I met with the doctor first, we talked and she examined. It has been a really long time since my last doctor appointment, and even longer since I had an appointment that wasn't a pap smear so I was a little nervous. Luckily, the doctor I met with was amazing! Part of that may be that I'm older and wiser and less self-consious, but mostly it had to do with her fantastic bedside manner. She put me at ease right away and I never felt talked down to or unheard. Anyway, she sent me downstairs for x-rays - unfortunately the school doesn't have an MRI machine (fun fact: I totally Googled that to see if it should be 'an MRI' or 'a MRI' #grammarnerd).
So the good news is that there is nothing wrong with the bones in my knees, no fractures or dislocation. The bad news is that I have patellofemoral pain syndrome (runners knee) and probably have a meniscal tear in the left knee. Without the MRI she couldn't confirm it but is quite sure and I believe it because that's what all my research has led to as well. The PFPS is caused by wearing of the cartilage behind the knee and inflammation of the bursa, and I'm lucky enough to have symptoms in both knees.
I'll be totally honest with you, I cried a little bit when she told me. It's such a relief to have a diagnosis, to have a doctor tell me I'm not imagining it, that there is something actually wrong but it has a name and a treatment. Don't laugh, I know knee pain is such a minor problem in the grand scheme of things but I have been frustrated and frightened by it for such a long time that it has become a major obstacle in my daily life and I felt so good doing something about it!
What now? Well, for the long run I'm in pretty good shape actually. She gave me some rehab exercises to do, set an appointment reminder for an MRI early next year (once my health insurance kicks in - thanks Obama!), and put my name on their list for physical therapy. Apparently the school used to offer it, they lost funding last spring but will be able to start again this coming February.
As for the short term... I don't expect I'll be running much of this Wine & Dine half. I'll start doing my exercises right away but the run is only 2 weeks away and I can't expect miracles. I don't mind jog/walking the whole thing and I'll send my friends off without me if I'm too slow for them but it takes a bit of the fun out of the whole event, doesn't it? And I really want to enjoy this race as it will probably be my last, at least for a while... Oh well, woe is me! I guess I'll have to drown my sorrows at the Food & Wine Festival, right?!
On a totally unrelated note: hug your pets extra tight tonight and send some loving vibes out to my wonderful friends who had to say goodbye to their kitty today.
"... what we have enjoyed, we can never lose ... all that we love deeply becomes a part of us."
--- Helen Keller
