I had an MRI done this week after I injured myself even more at the Thanksgiving 5K. I got the results back and there’s a whole lot going on. The most serious issue is a meniscus tear, but I also have a moderately sized cyst behind my knee and a joint effusion. Basically, the whole thing is a mess. I had already set up an appointment with the orthopedics office before the testing, but they didn’t schedule me with a surgeon, they scheduled me with someone in sports medicine. They put me with him because I had no previous history of knee surgeries and a no specific diagnosis, which makes sense. Now that I have the results back and know it’s a tear, I asked my pcp if I should reschedule to one of the surgeons, and that is what he would prefer.

I called the office and asked if I could be rescheduled to one of the surgeons, but the wait is out to March and April, which is way too long to let this go. I decided to just stick with the doctor I was scheduled with for now so I could at least get some questions answered about the severity of the condition, if the tear itself is likely to be causing the issues (it’s my medial meniscus that’s torn, but mostly I have lateral and posterior pain), and if it’s possible to try conservative treatment. My appointment is only two weeks away; at this point, it just makes sense to see what he says and I can always ask to book with someone else if I want another opinion. Letting this pain and loss of function go on for three more months is unreasonable. I can’t bend my leg all the way, I can’t straighten it all the way, and it’s affected my gait for a month now.

Honestly, I’m scared of what I’m going to hear. I know that a lot of people with meniscus issues still have trouble with it even after a repair. I also know that it’s unlikely to just heal itself, so I don’t know what I’m facing. I would love to know how severely it’s torn, and would like to hopefully get the cyst and/or fluid drained so my knee doesn’t feel so stiff and swollen. I think just that would go a good way toward me feeling better.

I’ll keep you guys updated. I had dreams of doing a color run in April, but it really all depends on how this consultation goes.