It's Not All in My Head...

So, I've had knee pain for about 5 weeks now, and I've been starting to feel that perhaps I am just not very tough.  A suspicion strongly reinforced when I recall how poorly I handled the epidural-free birth of my first child.  Fourteen years later, I still feel bad for the other women on the floor who had to endure an entire day of my screams of agony lady-like utterances.

Today, the doctor called with results from my MRI, and, while the question of my wimpiness is still unresolved, I do have legitimate cause for pain.  Turns out I have a posterior medial meniscal tear.  It's not all in my head - there is actually something wrong with my knee!  Strangely, this makes me very excited.  I have the name of an orthopedic surgeon, and will be calling first thing in the morning to set up an appointment.

The lure of Google was strong, so I googled my condition, and it's not encouraging, at least in the long term.  Seems that people who have the surgery to repair the tear (it's not really an option - it often doesn't heal on its own) end up with a greatly increased risk of osteoarthritis in their knee.  Also, pain relief occurs in about 60% of patients.  I don't want to be one of the 40%.

So, I'll go to the surgeon, learn more about what's wrong, and make plans from there.  It does look like surgery is in my future, though.  I'll keep you posted...