Self diagnosis and questions/info for my doctor.

WARNING: THIS POST IS ALLLLL OVER THE PLACE AND LONG.

READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. OR SKIP!

THE MORAL OF THIS STORY: THE MORE I LEARN AND THE MORE I KNOW... THE MORE I REALIZE I HAVE SO MUCH MORE TO LEARN AND ACTUALLY BARELY KNOW ANYTHING!

Seeing a doctor Monday...

I am finally seeing my doctor on Monay! I don't know why it takes so long to get an appointment at OIP, but it does. They herd cattle in there... "cattle" meaning patients. I really feel like I am an animal on a farm when I get bounced from room to room, only seeing each doctor or nurse for less than 10 minutes. You have to show up about an hour before you see a doctor, and when you finally see him, you barely get to talk to him. (I AM GETTING MYSELF WORKED UP JUST THINKING ABOUT PAST EXPERIENCES THERE!)

You may be wondering why I am going to such a place in the first place. Well, I want to see the doctor that did surgery on my knee. I figure he's a good place to start. Then, after I get my MRI results back (because I am pretty dang sure they are going to order and MRI), I am going to listen to what this doc has to say (If the answer is not surgery, only the secretary calls to explain things. Yeah, it's horrible. They are only interested in you if they get to cut you open.) and then also get an appointment somewhere else entirely and have OIP place send my MRI to the new place I go. I do not completely trust the doctor who did my surgery.

Anyway, so that's my big plan for tomorrow. I just hope if they order an MRI they can get me in before we leave for vacation. Otherwise it will be quite a long time before I even get and MRI let alone have the doctor analyze it and have his secretary call me.


Self diagnosis via the internet...

I actually don't like going online and doing a self diagnosis because it FREAKS ME OUT! Also, even though I know a lot about my body, I am not a doctor, so what is the use of working myself up about something that may even not be true?

That being said, a couple nights ago, I did do some "knee pain" research. It's kind of tricky because 14 months ago, I got my knee scoped- which means there was a doctor in there looking at everything. He removed a plica and some scar tissue under my kneecap. Other than that, there were no tears in the ligaments or menisci. (Is that the plural of meniscus!?) In fact, at my surgery follow up appointment, I remember him quite clearly saying, "You have a brand new knee."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!

Ahem, sorry for the sarcasm. Boy does remember shit like that make my blood boil. Anywhoo....

So if there is something "big" wrong with my knee, like a ligament or meniscus injury, it would have had to have been from after my surgery. But there has been no acute injury between my surgery and now. From what I read about torn ACLs, I definitely do NOT have that because there are things I can do that someone with a torn ACL cannot. Also, the pain would be more severe, most likely. (This is just me reading and conjecturing. I know I am not a doctor!)

The closest thing I have found to what I am experiencing is a torn meniscus. Here is some stuff I lifted from the web about signs of a torn meniscus. I have crossed out the things that don't apply to me, but left the things that do  apply to me....


Symptoms of a Torn Meniscus may include (but are not limited to):

knee pain

hearing a popping or clicking within the knee (can't hear one but can sense/feel one!)

limited motion of knee joint

pain with running or walking longer distances

Intermittent swelling of the knee joint: Many times, the knee with a torn meniscus feels "tight". (mine never feels tight but feels like it is swollen sometimes)

Popping, especially when climbing up or down stairs

Giving way or buckling (the sensation that the knee is unstable and the feeling that the knee will give way): Less commonly, the knee actually will give way and cause the patient to fall. (mine has never actually buckled but feels like it could)

Locking (a mechanical block where the knee cannot be fully extended or straightened)

That all being said, there are days when my knee feels COMPLETELY FINE. Like right now, it feels great. I ran 4 miles this morning and my knee feels wonderful. Yet some days it feels like it's going to collapse... so confusing...

On Friday night, I was convinced I had a torn meniscus. Then, after reading some advice from Cheryl over the weekend, I started to wonder if maybe I was suffering from just plain old runner's knee? Here is her comment:

"Okay, it sounds to me like a type of Runner's Knee. When you walk aggressively/quickly there are more compressive forces on the patella-femoral joint than running easily/efficiently. I would stop all activities that put pressure on the knee- lunges, squats, plyometrics, and the hip stretch (anything with excessive knee flecion/compression), and ice it, rest it. With Runner's Knee, sometimes even the bursa under the kneecap is inflamed."

Well, THAT is interesting! Guess who has been putting a TON of pressure on her knee lately via walking instead of running and doing that DAMN COUCH STRETCH FOR LIKE 4 MINUTES A DAY! THIS GIRL.

So then I Googled Runner's Knee...

"Symptoms of runner's knee include tenderness behind or around the patella, usually toward its center. You may feel pain toward the back of the knee, a sense of cracking or that the knee's giving out. Steps, hills, and uneven terrain can aggravate PFPS."

Researching Runner's Knee led me toward Pateller Tendonitis...

"Patellar tendonitis usually begins with a stiff feeling in the patellar tendon, especially when running downhill or descending stairs. Like most tendon injuries, it may go away once you get warmed up, but as the injury worsens, it will remain painful for the duration of your workout.

It is also important to distinguish patellar tendonitis from patellofemoral pain syndrome: patellar tendonitis does not hurt along the top or the side of the kneecap, and isn’t usually sensitive to the touch." <----- It actually feels GOOD to touch and compress my knee.

So what does all this mean? It means I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG BUT I AM GOOD AT GOOGLING SYMPTOMS.

Stuff I wrote down for the doctor...

Here is a bunch of stuff I wrote out that I plan on printing out and giving to the doctor. I know there will be forms to fill out but there is never enough space to say everything I need to say on them!!! I don't have any specific question other than, "What the hell is wrong with my knee!?"

There isn't one acute incident that has caused this. I have been managing pain through rest, changing exercise habits, strengthening my hips/glutes. In the beginning of April, my right hip started to bother me which made me decide to stop running for 2 weeks and walk only. That is when my knee seemed to take 5 steps back. I felt like I was slowly managing but then when I changed to only walking it's like everything I had done so far went out the window.

Never hurts to touch- in fact, feels good to have pressure

Throbs under knee cap and on lateral side

It feels clicky deep in the middle. I can't feel the click with my hands, it's just an awareness.

Feels weird to go from a locked knee (like when doing a forearm plank) to pending

Walking bothers it more than running

Bending it the entire way does not hurt

Feels very weak. Sometimes it pulsates, sometimes it just feels “puffy”

Haven't been able to lift lower body, jump, or run long distance since my surgery because it is either uncomfortable during, or after activity- not worth it to feel the pain

Driving is probably when it feels the worst. It can feel fine all day especially at work when moving around, but then I get in the car after work and within the 15-20 min drive home, it is pulsing and feels weak.

Activities with repetitive motion bother it- low impact activies included. It's not the impact it seems, but the motion

Do you self diagnose?
Anything else you thing think I should mention or ask my doctor?