help diagnosing

[midlander]

I am wondering if somebody can shed some insight into some symptoms I've been having. Whenever I step up stairs with my left leg, my knee will sometimes buckle and there will be pain in the center of my thigh.  The pain will be there for a minute or so and the knee will be weak for a few hours.  This will occur intermittently, happening frequently for a month or two then go away for a month or two. Has anybody experienced these symptoms.

[cdubb]

First off, I would go to a Dr. for a full evaluation rather than  these boards for a diagnosis, but just because the buckling is in the knee, you report pain/weakness in your thigh...look beyond problems in the knee, as the L3 nerve distribution from your lumbar spine can cause knee and thigh pain/weakness.  At least I think it's L3...simple point...problem could be knee, or it could be back..or something else entirely, which is why you should go see a Dr. for an evaluation.