My Oh My MRI

After years of having pain on the outer aspect of my right knee my physician ordered an MRI because there was finally a lump large enough for her to see. I’ve had x-rays before that showed arthritis of that knee. The arthritis hasn’t progressed, but the discomfort that I have has steadily increased has. The lump is where my pain is most intense. I was told that my arthritis wasn’t severe enough to have surgery, when I sought relief with an orthopedic doctor. I was given steroid injections into the knee joint on two occasions. The relief was minimal and only lasted several days. The injections did cause one unpleasant side effect. It caused my blood sugar to increase for even longer than the minimal relief from pain lasted.

Again I went to my orthopedist for a series of hyaluronic acid (rooster comb) injections. I had to wait six weeks before the doctor could administer them because I’d had the steroid injections first. The rooster comb injections did give slightly more relief that lasted a few days longer then the steroids.

I also visited a chiropractor for my neck and hip sciatica. He tried some adjustments that eased my neck bone spur discomfort and headaches, but did little to relieve the occasional attacks of sciatica. I also sought the help of an acupuncturist who plied her trade at the same clinic. Her waiting list was six months long. I waited for the appointment, but was disappointed with the results. After three treatments, I decided to keep my money in my own pockets and spend it on several creams and oral pain killers. Since then my knee has episodes of pain, sometimes intense stinging pain and sometimes just a chronic ache.

I wasn’t due for another follow-up examination after my open heart surgery until September, but because the insurance company for our church recently required all van drivers over the age of 70 to be cleared by a physician, she moved my date to this past Thursday. She decided to combine her follow-up while I was in her office and cancel the later one. I showed her the knot on the outside of my knee. It had become more pronounced that she actually could see and palpate it. She wasn’t able to discern what was causing the lump and because my knee x-ray failed to diagnose the problem, she scheduled an MRI. I had it done Friday. Now I just have to wait to hear the results.