MammoOUCH!!!

[ellenkushner]

Got my annual mammogram yesterday - and this year it really lived up to our nickname of "tit-squish" - yeowch! It really hurt! I would keep this info to myself, but 24 hours later I'm still quite sore ETA on both sides - feels like a bad bruise - no visible marks, but tender to the touch.  I am, ah, not a large woman.  But I've had a quite a few of these over the years, and oh my darling it's never felt like this.

Did they do something wrong?  Did I? Is there something I can do next time to prevent this?

Full disclosure:  For years, it never hurt at all, and I couldn't figure out what all the fuss was about.  In the last few years (when I have gained more body fat - more for them to seize hold of? or am I still so small that they need to get a good handful of muscle as well into the machine?) it's been kinda unpleasant, but not hurt afterwards.... What gives?

And let me just sternly add that if you have not had yours yet this year, don't use this as an excuse to avoid it!  Because (a) It probably won't hurt at all, and (b) even if it does, you just have to be brave for, like, 11 seconds.  And you can do that.

Just make someone take you for ice cream, after.  You can do that if you're brave.

Comments

[julieandrews.livejournal.com]

I know very little about the subject, so I can't speak to the quality of the tech. But did you have more caffeine than usual?

[trebor1415.livejournal.com]

I'm a guy, but when I worked as a clerk at a hospital ER, I also filled in as the clerk for our Mammogram clinic from time to time. I learned a little there.

My understanding is that what matters are the makeup of the breast in terms of size and fat/muscle relationship and also the skill of the tech.

Some techs are better then others, but my understanding is that no matter how good the tech, sometimes the breast just has to be compressed so much to get a good read that it's almost impossible to make it pain free.

I'm not an expert though, so if anyone has more or better info, feel free to correct me if need be.

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but she has the same tits she did last year!

Seriously, mammograms will always be uncomfortable, but I can't think of any good reason it would hurt more one year than in others either. My first guess would be the tech, though others have mentioned feasible possibilities below.

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

Ouch. I've only ever had one, some years ago when I had a breast cancer scare, and it was excruciating. It's something to do with how dense your breast tissue is, or so the nurse told me. Anyhow, muchsympathy.

[sillylilly-bird.livejournal.com]

I know mileage varies a great deal and the tech can have a LOT to do with it as well as the density of your personal tissue. I had my first one last year and I could NOT figure out what the big deal was [not a small chested woman, me]; it wasn't exactly comfy and fun and something I'd seek out for pleasure, but it sure as heck didn't HURT. Next time may be different, I'm hoping not.

[ellen-kushner.livejournal.com]

My previous experience was always like unto yours. I hope yours continue easy - thanks for posting for others to see!

[asatomuraki.livejournal.com]

When I had one a few years ago, it was because I'd found a lump. The one without the lump didn't hurt. It wasn't happy fun time, but it wasn't painful. The one with the lump... I almost fainted. I'm no wimp about pain, either. I mean, I've had babies and such. When they did the follow-up ultrasound (right after the mammo), no one could find the lump, not even me. They said the lump had been some sort of fluid-filled cyst, and the mammogram had 'expressed' it. O_O

It could be that your sensitivity is different due to hormonal fluctuations. *wince* The ice cream sounds like a good incentive to me. Hope you feel better soon.

[ellen-kushner.livejournal.com]

The idea of using a million dollar xray machine to, ah, pop a blister is just . . . horrifying. Ouch.

[kateelliott.livejournal.com]

My guess (I am greatly experienced at these): hormonal fluctuations or changes in breast density. OR -- most likely -- experience of tech.

I've had painless, I've had uncomfortable, just depends. I haven't had one in which I was still sore the next day, so maybe it was the tech.

[ellen-kushner.livejournal.com]

Your breast density can *change*?! Ah, crap. And here I've been feeling so smug all these years because that, at least, wasn't a problem.

[jenwrites.livejournal.com]

Do they both hurt, or just one? I have a non-cancerous tumor in my left breast that always hurts when they squash it, so if it's just one breast and it's localized, it could mean there's something harmless in there.

[ellen-kushner.livejournal.com]

Both - and it feels like it's the muscles, actually. But thanks for the info.

[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

yay ice cream and go you for going!

you might want to check the dates and see if you can figure out any correlation with hormonal cycles (harder to do if you are menopausal or thereafter, but people still cycle).

[jmward14.livejournal.com]

If hormones and/or a lump aren't the issue, then it's definitely the skill of the tech or increased caffeine, tannin (also in coffee, tea and chocolate--all the good stuff, sigh) or salt. All three increase neural activity and receptivity. Translation: Paaaaaa-inn! As in Mr. Spock and the Horta kind of pain. :-(
Hope it doesn't happen again. Glad you had ice cream to look forward to.

[ellen-kushner.livejournal.com]

Full disclosure: I didn't actually go for ice cream after, as I had devoured a HUGE piece of pizza right beforehand. But the emotional ice cream has been excellent - thanks!

I'll look out for tannin/caffeine/salt next time - great tip.

[jay-of-lasgalen.livejournal.com]

I had my first one last year, and was surprised at how quick it all was - and thankfully it didn't hurt!

You deserve the ice cream.

[pameladean]

Owwww.

I find that taking a regular dose of the analgesic of one's choice renders the experience considerably less uncomfortable. If you can take an NSAID, you'd get a leg up on treating any swelling, too. But for better comfort during the actual procedure, Tylenol works fine as well.

P.

