The dreaded yearly exams--a necessary evil.
I don't know about you, but when I head for my yearly exam, I feel as though I have a neon sign on my back that says "Mammogram Alert." Why is that? The fear in my eyes? The silent scream on my face? The fact that they won't let me wear deodorant? What?
I went in this week. Let me just say here, that no matter how many of these exams I have, I never get the ties on that little gown thing right. Well, this week, I decided to look at it. I mean, REALLY look at it. And I'm here to tell you that they have one tie that has absolutely NOTHING to do with anything on that gown!!! I tried to find something to tie it into. I truly did. I searched high and low on that stupid gown and there was no where for that tie to go. So there it hung. Alone. With nothing to do. No sense of belonging. Just a string situated there as testimony to the humiliations of life.
So I pointed out this conundrum to the doctor, and get this. She didn't know what was up with that string, either!! I felt justified.
Anyway, this post is really not about the string. It's about getting those nasty yearlys out of the way, well, yearly. No matter how much we don't enjoy them, the point is we have to get them. It's the smart thing to do and quite possibly could save your life.
So make the most of it! When I have something dreaded coming, I always make a party out of it. Afterwards, I reward myself with a mocha (you thought I would say a run on the treadmill?), and a visit to the grandkids.
Caveat here: I had a doctor one time tell me about this nasty little procedure I had to go through (and I do mean nasty). I told her "No." She said, "Mrs. Hunt, you love your family, don't you?" I said, "Not that much."
Okay, so the truth is, I do love them that much. The same as you love yours. Do it for them. Get your yearly. Make that call right now and set it up if you don't already have an appointment!! They really aren't as bad as we think. And here's a tip on the whole mammogram thing. I'm telling you it WORKS!!! Take an Advil before you go in. You'll hardly feel a thing. That's the truth! I took two Advil before a procedure once because I had a headache. I hardly knew I had anything done. The tech told me her patients swore by Advil.
To set my mind at ease, post your appointment date in a response, so I won't worry about you.
If you don't have a date, get one. YOU matter more than you think. Your family will thank you and so will we.
Delicious
22 Comments:
Great tip! I will have to try that next year. Any tips on anxiety when going to the dentist? I'd rather have a mammogram and pap smear than go to the dentist. Unfortunately, I go this afternoon. I consider it a necessary evil! :)
Ohhhh, praying for you, Andrea! I don't like the dentist, either, but at least you don't have that gown thing to worry about! LOL!
I'm telling you, take up knitting. Since I've started knitting, (I knit in the waiting room) my blood pressure is way down when I see the doctor!
Also, be sure to reward yourself with something you love when it's all over. :-)
I don't mind the mammogram so much - it's not as bad as people made it out to be - but the whole cholesterol blood test....how can I possibly function enough to drive there in the morning without coffee??? I'm now 4 months behind in that, lol. But the gown, lol, I just cross my arms and hold it in place that way. I'm pretty sure a man designed it. Same as how men design cars because there's no place to put your purse. Except my Sienna has a little hook thingie on the side of the dash column that pulls down and I assume it's for a purse, or something. Mine just goes on the passenger seat and when I slam on the brakes it falls off and empties out on the floor. wait, how'd I get here.....so off topic!
cheryl
Ugh Ugh Ugh.
But at least I don't have to worry about the mammogram yet. They start that at what, 40??? (12 years to go *whew*)
If someone comes back and says 30, I think I'll faint.
I am so with you, Cheryl! What's up with doing without coffee for that test?! And to make matters worse, they always have a pot of coffee in the waiting room where I go. Yeah, I'm all over that one.
I think you're right, too. A man must have designed that robe. Or a non-seamstress. I think I did that once. Sewed one tie too many on my toddler's nightgown. That's where it all begins . . .
I don't think you have to worry yet, Krista. But when it's your time, just remember Advil. I'm telling you, makes all the difference. :-)
Actually, I'm keeping my hopes up that in 12 years they have much better technology so we can just stand there and take a picture kinda like a CAT scan or something, without the whole 'flatten like a pancake' thing.
