Feeling Depressed - I Want These OUT!

WARNING:  GRAPHIC PHOTO
*****


Yesterday was two weeks since my surgery and the past three nights have been hard.  The drains are driving me mad. There is one drain on each side under my ribcage. The tubes are held there with a stitch into my skin.

The purpose of the drains is to carry fluid off the incision site so I don't develop a seroma, a collection of fluid UNDER the skin, which can be painful and needs to be drained with a needle. So I do understand the drains are necessary.

But TWO WEEKS!?  I need these out!

I am VERY sensitive to any kind of tape. I actually had open wounds, then scabs where the hospital taped a dressing over the tubes on the left side. That is what those two red spots are below the tubing in the photo.

I switched to bandaids, then "sensitive" paper tape, but as you can see, the skin is hot, red, itchy and painful.

Add to that the inability to lay on my side at night, and I haven't had a good night's sleep since I quit the Oxycodone.  I have to lay flat on my back in a position with my arms up on pillows on each side, and I have to be VERY careful that these freaking tubes, which when hanging go literally down to my ankles, don't get caught on anything and yanked out.

I'm so DONE with drains.

I've emailed my doctor and BEGGED her to get these out before the weekend.
I'm getting right around 20 ml each morning now, so hopefully she will agree.
I know I'm whining, but I'm exhausted.
The incision that goes entirely across my chest is not as painful
as these freaking drains!

I want them OUT!