No. 10: JP Drains & The New Jewelry

With a mastectomy, be ready for changes. Not only in your body but with the clothes you wear and the new jewelry that comes with it.

The JP drains are two plastic grenade-shaped containers attached to your chest through a length of tubing. This tubing is sewn to your chest. Two or three times a day, you empty these drains by milking the tubes and emptying the plastic container into a measuring cup. You must record the amount of each drain separately—left and right side. Once the fluid measures less than 30 ml on each side for two days, you can then have them removed. My breast doctor noted that it takes 10-14 days to achieve that goal. "The first week, it is new; the second week, it is an annoyance."

My drains started at approximately 65 ml right and 50 ml left. In the three-ring binder that was my bible, I had the sheets to record the numbers. In reading about the drains prior to surgery, I realized we would need some new jewelry and clothes. Since you cannot raise your arms over your head, front-button shirts were needed. Then, you need a way to keep the drains from A) flopping around and B) staying in place so they do not pull out.

I hit the internet and searched. I found shirts that buttoned down the front AND had inside pockets to hold the drain and a little snap that helped the tubes remain in place. Loved it and bought six short-sleeved shirts and one tank top. I wore them even when sleeping.

Sleeping posed another challenge. Luckily, having had hip replacement five months before, I learned how to sleep on my back, propped on pillows. And now, I had to do the same again. The shirts helped keep the drains in place.

I also found lanyards that one could wear around your neck. The lanyards, however, also required a safety pin to hold the drain to the lanyard. Where I lived, there were no safety pins for sale!

The shower, which was now required as you are not supposed to soak in water, offered another challenge. Since the lanyards needed safety pins and I had none, my daughter, who had talked to her boss, found a lanyard that worked great. Picture a belt and attached to each end is a beer koozie. The drains fit nicely in the beer koozie, and you just placed the belt around your neck.

I never realized how many knobs—door knobs, drawer knobs, water spigots, ends of towel rods—are in a bathroom. All of which could be the reason a tube could be yanked off your body. Brushing your teeth became a challenge so I would not have the tube get caught on the drawer. The Bible Binder did say if a tube got pulled out, no problem, just call and it will be fixed. Accidents happen.

Luckily, being careful was job one. I had no tubes pulled out, although I did have one near miss. It was a doozy and completely unexpected. I had bent down to pick up my pants after peeing, and the tube wrapped around my pants button. AUGH! I stopped just in time.

Then there was the emptying of the drains. It wasn't necessary, but I made it a two-person job. I would hold the tube closest to my chest, then let my caregiver (daughter or husband) milk the tube to the drain and then empty the drain. I kept holding the upper end so that there was a fail-safe in case the tube got accidentally pulled.

There was one day, when the Baby was in charge of the milking duties, that an unruly blood clot had made a nest in the tube. To her credit, no blood clot was too big or unruly to get past her. It may have taken a few extra minutes, but she had success. Until it dropped into the bottom of the waiting Left boob cup. And there it was. A clot that looked like a bloody salamander, lying prostrate on the bottom of the measuring cup. Baby-1, Salamander Blood Clot-0. The winner of the battle took the required measurement, ran to the bathroom to empty the cup, then gagged. "Dad can do the next drain time."

For ease and safety, the caregiver wore rubber gloves, and to make the tube easier to milk, we used alcohol wipes that made the tube slippery. We also had gauze for any leaks, especially when the tubes are removed, and a squeeze ball to help the circulation.

It was exactly 10 days that I reached the two-day goal of 15 left and 25 right. Sadly, that second day, last milk before bed happened on a Friday night. Because a nurse would remove the tubes, and it was not an emergency, I waited until Monday.

But first, Sunday afternoon, I called the Breast Nurses station and left a message so that I would be first in the queue on Monday morning when they opened at 8 AM. My message noted my anxiousness and excitement.

The next day at 8:01 am, the nurse called. "You can come in immediately or make an appointment." No question! I will come in immediately. We were there by 8:30, and after signing in, the nurse came to get me.

As I rushed across the room, she said, "You don't have to run." Yes, I do, I want these out. She laughed and said, "You are the one that left the message." YEP!

In the room, she left while I got ready—ok... Take off shirt, put on gown open to front. She started to raise the bed. It didn't move. She pushed more buttons, no movement. She unplugged and replugged. Nothing moved. I saw another plug on the floor. It was the plug to the bed. But even that plug did not work. I was beginning to think that I was bad luck in the hospital.

"Let's move to another room." We did. I got ready. She said, "Take a deep breath and let it out." I did. She looked at me. Side A—Done. I did not feel a thing. Now Side B, do the same. AAAUUUUGGGHHH That one hurt. It was done in a second...but hurt. She had me remain lying down for a few minutes.

Bandage added to each side. The instructions were simple. Change the bandage after each shower. Make sure the area is dry.

And that was it. Drains out. I felt free.