so, scheduled mammogram...

[cass]

i've had one done at same hospital for yrs. i always inform them i'm in w/c (some techs freak when i show up and ask for help and who's with me). so the person on phone asks who's coming with me. i say nobody. she says who's gonna lift you, i say huh? lift me for a mammogram? so we get past that, schedule it.

then the dexascan. oh, you need to bring somebody, nobody at hosp allowed to help transfer...wtf? this is a freakin hospital, they've helped me many times. tons of ppl around. am small person. my own dentist helps get me in dental chr. GEESH. and my doc wonders why i hate to schedule tests.

[LindaT]

Did you ask for a superviser or someone in charge?
I seem to run into situations where the person answering the phone has no common sense or experience.
Especially since you are a small person it seems like should not be a big deal.

[Le Todd]

Let us know how it goes, Cass. I hope for the best. This may be personal and you don't have to answer, but you don't feel any lumps that have you concerned, do you?

[fishin'guy]

Cass, you feel a need for more pain in your life? Really come on now. They gotta be more professional than that. Good luck.....Actually on second thot... I'm available. I'll help hold things up for the mamogram......

[Liz321]

Grrrrrrrrrrr.....

[mckeownp]

Did you ask for a superviser or someone in charge?
I seem to run into situations where the person answering the phone has no common sense or experience.
Especially since you are a small person it seems like should not be a big deal.

So true.Those that answer the phone may not have any idea whats involved.

[Eileen]

Rarely do the people answering the phone have a clue about much of anything that involves actual medical care. I have my yearly mammo and while it takes a lot longer because of all of the positioning of the chair itself, no one has ever suggested that I needed someone with me. All the time is spent with "can you move the chair a little to the right, OK, now a little to the center" type of thing.

[quad79]

When I was consistently getting gi's, endoscopies & ultrasounds done, I wondered what people without husbands did. Those tables & beds are hella high!

Good luck w/ everything.

[darkeyed_daisy]

Good luck with the mammo Cass. I had my first one this year and it was not pleasant at all.

Like others have said most people answering the phone don't have good information.

I suspect the lifting is a liability issue for the hospital. It is a shame that it has come down to this kind of treatment of patients because they are afraid of getting sued by the patient or a workman's comp case from a no good employee wanting a reason to sit home and do nothing because they don't use proper lifting techniques. Not all workmans comp cases are this way but I have seen enough in my time that people do abuse the system.

Therefore, leaving people who need help without it.

Sorry I am on my unfortunate soapbox this morning(4AM nights tend to do that) LOL

[Eileen]

I'm not sure I understand why there is talk of lifting. My mammo's are done in my chair, no lifting required. We have to be careful that the hydraulics don't come down and crush the joystick on my chair, and the positioning, as mentioned, can be time consuming, but I have never had to get out of my chair. They usually assign two techs to me. One to do the regular stuff like marking, but the other to help position my hands on the bars, or to fasten them there for the length of the imaging.

[SCI-Nurse]

There should be no need to transferring out of the chair for the mammogram. As for the dexascan, most hospitals have a policy on no solo lifting, but have taught their employees the appropriate methods to lift. I would definitely ask to speak with a supervisor.
CKF

[cass]

i have had my yrly mammo from chr for yrs now. that's why i was startled when asked about lifting (she first asked if i could stand).

as for the dexascan, this hospital and lifting...i've been there many times, np. and, btw, if not mistaken, hosp personnel do a lot of lifting/transferring patients.

ltf, routine mammo. fishing guy...you made me laugh! love to see tech's face if guy friend positioning my breast ROFL. thanks all. frankly, if they're gonna throw fit bout dexascan, i'll skip it. geesh, even my dentist just gets an assistant and the basic under knees/cross chest transfer. the airlines do it. yet, a hospital, with hundreds of trained employees right there, can't?? gimme a break.

[sreneet]

Cass; Sorry to hear about the runaround your getting. When I go back for tests at the rehabilitation hospital I was in after my injury it's never a problem for them to lift me onto the table, I guess they are use to it. But go to a hospital or Dr.s office and they usually aren't willing to help because the tables are high and don't lower. The chairs at my dentists office has high/low adjustable chairs so transfers are easy. I think all Dr.'s offices should have at least one high/low exam table. My Primary Care Dr.'s office has one.

I went for my first and only mammogram years ago due to swollen lumps in each breast.
I wasn't able to get close enough to the machine they used. My husband had to remove a bracket from the bottom of the machine before I could even attempt the mammogram. Once I was able to get up to it there was a plexiglass shield I was supposed to place my cheek against. I couldn't turn my head far enough so that limited how close I could get(I had a sore neck the next day). After about an hour of trying they were unable to get adequate x-rays.

They rescheduled me for an ultrasound. When I went in for the ultrasound the tech asked me why they had ordered it. I told her the story. She told me ultrasound wouldn't detect cancer. Is this true? I was told it would. I was diagnosed with dense, fibroid breasts.

As for the Dexascan it's probably a waste of your time and effort. I had one 6 years ago. I was just diagnosed with Vitamin Deficiency last week, my level was 6, it should be in the 30-60 range. Here are my bone density results, I posted this in response to a post about osteoperosis;

"I was diagnosed with osteoporosis 6 years ago. I'm a 42 years old female, c5/6, 25 years post. I was 36, with results comparable to a 68 year old female. I saw the x-rays, the only white area of my hip and femur was the outer bone(the Dr. described it as the shell) the inside was dark gray, no white. He said the only treatment available at that time that might show a slight improvement was Forteo(a daily injection). He said he would not recommend it because the risks(kidney stones, low blood pressure and osteosarcoma-bone cancer) outweighed the benefits in my case. I already have low blood pressure and kidney stone history, I've had surgery to removed them twice. I haven't done any weight bearing activity since my injury."

[wtf]

I went for my first and only mammogram years ago due to swollen lumps in each breast.
I wasn't able to get close enough to the machine they used. My husband had to remove a bracket from the bottom of the machine before I could even attempt the mammogram. Once I was able to get up to it there was a plexiglass shield I was supposed to place my cheek against. I couldn't turn my head far enough so that limited how close I could get(I had a sore neck the next day). After about an hour of trying they were unable to get adequate x-rays.

Was this an accessible machine? I had my first mammogram this year and the machine came down to my chest level, my legs/knees were a little high (heels) but I dropped my feet off the footrest and let my feet dangle and that helped. The tech was great at pulling and positioning my breasts to get adequate pics. Its a little uncomfortable but so important, you need to get tested again.

[cass]

my mammo machines have always been accessible, more so in last few yrs. yet, weird, techs have been less willing to work w/me on positioning. is stupid.

btw, ultrasound has been done on my breasts for cancer detection to back up mammo so think that tech mentioned above needs education. and don't forget inflammatory breast cancer. mammos don't detect that.