Going medical

[indigo_rose99]

Today I did my regular OBGYN visit.  Ow!!!  But at least it is over. 

I made appointments for the eye doctor (new glasses or at least lenses would be good), and another for a mammogram.  *wince*   This is why we hate doctor visits.  Exactly which of these is pain-free?  None.  Zero.  All painful.  Bleh.

I am still unpacking. Doing paperwork.  Laundry. Prepping my suitcase and briefcase to be replaced with undamaged ones.  Thinking about taxes and wishing the paperwork would just arrive so I could get the painful process over with.

Comments

painful?

[(Anonymous)]

Not that I would call my annual visit fun, but the only time it was ever outright painful was the year I went to a GP to do it and he got the speculum stuck, somehow pinching my netherparts. (How????) My surgeon friend explained that GPs don't do a lot of PAP smears, don't like doing them, and aren't good at them. So there you go.

Here I go to the campus health center, and have had the same nurse/midwife three years running, I think. Unquestionably a personal record. And she is GOOD. Actually talks to me and asks questions, so it even occurred to me to ask, "So hey, my mom had to have a hysterectomy when she was my age. Should I, uh, be worried?" (Answer: probably not.) And though it can be awkward and uncomfortable (duh), it doesn't hurt.

So yeah, I wonder if maybe you would benefit from a kinder gentler OBGYN?

[sclatter.livejournal.com]

oops, that was me

[indigo-rose99.livejournal.com]

It didn't used to hurt quite so much. My doctor swears I tense up too much. On a scale of 1-10, I'd call it a 7. Quite painful. Not the worst pain I have ever experienced.

I've been going to the same (two) doctors for about 13 years. In general, I've been very impressed with how nice they are, asking the right questions and willing to work with me.

[pamwheatfree.livejournal.com]

My doctor waits until I am in his office for something else. I don't usually schedule a pap smear. He will look at my chart and say, I see you need to have a pap smear done, it's been awhile anywhere from 1 to 4 years. He says, I have some time right now, so I do it then. There is no anticipation of it and it doesn't seem as bad. It is over very quickly and I don't have to worry about it until he catches me again.

[indigo-rose99.livejournal.com]

My family history puts me in the high risk category for everything. I got my first mammogram when I was 29, which is really too young for a decent reading. But because of the frequency of cancer in my immediate female relatives (kinda ALL of them), I get pap smears and mammograms yearly. *sigh*

Don't taught me with your infrequent checkups. It is just cruel. I'll probably die before you, anyway. *sigh*

[pamwheatfree.livejournal.com]

I plan to live forever. Ergo, you will probably die before I do. You can't just live, you have to plan for it.

[reedrover]

Mammograms aren't so much major painful as major pain in the ass. I had a cancer scare a year ago Christmastime (grrr for timing) so got to have my first mammogram at 31 rather than 40 as expected. sigh. At least the doctor who gave the second opinion was very skilled at the blunt language necessary to give a straight answer: you're fat, not cancerous.
Thank you and I'm outta here!

[indigo-rose99.livejournal.com]

You say that, but your technician must have been nice. I think I've had at least three at this point. Maybe four. One was just uncomfortable, the others were SERIOUSLY painful. It probably has quite a bit to do with angle, as well as how enthusiastic the tech gets about smushing between the panes.

[reedrover]

It could also be the time of the month, my TELL ME I DON'T HAVE CANCER attitude towards it, or even just my flakey memory.