ellenkushner: (Bessie McNicol)
ellenkushner ([personal profile] ellenkushner) wrote2011-05-11 05:18 pm
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MammoOUCH!!!

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.

[identity profile] asatomuraki.livejournal.com 2011-05-11 09:51 pm (UTC)(link)
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.

[identity profile] ellen-kushner.livejournal.com 2011-05-12 02:04 pm (UTC)(link)
The idea of using a million dollar xray machine to, ah, pop a blister is just . . . horrifying. Ouch.