Hi all. I have posted on this forum a few times. I will give a brief overview of my knee issues.
Born with mild hip dysplasia....dr recommended surgery parents ignored.
Chrondomalasia in late teens. Lots of PT in mid 20s. Calves are huge, quads dead. Kneecaps maltrack...PT doc said the hip joint does not have a normal ROM. PT did not really help at all.
2 years ago (age 31) walking down stairs felt a very sharp pain in back of knee and for the next few weeks walking sucked because I had quite frequent sharp pains and buckling. Went to Ortho and he twisted my knee in all the directions after which I could not put any weight on. Had an MRI after which he basically told me, this is just arthritis...lose weight. Second opinion basically told me the same thing. Wanted to just give me cortisone...which I did not take. Told to lose weight.
Currently...have lost 70 pounds. Keep being told "I bet you feel great". Negative. My left knee still very unpredictably has sharp pain and buckling at times both when going down the stairs and walking. Sometimes it is fine and sometimes I take a step and get excruciating pain. My hips have been really tight and stiff lately as well which is painful.
I went to a new doctor yesterday and they did some X rays. He checked them out and gave me the "good news" that all was fine. My hips looked "great" and he saw no sign or arthritis in my knees at all. He saw bone spurs and that was it. He actually said to me "I don't see any severe pain here". I wanted to kick him...hard. I asked if nothing is wrong why can't I walk down the stairs. He said that because of my gait, the iliotibial band gets tight (perhaps the only thing he said the whole time which I agreed with)....and that I should go down the stairs with my feet pointed outwards to ease the tension. Said to keep losing weight.
I just feel like if you are not a runner or athlete...and if the meniscus/ligament tests are all negative...they think you are making it up. I have not had one positive experience with an orthopedic doctor concerning my knees. I have been told everything from "you will need knee replacement at some point" to now "your knees are fine!". I KNOW they are not FINE.
I am just losing hope that I will be taken seriously. Not sure what to do. I tried to get in with a Johns Hopkins knee guy, they did not return my phone calls after I sent them my records...when I finally got them on the phone she said "the doctor said there is nothing he can do for you". Awesome.
