MammoOUCH!!!
May. 11th, 2011 05:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ellenkushnerGot 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.
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.
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no subject
Date: 2011-05-11 09:33 pm (UTC)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.
no subject
Date: 2011-05-12 06:41 am (UTC)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.