At night, I was able to get some sleep, which I'm so grateful for! But, I can only sleep on my back, slightly inclined, which is very unusual for me. It's taking some getting used to. I wake up with a really dry throat, because back sleeping makes me breathe through my mouth. It's mostly obvious why I can't sleep on my stomach (ouch!), but I found out why, aside from pain. If I were to sleep on my stomach, there would be hours of pressure against my breast skin. My body is trying so hard to maintain good circulation to the traumatized skin. Pressure would cut off blood supply to the capillaries in my thin remaining skin. Especially the nipples.
And my sides are off limits for sleep also because that is where the drainage tubes exit my body. Two on each side. Putting pressure on the tubes would inhibit the drainage that is trying to leave my body. If it can't escape, it builds up inside of my cavity and causes infection.
WARNING: Skip the next pic if blood/bodily fluids gross you out. I think it's quite disgusting and I get nauseous dealing with my drains.
I have two of these bulbs, attached to tubes, on both of my sides. They exit and are sutured in under my arm pits. I don't plan to leave the house till these are gone. Gross! I will likely have two tubes removed in the next week or two, and the other two a bit longer. As long as drainage is still working its way out, they won't remove them. So, I have to empty the bulbs 4 times a day, measure the volumes of each tube individually, and record it on my drainage log. Also, I have to strip the tubes. That is what they call it when you squeeze everything from the tube down into the bulb, before emptying and measuring. If I don't strip the drains, clots build up in the tubes and inhibit drainage from getting out. I have to be really careful when stripping the tubes, because I don't want to accidentally pull the tubes out of my body.
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