how much fluid her body produces; when I had mine, the surgeon said when I had 2-3 days of the drains consistently putting out less than 30ml in a 24 hour period they could come out.

For me, mine dropped from 37ml per 24 hour period to 20ml per 24 hour period within two days, but the surgeon then told me to be on the safe side she wanted to wait a full 7 days as, if the drains are pulled too early, you run the risk of producing and retaining more fluid than can be reabsorbed efficiently by the body (and leaving a 'standing pool' like that can interfere with tissue re-adhesion and can cause infection pockets, neither of which are good outcomes) and they sometimes have to do another small surgery to re-insert drains. After day 2 for me, mine never produced more than 14ml in a 24 hour period though.

However, some peoples' bodies are different and produce more fluid for a longer period (i've read it's more common to have that happen with immediate reconstruction since there's a foreign body in the site, but I've also read that it makes no difference from other sources! Back to that 'all bodies are different' thing again. ).

On average, most people will have their drains in 7-14 days, but for some people it can be longer. It just depends on how their body heals.

I can't really help with the diet, though I do have one friend who had a large reduction (from a GG cup to a C cup) who is a Type 1 diabetic and, while she was healing from surgery, she made certain to eat a lot of high protein, high good fat (like the fat that comes on/with meat; skin, bone marrow, that kind of thing), low carb (so fruits and starchy veggies were a very, very small part of her diet), low to no processed/boxed/take out food diet while she was healing. She also supplemented with liquid multivitamins after day 3, as well as a liquid probiotic.

However, like with the drains, everyone's body is different, and everyone's body reacts to diabetes a bit differently; that and Type 1 is different than Type 2.

The type 2 diabetics I know haven't had surgery, but have had the best luck managing blood sugar spikes by sticking to a low carb (and any carbs they get come from fresh fruits and veggies, alas, this means little to no bread), high protein, high fat diet.

I'm not diabetic, but for healing I switched my diet to something pretty similar to the diet my Type 1 friend has, and it worked out pretty well.

Hello Aaronb: I noted that you said that the drains have ' hindered her from functioning normally'. There is nothing normal about having those drains in place and the body is protecting itself by not allowing itself to act normally such as moving slowly, limiting some mobility, etc. All this extra focus the body is demanding is in fact normal for her post op situation. Healing takes time and gentle patience during the process is required. I hope she finds lots of comforting activities she enjoys during recovery. I know for me, as an older woman, I got into the new adult coloring book craze, music I enjoyed, and leisurely strolls in my yard. All the best to your mom.

AaronBronte, I had mild fever spikes (nothing over 101) if I overexerted myself the first couple weeks of surgery.

The definition of 'overexerted' can vary wildly; the first week, I apparently overexerted myself by shuffling slowly around the yard for 10 minutes without resting. I didn't FEEL overexerted or tired mentally (in fact, I wanted to keep moving around as I was bored just hanging out on the couch), but apparently my body felt differently.

When it happened, if I was able, I just took some Tylenol for it. If I wasn't able to take that due to dosing times, I'd have a glass or two of ice water and it seemed to knock it out.