@abasket This is true (total adds up to 4-5 miles because I add to whatever I didn’t get from daily chores and activities), plus my whole life has been active from being a wee lass riding horses and running track in the winter (to stay in shape for riding) to the military to being a parent and raising our kids on the farm with oodles of trips hiking, scuba diving, and more. My mind wonders to having used the knee too much - coupled with poor genetics. (sigh) I’d like to think use helped it, but maybe not.
But thinking about it all in the shower this morning… (my mental “issues”) so far when I’ve gone to the doctor for issues I’ve found out what should have been a “needs glasses” vision problem was a brain tumor - radiation might have fixed it, but apparently has caused its own issues I need to deal with for the rest of my life. What should have been a progression of asthma (previously "diagnosed by the Navy ending my AF career in my young adult stage) ended up showing I never had asthma (whole life got messed up by a wrong diagnosis) and merely adds to the radiation issues. Live with limited activity as there’s no fix. What were lumps under my arm remain undiagnosed and still there - no solution - live with it.
Every “problem” is still there. The only one fixed was carpal tunnel (which didn’t seem to be carpal to my body since it affected the radial nerve, but tests showed it was carpal and surgery definitely fixed it). I suppose I can add that I have three terrific lads from what seemed to be (and was) pregnancy, but otherwise…
My mind plays out something to the effect of going to the doctor and finding out this knee problem is an unusual parasite I picked up from a meteorite somewhere - it might be deadly later, but there’s no fix, so deal with it. I can jump to the “deal with it” stage without needing to know the cause.
There are the athletic trainers at school or the Anatomy teacher (who was a PA before switching to teaching) I can check with for exercise ideas. Med school lad tells me they’ll be learning about joints soon. He’ll soon be an asset. I can still try google this weekend. If I could do the MRI (or whatever) on my own without needing to involve a doctor I’d add that info, but I can’t so I’ll work off symptoms.
Then… if (maybe when) I get another few days where it is causing problems like the past two, that could tip the scale mentally and I know where the walk in Orthopedics place is. They’re the ones who fixed carpal tunnel.
Al I can reiterate is the importance of early intervention. I started pt yesterday. I begin the dry needling next week. I can’t allow myself to get frozen shoulder and by going for treatment now I have a 2 out of 3 chance of not needing surgery. And I know the correct exercises and stretches to do at home. I wouldn’t guess or take any chances.
@MomofWildChild Not everyone shares a desire to go to doctors, esp when one has experienced things that have ended up “way” off what they “should” have been and then add the fact that “well, your whole life got changed for something another doctor did incorrectly decades ago.” Those plans and dreams you had? Changed for a mistake. Sorry about that. Don’t forget to also add in that most of my issues also aren’t fixed. I just get the “forever” aspect added in with “can’t be fixed.” The advice so far has been to keep doing what I’ve been doing as that has worked out well considering the rest.
I can jump to the “deal with it” phase figuring out how to best do so and mentally do better. In my mind there’s always tomorrow to see if it can be fixed IF it reaches a stage that tips the scale. “Maybe” it can happen vs “sorry, can’t fix it” is better for ME personally - mentally.
It’s a risk heading to a doctor. Is it fixable or not? IME (personal experience), I don’t have good odds with that risk and at least at the moment getting more official “live with it” news (or worse if it happened to be bad) wouldn’t sit well on my mind. That much I know. I’m still dealing with the more recent “live with it” adjustment from something that seemed to be incredibly obvious and an easy fix.
@creekland. I get it. I hate the doctor too. Will avoid at all costs but I have a non knee related story to share. A decade ago I hurt my shoulder lifting in the gym. It wasn’t too painful but I was still struggling after a few weeks so went to my primary care MD despite people telling me to see an ortho. My doc said it seemed like I pulled a ligament and gave me some exercises to do. 6 months later I couldn’t lift a grocery bag, wasn’t able to lie down at night to sleep, and was in excruciating pain. Turns out I had torn my rotator cuff and because I hadn’t seen an ortho and gotten an MRI, the tear had increased in size and also frayed my bicep tendon. Ortho told me if I was diagnosed right away, I might have avoided the surgery because chances are it wasn’t a complete tear. Because I did the wrong exercises for 6 months, I did very serious damage and had a long, painful, recovery.
The OP has made up her mind. She is not going to a doctor and especially an orthopod. I’m just glad, for her sake, that teachers who were formerly a PA and med students have great medical malpractice insurance. The OP will need it.
It’s a knee. Just go to the doctor for it and find out what you might have done. Then you can decide next steps. Otherwise, might I suggest a different kind of doctor that might address some issues above the neck.
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
Putting aside the wisdom of seeking medical advice on a message board not geared to the medical field, the conversation seems to be going in circles, and I don’t know what is left to say. Advice has been given, and the OP can make a determination. Closing thread.