[pameladean]

That is, taking the analgesic about an hour before the procedure helps a lot. Give it enough time to take effect.

P.

[ellen-kushner.livejournal.com]

a-HA! I was wondering if that might make a difference! Definitely will try it next time.

[odogoddess.livejournal.com]

Mine are always excruciating, but I have fibrous breasts, or so said the dr, so that is why they hurt.

[ivy-rat.livejournal.com]

11 seconds? Really? I've only been once. It took about five to ten minutes per breast and it really hurt. So, um, I've not been back since. (I have abnormally large breasts, they needed to do four or five pictures per. *shudder*)

I hope your pain is gone soon, if not already. *hugs*

[ellen-kushner.livejournal.com]

Even for my tiny ones, they did 2 photos each - from different angles. But at least they let them go between pics: I mean, if you really look at the time it takes during which pain happens: There's some discomfort as they arrange you, but only when they clamp the vice down that it hurts like the dickens if it's gonna. So it's: Arrange, Clamp>Yeowch! - tech goes to machine (5 secs?), hold your breath while they take the picture (5-8 secs?) > Blessed Relief. Repeat this 3+ times, but it's not like you're in agony for 10 solid minutes . . . unless you had a really ugly technician?

[wild-patience.livejournal.com]

I've had a number of them. The amount of pain varies with the technician and the tool. They have more than one machine where I go, and different models may squish you slightly differently (or feel like it anyway).

[ellen-kushner.livejournal.com]

I'm honestly not complaining about the pain of the procedure - just about the fact that I'm still uncomfortable more than 24 hours later!

[heavenscalyx.livejournal.com]

I noticed that the Mt. Auburn boobsquisher was different from the Harvard Vanguard boobsquisher, so it may, in part, be the machine. But I've had boobsquishing that hurt more than others -- my second one was in search of a possible lump, so they were scraping a lot of tissue into the field (it was a lymph node in my armpit). I expected this year's to hurt more because of my shoulder issues (all the tissue has been inflamed for six months now, since I busted the shoulder, and I had one blood pressure check recently that nearly made me pass out from the searing pain of a thousand burning suns because I forgot to tell them to use the OTHER arm), but it was actually less bothersome than last year. I concur with the opinion that the tech matters, as much as the technology.

I'm sorry they bruised yours! Have plenty of ice cream.

[jennyblackford.livejournal.com]

I'm very much not a large woman, but my breast tissue is dense and lumpy, and we have a proper health system here, so I've had more mammograms than the average American woman my age, with different techs at different places with different equipment every time. It has always hurt quite a lot - less than a filling at the dentist, much less than a root canal, but about the same as a leg wax during the ripping-off phase. The most painful thing has been the manoevring of my not-a-lot into place on the metal thingy, and holding it forcibly in place while the other metal thingy comes down to scrunch it (as you've expressed in a more delicate manner).
I've never thought of having ice cream afterwards, dammit, but I will from now on. I've never been in pain the next day. If it settles down, it's probably worth asking your doctor (or any of your medical friends with actual expertise) for a proper medical explanation, and possibly even complaining to the place you had it done. If it's still sore tomorrow, it's probably worth ringing up the place and asking why. If they have a really clumsy tech, they need to know.

[ellen-kushner.livejournal.com]

Definitely have your ice cream next time, with my compliments! This has been quite a revealing conversation - I thought most US women just took annual mammograms as a matter of course, since if you have health insurance (big IF, these days!) it is covered - but apparently not; maybe this discussion will help some get up their nerve to undergo what is essentially less than :60 of discomfort to guard against some very nasty alternatives. A friend just had surgery for a cancer discovered very early by mammogram; I shudder to think what would have happened otherwise.

Thanks for the vote to follow up on the bruising; I wasn't posting to bitch about the mammogram, but rather to inquire whether the soreness after was at all usual, and clearly it's not.

[jennyblackford.livejournal.com]

Don't worry: it was quite clear that you were curious/worried about the aftermath, not bitching about the process. I hope it's settled down now. And, yes, I suspect that it's important for people to make things officially known if there's a problem; it's possible that all the tech's colleagues know that he/she is rough, or that the machine is bad, but can't say anything.

[auriaephiala.livejournal.com]

I have had mammograms hurt more or less depending on where I am in my cycle. Generally it's just like a bad pinch and doesn't last afterwards -- and I have very dense breasts.

However, the last one I had actually hurt much less because the clinic had upgraded their machines to a model that pinched less.

It's really hard to say, but I'd first think it's a less-skilled tech or secondly an older machine. You might want to ask your doctor, though.

[enleve.livejournal.com]

There is an alternative to a mammogram, which basically involves using an infra-red camera to look at the breasts.

It is more comfortable, and does not involve exposure to radiation. It's called thermography or a thermogram.

A quick Google search turned up this article about it: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christiane-northrup/the-best-breast-test-the-_b_752503.html
But I learned about it from my doctor.

Just something to consider if you don't want to go through a painful mammogram again.

[oracne.livejournal.com]

I've never been sore the day after (have only had 3 so far, however).

It might be worth calling to let them know, since this was unusual lingering pain. If the machine needs to be reset, someone has to let them know.

[ellen-kushner.livejournal.com]

Good advice! I have no faith in the NYC medical/office apparatus' ability to deal with minor complaints from human beings (God, I miss Boston sometimes!!!) but I guess I should at least try.

[denicemarcell.livejournal.com]

Did they switch from film to digital xrays? BIDMC did that a couple years ago and I found the new format while faster required more squishing.