|
2004-09-28 - 8:38 p.m. imho... of course Well, I had my first encounter with the squish-o-matic machine today - a.k.a., a mammogram. If you really don't want to know, I understand - skip this one. But if you're afraid this is going to be gross or painful to read, really it's not. Well - possibly a bit gross. But all the gross part was in my imagination. If you'd like to know what it was actually like, I promise, it's a happy ending. Everyone talks about how painful it is and how your boobs get mashed flat. Honest to God, if you tried to mash mine flat, they'd just pop. Flat is not an option. So actually, I did have some fear not only of pain but of poppage. I was nervous when I went in. Not about finding anything wrong, thank goodness, because the only reason my doctor sent me for the test is that I'm as old as dirt, and when you get this old, they decide to squoosh you and see what all is in there after all this time. Of course you never know, so I'll be glad to get the results at the end of the week, as they should just confirm there's nothing in there that shouldn't be. But I was nervous about the fabled torture machine. All I have to say now that it's over is: what was all the fuss about? You go in, you take your top off, the technician puts you where she wants you, and the machine presses together basically enough to hold you in place, and then you hold your breath for a few seconds while the radiation radiates, and as soon as that's done, the machine lets go and you fall back out. Then of course, they do it again to the other one; then they do it to each one once more, sideways this time. The first two didn't hurt a bit. Dead serious. Not a speck. I had kind of wanted to watch so I could see how close together the plates got, but the way you have to contort yourself out of the way to isolate this attached part of your body in a machine, you really can't look. But truthfully - not even anywhere near close to what it would have taken for poppage. I don't even think I can call it seriously uncomfortable. The sideways ones, I will admit, hurt a little. But it hurt the chest muscle a bit, and not the breast at all. And I think the reason that happened is that the machine has to pinch a little closer just to hold you in place, because sideways (it was actually a 46 degree angle) it's fighting gravity to keep you there. But it's like if I squeezed your arm so tightly that it hurt a little, and then let go. It hurt for a few seconds while the tension was on, and then as soon as the machine turned me loose, it immediately stopped hurting. When it was done, I was like - is that it? I was picturing being so sore it would be uncomfortable to put a bra back on. Please. Actually it was kind of funny - after the tech left the room and I walked back over to the chair to sit down, the pain in my ankle was a hundred times worse than anything from the squish-o-matic. And I thought, well that's pretty good - the only pain I'm leaving with is the pain I brought in with me. So I'm glad to report, it was nothing. I've hurt my own self worse than that just by reaching across the desk for a stapler. If I could make the trade, I'd do that every month if I could never go to the dentist again. Without the radiation, though. I have no wish for radiation shot through my boobs once a month. And of course until they figure out a way for the squish-o-matic to fix your teeth... wouldn't really be a sensible trade. I kind of figured I'd be okay, because my sister already had one, and she told me it was nothing, and she's a complete baby about pain. I have a fairly high threshold, but I didn't need it for this at all. After this past weekend and the incredible amount of pain I went through with my ankle and my back, this was a breezy breeze. my mood - |
|
|
Recent ramblings: |
<==