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

[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.