(Mods, I’m just rambling about the process here, but if this turns into real medical discussion, feel free to move it to IMHO.)
Observant readers and stalkers may recall that I went to Costa Rica about two months ago. I came back after a week of hiking, and had no problems.
Two days later, I rode my bike to work. Ever since, I’ve had instability and discomfort in my right knee.
I’m no stranger to knee injuries…I’ve torn both patella tendons. I’ve been hit in the knee with a softball. I’ve slid over a softball bat on my knee. But this one feels different. I have minimal pain and no swelling. What I do have is a knee that almost collapsed on me a few times a day from simple walking, for about two weeks. Sometimes it feels like there’s…pressure? interference? discomfort? on the outside part of the knee. Occasionally I feel tightness on the inside part, somewhere near the MCL.
I took a month off from exercise…then went for a jog. Boom - right back to the beginning of the symptoms. I went to my orthopedic, and we decided to do physical therapy. I’ve been doing that for a month. No improvement in symptoms, and I’ve added some stiffness and mild pain.
Today, I had an MRI done. I have a follow-up with my ortho on Friday. I’m anxious to hear what they found.
-D/a
Good luck. I hope its nothing major. Sounds like it could be a small tear in the meniscus. I have one in my right knee that didnt need repair. The one on my left knee was a larger tear and flapped over on itself, so it had to be scoped. I have since had the left knee replaced.
I’ve had a couple of MRIs in the last two months, for different problems.
November a year ago, my knee gave out as I was hiking down a mountain trail in western Panama. It was extremely painful, and I could barely hobble down. It got better very slowly, until I was mugged about 6 months later, which made it even worse. Again it got better very slowly.
Finally, I got tired of waiting for it to heal completely and went to my orthopedist. He prescribed an MRI. (I found it very difficult to keep my knee still during the procedure, and kept being scolded by the technician.)
Fortunately he found that although my ACL had been torn it didn’t require surgery. He prescribed therapy and the exercises worked very well. My knee is almost all the way back, although it’s still a little stiff.
When I went to the orthopedist I also complained about a slight numbness in the ring finger and pinkie of my right hand that I’ve had for the past five years. This seems to have developed after I fell off a mule and broke four ribs. I’ve always assumed it was a pinched nerve, but it wasn’t bothersome enough to do something about.
After nerve tests, the orthopedist prescribed therapy for the hand too, thinking it was carpal tunnel. But there was no improvement, so I had another MRI on my spine yesterday to look at the nerves.
Thanks, Snake Plissken. My gut feeling is a meniscus tear, too. And that’s what people at work seem to think.
I’m anxious to get the story on Friday. I’ve been told I have a little lose cartilage in that knee as well…so surgery wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen. But I’d prefer a non-invasive solution.
I assume the knee replacement wasn’t ultimately BECAUSE of the injury…?
**Colibri **- I’ve had three MRIs in my past…two for knees, one with contrast for a shoulder. Each time it was “nothing really wrong, so let’s do PT.” And it’s always worked. It’s a good way to see that you’re really treating the right thing, even though you can’t tell right away.
I’m glad yours are working out that way too.
-D/a
Update: No tear. No surgery for now.
I’m missing some cartilage.
We’re going to do some more PT, this time with McConnell taping. That’s helped me in the distant past…but I’ve developed allergies to many adhesives since then. So I may not be able to tolerate it.
My favorite part of the report is that I have “a full-thickness cartilage defect.” In other words, a gap of some sort in my cartilage.
You guys get claustrophobic in that shiny metal tube?
I’m usually ok with tight spots. But, I had to grit my teeth when they shoved me into that tight MRI tube.
My dad can’t get an MRI without sedation. He’s had panic attacks in that thing before. Just like me, I’d never, ever seen my dad bothered by tight spaces. It’s something with those MRI machines that triggers the anxiety. That roaring noise doesn’t help either. I can still hear it way to well even with the ear plugs they provide.
No, not really. When I had the one for my hand problem, the technician told me not to swallow saliva when the noise was on. So of course it became absolutely irresistible not to swallow during the procedure. But apparently it wasn’t so bad it interfered with the test.
I’m mildly, and randomly, claustrophobic. It tends to be lack of space to move. I can be in a huge restaurant with three other people, but if we are seated so I’m stuck on a corner, I’ll feel it. :smack:
I’ve had problems with MRIs in the past…but this one didn’t bother me.
The worse was then I had my shoulder done, because I had to have my head in the machine too. For the knee, I was only in up to my shoulder or so.
Plus, for the shoulder one, I had it done with contrast. I didn’t react well to the shot…
I have flown through the tube numerous times - most recently for a broken left calcaneous (heel bone) which still has me on crutches. I like watching the process.
I noticed on the last exam the techs had discreetly taped smelling salts to the side of the machine to get to easily, and a barf bag was tucked under book on a nearby table.
I spent my time imagining the stories of MRIs gone bad.
I’ve been through more than a dozen between 2000 and 2006 or so - all of them on my brain, so I was head-first and deep inside. I’ve described it to others as listening to Rush while being stuffed inside a BIC pen.
That being said, I’ve come close to falling asleep inside the MRI more than once. I can sleep pretty much anywhere!
Yes! I usually close my eyes and do deep breaths. I almost fell asleep a few times this last round, but I was afraid I’d twitch, making the whole thing last longer.
-D/a
I’ve had to get an MRI once and I didn’t find the enclosed space to be bothersome, but I tend to dislike getting into a machine that they go into a separate room to turn on.
I’m mildly claustrophobic, but the MRI wasn’t too bad because it was open at the end. If it was a closed capsule, I’m pretty sure it would bother me more. With that said, the most bothersome aspect is when I have an itch on my face and can’t scratch it.
I don’t know the technical differences of T1, T2, Spin-weighted or whatever, but I have nodded off during some of the more thrumming sorts of scans.
I’m actually off to have an upright MRI next week. I’m assuming I don’t have to stand upright and still on my own for it. That would be far worse than a traditional horizontal scan for me. The doc wants to scan my spine while it’s load-bearing for a better view of my crushed nerves and dessicated discs.
The sucky thing about MRI’s is that half the time the pain from the injury itself makes the process unbearable. I had one a few months ago after I pinched a nerve, and the pain made it hell to lie straight back in that goddamn metal tube. I was close to pushing the “abort” button but I knew if I did I’d have to go through the whole damn thing over again.
I was seated, rather than standing, for the entire run pretty much like the right-most person on this page. You may notice that the space between the two “pods” is still pretty thin, but there is nothing in front of you other than the window between you and the operator, and a TV above the window.
Overall, it was like taking an hour-long flight in the middle seat in coach, except for the need to sit still. I had no problems there as the machine makes all the usual MRI noises and had no trouble nodding off.
I had an MRI years ago for TMJ Disorder. Imagine a regular MRI with you head in a holder, then imagine an MRI with your head in a holder in which you have to hold you freaking mouth open as wide as you can for the duration.
Thanks for reporting in, gotpasswords. I think that would be annoying to go through…but probably less claustrophic. And definitely not a bad as Minnie Luna’s!
-D/a
