Why when I just want to change my phone number do I get locked out of my email for 30 days?

I just today changed from cable to CenturyLink and got a new phone number.  I tried to update my security info with that new phone number, but then I could not get back into my email account.  Something about it taking 30 days to process that.   Sorry, but that is not acceptable.  There has to be a better way.  Of course I cancelled the update, so the phone number on there isn't what I have now, and of course I no longer have am alias, since that was stopped awhile back where you could not have linking email accounts.  So where does it leave us?  Unless something else is worked out so a person isn't crippled up by not having access to their email account for such a long time just for a phone number update.  I sure hate to have to get rid of Outlook, but I don't see any option right now and can't take the chance that I will lose all my info and folders because of a phone number.  I would rather switch to Yahoo or monster or Gmail then to really mess with losing my access for 30 days.  Sure hope someone can assure me that this can be resolved.