Taking ibuprofen beforehand really helped lessen the pain of the ms mammogram for me. When you get one in your cycle also makes a difference with the pain. I've heard both small and large breasted women say they didn't find a mammogram to be that painful but I certainly do! I'm generally not much of a wimp about pain but mammograms have made me bust out in pain tears. But the meds really helped. I've considered taking anti anxiety meds too and would for sure if the anxiety was stopping me from getting the test.

I am bribing myself to work by withholding new TV (last night's Agents of SHIELD, two eps of Person of Interest, and two eps of Glee) until I finish this project. It shouldn't take that long, and yet, here I am, faffing around on the internet.

I have no idea what that means.

Also not a doctor. Only thing I'd add to what Steph said is that denser breasts can make the image harder to read because the tissue shows up as white fibers that can be mistaken for and/or hide tumors. Like this.

edited to add image may be NSFW

The good news is, as of May 1, we'll have health insurance again, so I can actually talk to my doctor about getting a mammogram scheduled.

I wish I had something to bribe myself to work with today. A nap seems most likely.

They supposedly have better less uncomfortable systems now. Mine really was no big deal.

Same here. I'm fairly boobalicious and they're relatively fatty which, in this particular case, is a good thing. I think it makes them squish more easily, with less discomfort.

I'm 46 and I've had two so far. Mom's ovarian cancer means I have a somewhat higher risk of breast cancer, so I'm trying to be cautious.

Mom rant ahead.

Yes, child, you do have a couple of classes that are unrecoverable at this point in the semester. Yes, it sucks. But when you get offered a chance to drop one and take the summer school equivilent NOW (for free), digging in your heels and being stubborn is not going to magically help you pass the class as is. We WILL be discussing this tonight.

Rant over, but another crazy part of all this, is that he has taken the max classes each year and only needs 3 credits (6 times .5 credits/class/semester) his senior year (that is with just taking summer school for 2 classes {or doing the one now and one over the summer}). But the minimum class load is 5 classes/semester. The good side is he only needs to pass 3/5ths? Wonder how much Phys Ed he can sign up for.

Suzi, can he take an elective he might like? Like art or photography?

breast tissue tends to be dense until your 50s.

That would explain why things have become so much more droopy. Sometimes looking in a mirror is like looking at one of those National Geographic pictures of old native women who never saw the need for supportive garments.

Yeah. He just needs English for 2 semesters and science for 2 semesters, the rest can all be electives. We have already talked about TA-ing for the rock climbing class (his only A this year and the teacher LOVES him) and weight lifting. Will look at the rest of the elective options and see if anything sparks his interest.

It shouldn't take that long, and yet, here I am, faffing around on the internet.

There are so many things I need to be doing right now. I need to create training materials. But I don't want to because I don't like teaching people, PROBABLY because I don't think I'm very good at it.