Friday, May 4, 2012

Trip to the Dr.

Always fun. Not.

I kind of put off going, hoping it would just go away, but Wednesday morning came and I still hurt so I knew it was time to stop messing around and just go. I got to my appointment and waited in the little doctor room. When the doctor came in I had a sinking feeling in my stomach-not a runner, obviously. I don't generally judge but it is nice to know your doctor can relate, will understand your urgency to heal and get back on the road. When she asked me what the problem was I told her I was running a marathon and felt a sudden, sharp pain that eventually caused me to stop running then stop walking. She asked me, "Now did you train for this run, this marathon?" Uh....ok, granted my training was not spot on but yes, I trained. Seriously.

She had me sit on the table and she pushed and my knee cap to and fro, pressed on the sides, underneath (where she identified a cyst that has been there for a few months), she then pulled on the lower half of my leg and it felt like she was about to just pull my lower leg right off, throw it on a rotisserie and fire it up. As I sat there, with my legs dangling it was hurting, it felt like it was just hanging by a thread, it's hard to explain but my right leg was fine, no pain, my left, just hanging there hurt, and it hurt bad. I needed to put my foot on the ground so that it would stop pulling. It was still swollen laterally and underneath.

She asked me if I could have possibly sprained it. I knew the answer was no. I remembered my 20 miler and how we had to call it quits at 16 miles due to pain, then on our retry of 20 it began hurting around mile 14. This time I barely made it 6 miles before it started nagging at me. This was no sprain. But I humored her, she was after all the doctor.

She reached in her drawer and handed me a supplement and explained that many people with Meniscus tears have success taking this supplement and healing naturally, without surgery. I was sold.

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She said around 80% see good results and go on to have no problems. She also prescribed Motrin and asper cream twice a day and put in a consult with the Brace Shop. I got this sexy thing.....

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I asked the dreaded question, "How long do I have to rest?" Two weeks. Two weeks isn't bad, I'm already almost a week out from the marathon. BUT the bad news is I still have pain, just sitting around doing nothing. She sent me to x-ray for a "baseline" and told me if it still hurts in 2 weeks to come back in to schedule an MRI. Ok.

So I am resting. It seems my 50k may not happen. If by some chance I am able to run in two weeks, pain free and better than new then sure, I'll give it a try. But it isn't looking good, which is a complete disappointment. Lately it has been hard to stay positive and not focus on the negative. It seems like every time I turn around I get punched in the face. I am trying to focus on the good, actually recognize the many good things I have going for me right now. It's tough and I am ready for some good news, some good fortune...so please, if you have good news do share! I'd love to hear it!

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13 comments:

  1. Sorry to hear....Good news, My half is on Sunday, I'm feeling pretty good about it. And my oncologist is a runner, and he's awesome.

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  2. Hope you heal quickly and permanently! My good news is I officially signed up for my first ever marathon in November! I was so overwhelmed by the support I got from friends and family, esp considering, if you'd look at me, you'd have thought "Obviously not a runner". I'm serious about my training and love that so many people believe in me which I will use to back me up when I have those moments when I don't want to believe in myself.

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  3. oh, wow sweetie. good luck with that supplement! i love that you took a photo so we can all stalk it now. LOL

    my good news: i'm managing to make myself walk! yay! motivating myself to do so is hard because i'm two weeks out from my first half marathon and pissed off that i'm not cleared to run. but if i have to walk it, i need to train so i know how to walk it- right?

    just home from (really) my second training walk, this time with an average pace of 17:22. a full minute ahead of the shag wagon! yay? (it's progress, so i keep telling myself...)

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  4. In the past 3 years you have done so much, accomplished so much, inspired so many, and experienced enough for a lifetime. Its ok to rest now. Let the "shoulds" and "coulds" go for now.

    Rest your leg, your body, and your mind. Reevaluate. Rest is critical, and you'll come back stronger on the other side.

    Give yourself this time to get hungry again. And when you're really hungry, you find out what you REALLY want.

    I think you are fantastic. Just thought you should know. :)

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  5. I take the same supplement for my knees. I don't have a cyst but I did have a tear on the outer part of me knee (very painful) which I didn't think would ever go away but once I started taking that supplement, I was pain free a week later. Hope you have a quick recovery.

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  6. Oh man, so sorry to hear about the setback! Being told you can't run is just sucky (totally a real world). Hopefully that supplement makes things a lot better!

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  7. A knee injury... I suffered from a knee injury too. In fact, I still feel a low grade pain when I run.

    I pray for your quick healing.

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  8. Being injured in no fun. Hope you have a speedy recovery.

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  9. Sorry about your knee. Two weeks should go by fast. I hurt my hip flexor over Christmas break and had to sit out 2 months. I was going to do my first 50k and had to miss it. My good news is I've been running pain free for over 2 months now, and even ran a few hard but successful races.

    Hang in there, I've been in you shoes, if those shoes are Ascics.

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  10. Awww. I haven't been around the blogs since like October... just happened by today. So sorry!!! Hope it gets better soon!!!

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  11. Instead of restrictive bracing, I would recommend taping. Kinesiology tape can be used for a handfull of things from strengthening muscles, reducing inflammation/swelling, supporting joints,tendons & ligaments, and inhibiting overactive muscles.

    If you see a PT who specializes in it (you can find a list of certified kinesiotapers at http://www.kinesiotaping.com/global/association/about/cktp-locator.html

    I'm working on my certification, so if you have any questions, please let me know!

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  12. Well, there was some great news from the world of horse racing this weekend: Rosie, the first female jockey ever to do so, rode the winner of the 2012 Kentucky Oaks race! I was there and it was so exciting to watch. It's really hard for women to break into horse racing and most don't get equal opportunities to ride fast horses. She made history.

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  13. I will be keeping my fingers crossed that this will do the trick! I hear ya on being over all the injuries; we all deserve a break from them. (Instead of because of them!)

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You're pretty much awesome!!

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