Company’s calling – 6 weeks of pain so far

This week, we hear from Sigrun Grabowski, an IT Analyst in Montpelier, VT. Her pain started in November of 2007, so it’s not classified as chronic pain yet, although it does look like it’s headed in that direction. This interview was done just before Christmas. Sigrun has agreed to doing follow-ups to see how her pain is progressing or improving as time goes on.

Can you tell me about when you first started experiencing the pain and what kind of pain it was?

My knee pain started fairly mildly just going up and down stairs about 6 weeks ago.  The pain was a moderate pain on the outside of my right knee.

Did you seek help right away?

I did not seek medical help right away, my friend who also happens to be my doctor, took a quick look at it and said it is probably just some muscle tightness and to do some stretching exercises.

About 4 weeks after the initial onset of my knee pain, I had to learn and perform a little dance routine as part of an audition for a play I was doing (I didn’t get the part by the way).  During the course of learning it, we did the same routine probably 25 or so times, and it incorporated some choreographed basketball moves.  During this time, I did not really notice anything wrong or worse with my knee, but when I got home later that day, the pain had increased tremendously, and my knee showed some swelling.  I was able to get a doctor’s appointment the next day, and they prescribed 800mg ibuprofen for the pain, ice, and a referral to the orthopedist.

I saw the orthopedist the following week, and they took an x-ray, and performed some motion tests on my knee.  A specific way of moving my knee produced some major pain, and an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) was ordered.  I had the MRI this past Thursday [in December], but don’t have an appointment with the orthopedist for the results until January 7.  Meanwhile, the pain is not getting any better (actually a little worse over the last few days).  The orthopedist suspects a meniscus tear.

What have you tried to help you with your pain? Can you tell me a bit about what worked and what didn’t?

I have not been able to get much of any relief from the ibuprofen, icing helps some, but the pain never goes away completely, even when at rest.

So far, I can’t say that anything has worked, and I am getting a bit frustrated.

How does having this pain affect you in terms of how you live your life?

While the pain is not debilitating, it is wearing me down to have more or less constant pain in my knee.  I have not been able to exercise the way I normally do, and walking up and down stairs is especially painful. 

If you were to look back over what you have tried/haven’t tried, would you change anything? If so, what would you change?

I would probably have gone to the doctor sooner, and started a more rigorous physiotherapy regimen right away, to provide the proper stretching, which might have prevented or lessened the injury.

What would you say to someone in a similar situation who is just starting to try to find treatment and relief?

Don’t take pain lightly, there is probably a good reason for it. 

Thanks for talking to us Sigrun – I hope our next conversation brings good news.