Advice on chest drain pain please

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Too-Ticky
Too-Ticky Member Posts: 45
edited August 2021 in Surgery - Before, During, and After

Had a mastectomy on Wednesday, no reconstruction. I'm experiencing a lot of pain where the drain tube enters my body. I'm on round-the-clock painkillers already. What else can I do to make it less painful there?

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  • LivinLife
    LivinLife Member Posts: 1,332
    edited June 2021

    I didn't feel any pain until near the time mine were taken out so difficult for me to say. I would ask if there is anything you can do to better support the drains? Any pulling, hanging, etc. will add pressure in different ways.... When I went back to have the first two removed they cut the length on one of the other two b/c I could start feeling pulling - I had to keep the other two for several days after the first 2 were removed. If they continue bothering you call your surgeon and see if there is anything they can do to tape them up better (or something....) - the drains just aren't comfortable regardless....

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  • moth
    moth Member Posts: 4,800
    edited June 2021

    Is the area swollen or hard at all? Is the drain still draining a similar amount of discharge? You need to rule out any signs of infection or clot formation - sometimes a clot plugs up the drain and it starts backing up a bit and it hurts because the discharge is accumulating there. But if it otherwise looks good, you could try using cold packs. Not directly on skin, it has to be wrapped in fabric. Cold therapy can be very effective in controlling that pain.

    I hope you feel better soon!

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  • NotAsCalmAsILook
    NotAsCalmAsILook Member Posts: 139
    edited June 2021

    I’m so glad Moth gave advice! I feel such sympathy, the drains were the worst part! That area is still tender 5 months later.

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  • Too-Ticky
    Too-Ticky Member Posts: 45
    edited June 2021

    Thanks for your replies.

    In answer to your question Moth, I don't think there's swelling or hardness, but the tube is going into quite a firm bit of my chest anyway. There have been some clots but they have eventually passed. The flow has been irregular: 2ml the first morning, 11ml the second morning, then that evening after I had been doing a bit too much with the arm on that side, I noticed the drain bag was very heavy and so I emptied it again and it was an additional 83ml of blood. Maybe all that movement cleared a partial blockage or just got things flowing again? I don't know. Anyway, today is the third day and this morning it was down to 24ml. And it's a little less painful but I'm still needing codeine on top of paracetamol and ibuprofen for the pain from the drain tube to be tolerable.

    I'm due to have the drain removed at the hospital tomorrow. I hope they'll deem it ready to go despite the up and down of the flow rate. Fingers crossed.

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  • Floral
    Floral Member Posts: 41
    edited August 2021

    it’s been a year and a half and I can still feel where my painful drain was. And it bothers me at times. Not horribly, but to the point where I have to rub it. And my surgery recovery was completely uneventful.

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