[krisakira]

I have moderate to severe knee pain...

The beginning of September my boyfriend and I moved into our new apartment, which I LOVE! Well, we had to buy a lot of furniture cause we didn't have much of our own. We bought some really nice computer desks and we had to put them together. It took forever! It took me 2 days to put mine together. It was a lot of physical activity. There was a lot of sitting and standing and getting up, getting down, kneeling, squatting, crouching, reaching... When I get up I use my right leg to do most of the work, since I am right handed and so my dominant leg is my right one. I noticed some weakness by the end of the 2 days, and some minor pain in my right knee associated with standing up from a seated position. Well it is now the end of october, so it has been almost 2 months and the pain is getting worse and worse!

My symptoms are:
- The knee pain is all around, however most pain is above the knee
- Stiffness in the morning, or after sitting for a long period of time
- Moderate knee pain while walking
- Moderately severe pain when straightening my leg, locking my knee
- A little bit of popping when I straighten my leg
- Severe pain when standing up from a seated position
- Extreme pain when kneeling (so much I cannot do it)
- Extreme pain when I bend my knee all the way (like stretching your quads)
- Severe pain when getting up from sitting on the floor
- Moderate pain walking up and down the stairs
- Dull achey pain while not in use.

Sucks, huh?

I feel like I'm trying to get a doctor to diagnose me lol. Well, I have a doctor appointment monday. I am just not looking forward to it because I don't like my doctor at all, and have a feeling she is going to blame my knee pain on my obesity. I get it, I am fat so the added weight puts more pressure on my knee, and I know that if i were thinner, it probably wouldn't have gotten this bad. I really just want her to tell me what is wrong with it, and how to help it get better. Also, what kind of exercises I can do without injuring the knee even further. I want to exercise to lose weight, but I don't want to cause more damage to the knee, and obviously I do not want the pain!

poor me

sounds like it could be a torn meniscus. (see http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/m...topic-overview)

i tore the one in my left knee and had surgery about 5 years ago. arthroscopic surgery is usually required to repair it. it's not major surgery though it took mine a while to heal properly.

yes, you're right, losing weight will help the knee heal regardless of whether or not you have surgery. losing weight will also make you feel better and help avoid diabetes, heart disease and other illnesses including depression. it is very important that you lose weight. no, you do not have to be as thin as a model - you just have to be healthier than you are now. your body is talking to you . . . please listen to it.

[ECHOES]

I tore an ACL several years ago. The xray showed nothing and I could not afford an MRI, but the doctor was sure that's what was going on based on my symptoms. It eventually healed well enough. I am older and it can bother me here and there a bit, and it can still be 'crunchy' but it's minor.

[Perna]

Good luck with the doctor's appointment, I hope they can see/figure it out. I hope you just need to not use it as much/rest it better; I know I had an arm problem that took six months to resolve itself, 3 months in physical therapy. These things can take a long time.

[krisakira]

I was told my appointment was set for 1:30pm monday. So, i went to the doctors office, and the receptionist said "Your appointment was at 1:15, so we need to reschedule." I told her, whoever I made the appointment with told me 1:30, because I wrote it down while I was on the phone with her. But she said "Yeah I don't know who would have told you that, but it was at 1:15 so you need to reschedule." So i said, "Ok, so I have to reschedule because someone told me it was at the wrong time?" and she said yes, so i said "ok, i will reschedule at home" just so i could leave. (i don't plan on rescheduling with that idiotic place). I went to the urgent care center instead. They told me it was a strained ligament, but could have been torn if not just really bad strain, and that it has turned into chronic pain based on how long its been (2 months). so they gave me some prescription anti-inflammatory meds and said I should only do light activity, such as standing, sitting, and walking some. Then if i feel like it doesn't bother me to do any of that, i can work my way up to more moderate activity. She said based on how long its taking to heal, it'll just take a long time to heal completely. She wanted to put me in a knee brace, but because of the width of my thighs, the smaller size was too small at the top and the bigger size was too big at the bottom. so she wrapped it up instead. the wrapping won't stay up, and it bunches in the back and bothers me. so i guess I really just have to be careful and take the meds.