Just an update - all that worry, and the treadmill part was so easy I could not believe it. I was a little short of breath when they finished and said I had reached my target heartrate. I was amazed, as I am very out of shape. Clothes did not matter there -The second worst part was having to wear this huge gown, no bra, pretty open in the front for all the wires although they did tape it for me - the armholes were so big you could see every thing anyways. The very worst part was when the technician kept jamming the ultrasound wand under & into my breast before and after the treadmill. I had to brace myself on the table she was pushing it in so hard, I thought she would push me off. Something was really pinching into me when she pushed, Not sure if it was a probe with a wire attached that was being pushed in by the wand or just the tip of the wand. THAT really hurt, almost as bad as the mammo. I had a mammo and the stress test back to back, but it was done quick so I had time to treat myself on my half day off to some shopping, but I got dizzy halfway thru the store so did not buy anything. I must say, This was the very worst (painful) mammo I have ever had too. Also,the blood pressure monitor for the stress test, wow, I have never had anyone cuff me so-o-o-o tightly before(three times!). She said something about the "lower your pressure is the tighter they have to wrap..." or such - never heard that before. No doctors were present when I was there, just the technicians, who were quite nice. Well, wonder when I will see the results. (Last time it took a month to hear from Dr. on my mammo, then another month to get an appt, then another month to get a referral for breast ultrasound, then same for a needle aspiration..)

Pamper yourself!! Life in your fifties is focusing on your plan . You can plan on accepting the changes or choose to make each day fun. I went to bed aged 51 and awoke feeling 100 four years ago. I was irritable, depressed, angry, sore, tired, and searching for answers. My discussions with the orthopedics , my GP and the gynecologist was nonproductive and frankly scary. The Internet offered me a better insight with why I was feeling so lousy , depressed and slipping into a negative state. Having always focused on the kids, hubby and home I decided I need to focus on myself so I wrote myself an email listing all my complaints and things I should be grateful . I found myself watching all the women at the grocery store . I seriously looked in the mirror noting what changes I could make that benefits me. The focus was placing me on the top of my to do list. Your hormones are what make your skin supple, your joints flexible , your mental state balanced and your tendons pliable. It took me a few years to realize I had entered menopause early. All the medical personnel missed the dx cause I stopped my cycles at age 45. Place the focus on what would make you feel pretty. Get your eyebrows waxed. I can no longer hold eyeglasses and trim my brows. Color your hair every six weeks. I use l'oreal every six to eight weeks religiously . Drove me crazy to hang out in the hair salon for three hours and pay a 300 tab. Do what works for you but do it. Lose weight! I found cutting out bread allowed me to drop five pounds. No I was not on a diet but just ate no wheat products. Walk and stretch daily! The lose of hormones makes your tendons brittle . Tight tendons pull on muscles which pull on bones. Several times a day I stretch my hamstrings, arms and back. Seriously takes a few minutes and I feel wonderful. Google hamstring and back exercises . Just doing a few daily will make you feel great. Change your diet. I eliminated bread and added flaxseed, unfiltered apple cider vinegar and calcium with vitamin D to my regimen. Lastly have sex! I have absolutely zero interest but I understand that my husband does. I use the romp in the bedroom as ways to get a body massage. Maybe tmi but it works. I don't tell him but I think of what I need around his needs. Put yourself first. Lose weight for your benefit. If you are ever in the north east and see a fifty? old woman returning her shopping carts and five more it is moi! I purposely park the car a distance and return carts . The extra ten minutes walking and pushing heavy carts keeps me trim and in shape. Make a plan for you . Lose three pounds and then look to do three more. Do things that make you smile. Seriously was crawled up in the fetal position until I decided I want to live and how can I make this better. Start today .

Unless a bra is custom made for you, how is a bra fitter to provide you with such and such bra that is "the right size". I have the most discomfort with the band. If I buy for the comfort of the band, it is difficult to find the right cup size. There are only so many bands sizes and cup size combinations to choose from. It is limited. So, I could go in and try on numerous bras with all combinations of band size and cup size and still curse them all to hell. Then, there are those that cut into the armpit or those that leave love handles spilling out over the top of band. If all the bra fitter is doing is pulling the bras from the racks, what is the difference? Really, if there is a difference between me trying on various sizes and the bra fitter giving me ones to try, I seriously want to know, really. Some of you have been a fitter and maybe can address this. Do the bras get customized or custom made? Or, are they just pulled from the racks? I can try any and all from a 36 to a 40 in all cup sizes until I arrive at one that just falls off and that is the most comfortable one. So, I hang it back up and walk away braless, having found the one that I like the most.......the one that remains on the rack at the store. Those little hangers and the way they hang on the racks just makes me crazy. It is like juggling hair. I havd heard many attest to the fact that corsets are more comfortable than bras. Wearing bras is still a relatively modern thing as we know them to be. Most of female humanity has done quite well without them. Breasts are a functional part of female bodies and are often occupied by small infants. We need them to be accessible when needed to keep tiny helpless humans alive. Except that time has passed for me and I just want to be comfortable and wear warm soft undershirts and camisoles. Sometimes, though, a garment needs for the breasts to be in a certain position on the body for the garment to fit well and feel good. I try to avoid those types of things. Sometimes I have to dig out one of the varieties that I keep on hand and pull it on. It gets either unhooked or pulled off as soon as possible. I am too old to be uncomfortable or to care too much about what anyone thinks. Slinky tops are not my thing anyway and never have been.

When you say 38" is that the measurement below the bust where the bra band would sit? If so, then to get the proper band size, you need to add 4" so you'd be a 42. If you are 50" across the fullest part, then that's an 8" difference which would make you an H. So generally you would be a 42H. But every bra, even within the same manufacturer, is different so you need to try them on. Important to know is how cup sizes work. If you go down a band size, then, to keep the cup volume the same, you need to go up a cup size. A 34C cup is the same as a 36B cup. To judge how a bra fits, the band should be snug but comfortable. The band should be parallel to the floor when you're standing. If it's rising in the back, it's too loose. If you are getting bulges in the back then the band is too tight. If the cups fit properly, then the bridge ... the bit that's between the cups in the front...should be near the chest wall. If it's not, then you need a larger cup size. If you are bulging out of the cups, you need a larger cup size. If the cups are not smooth and filled but instead have gaps and are baggy, you need a smaller cup size. Final tip, when trying on a bra, bend over from the waist to a flat back so all your tissue falls forward into the cup and adjust the band there. When you stand up, you will know the cups are filled properly. See: https://www.macys.com/p/bra-fit-guide/bra-size-fit-faq/