Come on, technology!!!
You're right about the string! What is UP with that?
I'm interested in finding out more about the thermography thing. NO pain and it finds problems sooner.
I just had mine on Tuesday. Wish I knew about the Advil tip. I will remember that for the future.
I'm going in for my last 'under 40' exam on the 23rd, so I'll definitely have to celebrate that with something fab afterwards. I'll have to remember Advil when I get 'The Big Squeeze' next year. *g*
I'd like to hear more about the thermography too, C! Sounds very cool! They used a digital system on me, but it still "felt" the same. :-)
Oops! I'm typing this from my daughter's computer, so Amber Zimmerman is really Diann Hunt today. *g*
Seriously? I have had so many tests from the MS, these things don't bother me in the least. However, I do NOT want a colonoscopy. That is one (and I know that I need it, my very good friend died of colon cancer at 53 and it's one of the most preventable cancers with that test.) But that test. Oh my gosh, that test!!
Bill Engvall has a routine on it. Ghost Town has an entire scene on it. I cannot bring myself to do it.
Krista, they do have another method of checking that just scans instead of squishes. It's actually more accurate, but it's also more expensive, so your insurance (probably a man) will make you go for the old-fashioned method. I have a family-member with "dense breasts," she now gets to have the expensive but pain-free test. A friend of mine has suggested that if there were a similar method for testing the prostate, "the big squeeze" would soon be over.
Great post! I get my exams every year because a yearly mammogram saved my mother's life! She is a breast cancer survivor for 12 years now.
Blessings
Michelle
Sarah, I'd like to hear more about this expensive PAIN FREE testing!! That sounds very interesting!!!
Thanks for the prayers! I survived the dentist! I only about jumped out of my seat once when she said the word cavity. She kept reassuring me that wasn't me, she was talking about. She was telling me a story. She said I surprised her at gasping and jumping! Clean teeth do feel good just miserable getting there.
Kristin-I had two colonoscopies in a month. Long story and lesson learned. The prep is really the worst. People tell you horror stories I think that makes it worse. The prep is just like one long case of diarrhea. The actual procedure isn't bad at all. You are so out of it, you don't know what is happening. It is not something I would want to do every day though. :) I am due for another one and I keep putting it off. What does that say. :)
You have a great attitude, Diann.
I go for my mammo in two weeks. It's a festive event -- I go with a group of friends, my Breast Friends, and we have lunch and plenty of laughs. This year I think about six of us are going together. I'll post photos on my blog, probably by the 18th.
Thanks for encouraging women to be mindful of their health. It never hurts to remind us of caring for ourselves.
A prisoner of hope,
Megan
I sure hope what Sarah says is true! If y'all have big yahoos, it's not so easy. They think that machine has to have both top and bottom plate come to within 1/2" of meeting each other. Now if your yahoos are bigger than that, you got a hurtful problem!
No wonder they get to sagging! All that tugging and squishing!! Shudder.
Thank you for your post, Diann. My breast cancer was diagnosed from my yearly mammogram. The cancer was against the chest wall. There's no way to know for sure, but by the time I would have felt a lump it may have been too late.
BTW, my next exam is this month.:-)
I do the yearly test right around my b'day as a gift to my family--even tho they really don't want to hear about it, LOl...
Man. Wish I knew about the Advil. Had mine a week ago and all is well. I had a bad year about 8 years ago when I had to have biopsies in both breasts at the same time. Then another biopsy where I needed to be cut to get the rest of the bad cells out of there. Nothing was cancerous but all the same it was nerve-wracking. I dread that yearly more than any of the other ones.
Love the idea Megan and her friends have of going together. There was a group of ladies waiting with me who did that and they were all discussing where they'd go for lunch afterwards.
But if I wait they will tell me the results that same day. This year I had to wait an hour. Don't know if buddies would be willing to wait.
December 2009--had my yearly already for 2008, and with my past history, it's a DON'T MISS for me!
Post a Comment
<< Home