In Which Phantom Gets a (Temporary) Boob Job

I currently have a very sad, feeling sorry for herself, delicate flower of a pony.

Monday was vaccination day. Which means Phantom gets a week off of work. Because she gets lumps.

The left boob is a D cup, the right one only an A.

Well, these days just one lump. The last few years I've had her done with the intranasal flu/rhino, then the rest is given as a 4-way injection (WEE, EEE, tetanus, WNV). I have the injection given into her pectoral muscle in her chest.

She has reacted every year without fail. I haven't done the give everything separately to figure out what she reacts to method, because I honestly think she will probably react to everything. At one point we gave the west nile shot separately, which was suspected to be the one that she would react more to, but the two lumps she had from the two shots that day were pretty equal.

So bute, ice packs and DMSO for a week it is.

My attempt to strap an ice pack to her chest. 

I'm a bit more worried this year than previous years though. Vaccinations were given Monday morning. I gave her bute as soon as I got out that morning, about an hour before the vet arrived. On Tuesday I didn't get out to the barn until close to 8pm and the bute from the morning before had obviously worn off. The lump was quite large, Phantom wasn't comfortable walking forward, and most worrisome - she had a bit of a temperature. She doesn't usually have an increased temperature with her vaccination. It was just a bit on the high side at 38.5 (high normal is 38.3) so hopefully the bute that I gave her Tuesday night will take care of it. She was happily eating so I was only panicking a little on the inside.

The lump is about the size of a softball.

For some reason Phantom didn't seem to have the same sympathy towards me and my pain.

After the vet was out I had a massage scheduled for me. I get very tight in my lower back (probably from riding) and carry tension in my shoulders. My massages are not of the feel great variety, but more of the omfg that hurts and you feel like you got run over by a truck for the rest of the day type.  But they work and things feel looser and I feel straighter the next day.

This time my massage therapist wanted to try cupping to get some areas to release that just weren't releasing with her manipulation. I said sure, I'd never had it done to me before.

It wasn't overly unpleasant. A couple of times the pain was a bit too sharp and I had to have her back the suction off. But it definitely worked to get those areas to release.

But it left bruises.

Not really bad, but I'm glad it's not swimsuit season. Not that I would be posting a picture of me in a swimsuit on the interweb. It only hurts when I throw myself into a chair and lean against the back.

I'd get the cupping done again, as long as I knew what my wardrobe choices for the next week would be.