I've never had a mammogram (I know, I know) because I'm very scared of it. I'm afraid the machine won't stop and it'll crush my tit. I'm afraid anxiety will make me light-headed and I can't sit down, and then I'll faint and fall down and rip my tit off. Seriously, this is what I'm scared of. Can that even happen? Do they leave you all alone in there with the squishy machine?
My food is problematic.
River ,'The Message'
Natter 72: We Were Unprepared for This
Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.
Zenkitty - Apr 30, 2014 6:01:09 am PDT #26525 of 30000
Every now and then, I think I might actually be a little odd.
Amy - Apr 30, 2014 6:02:56 am PDT #26526 of 30000
Because books.
I've never had one either, Zen, and I really should at my age.
Dana - Apr 30, 2014 6:04:33 am PDT #26527 of 30000
I'm terrifically busy with my ennui.
The technician is there with you during the process. For me, the painful part was having the machine pressing against my sternum.
Connie Neil - Apr 30, 2014 6:26:45 am PDT #26528 of 30000
brillig
Yeah, the sternum press is obnoxious. The pressure of the plates squishing the tit can be uncomfortable. But you are not alone, and the tech is standing right next to you. I imagine there's an emergency release if needed.
Strix - Apr 30, 2014 6:29:25 am PDT #26529 of 30000
A dress should be tight enough to show you're a woman but loose enough to flee from zombies. — Ginger
Zen, you should be able to take an anti-anxiety med before a mammo. My doc prescribed a Valium before I got this bump excised from my arm, and that required a local.
Strix - Apr 30, 2014 6:29:26 am PDT #26530 of 30000
A dress should be tight enough to show you're a woman but loose enough to flee from zombies. — Ginger
Jesse - Apr 30, 2014 6:45:34 am PDT #26531 of 30000
Sometimes I trip on how happy we could be.
When I had it, the tech was awesome -- she had a great manner, designed to make you feel comfortable (also she apologized at every step). She positioned the plates and my body parts by hand while she stood touching me, until everything was in the right places. Then she walked to the other side of the room to hit a button or whatever, and then she came back. Very little risk of machines going berserk, and none at all of you being left alone.
Laura - Apr 30, 2014 7:27:14 am PDT #26532 of 30000
Our wings are not tired.
I had one in my 40s I think. They supposedly have better less uncomfortable systems now. Mine really was no big deal.
JZ - Apr 30, 2014 7:52:30 am PDT #26533 of 30000
See? I gave everybody here an opportunity to tell me what a bad person I am and nobody did, because I fuckin' rule.
I had one a while ago and am due for another soon (a bit early, but I have relatives on both sides of the family with breast cancer, so my MD agreed I should probably do it a bit more often) and it was a complete nonevent, very fast and barely uncomfortable at all; I think I was in and out from check-in to dressed and back in the car in ten minutes, max (in case any Bayistas are in need but avoiding getting one, it was at CPMC on California in San Francisco -- the tech and the practice were incredibly awesome).
Kat - Apr 30, 2014 8:10:31 am PDT #26534 of 30000
"I keep to a strict diet of ill-advised enthusiasm and heartfelt regret." Leigh Bardugo
They supposedly have better less uncomfortable systems now. Mine really was no big deal.
This is my experience too. Except the place that did mine (and later did a follow up ultrasound on my blood clot) definitely had a spa atmosphere.