An Appointment With my Family Doctor
[ Thursday April 13th 2017 at 11:35 am ]
I've just finished an appointment with my family doctor. I made the appointment to receive new pain medication prescriptions.
I brought my laptop computer with me to this appointment to show my family doctor the redness and swelling in both my knee joints I am experiencing after resting in bed. No external trauma to my knee joints caused this. He was open to this and asked if it was painful. It is very painful.
My family doctor performed a physical examine and acknowledged the knee joint line pain during this. Yet after he was highly suggesting this is infrapatellar tendonitis causing me the pain. I am going to have to make a list of rebuttals prior to the appointment which will follow the MRI imaging of both my knee joints. Of the things that stand out to me:
- I resolved the tendonitis in December 2016 with 4 ultrasound treatments. I have no problem acknowledging the tendonitis returning. I tend to think it is secondary to other degeneration in my knee joints.
- The diagnosis of the physiotherapist who discharged me in February 2017 included 'bilateral chondromalacia patellae'
- Previous MRI imaging of my right knee joint diagnosed articular cartilage fraying
- I've experienced the better part of a combined total 100 instances of clicking - popping followed by pain in both of my knee joints since the last MRI imaging of only my right knee joint. My family doctor acknowledges pain followed by instances of clicking - popping causes permanent damage.
- In June 2012 I had a 2½ hour consultation with a 91 year old orthopedic surgeon brought out of retirement to assess me. When I described my childhood treatment I was advised the hip dysplascia brace with an abduction bar used to treat my Legg Perthes disease when I was 3 - 4 years old would cause the demise of my knee joints.
- The symptoms of the clicking - popping followed by pain, the swelling I experience, never recovering from the setback caused by doing a squatting exercise and loss of function in my knee joints support the diagnosis of grade iv chronral knee joints. This is the most serious level.
- I've also endured 26 months of physiotherapy since my second hip joint was replaced. Not only have I not recovered but I lost all the progress I made. During this 26 months I received 2 stints of physiotherapy by different physiotherapists.
I am questioning why my family doctors opinion is this way. He may need me to tell him the complete list that creates doubt in me that this is *just* tendonitis. I am going to have to confront my family doctor with this list and anything else I remember after the MRI imaging of both my knee joints is completed. During the appointment today I decided which items I would push back with to create doubt and left it that I want to see the results of the MRI imaging.
Ultimately my dad is presently pallative with liver cancer. If I can't get help here in Canada I will use some of my inheritance when I eventually receive it to pursue out of country treatment. I am interested in trying a stem cell transplant to improve the fraying cartilage. What I've asked my family docor for is to be assessed by a physiatrist after the MRI imaging is completed.
My local hospital is presently installing a brand new MRI machine. I've checked on it's progress. This is expected to be completed during the coming weeks. I am hoping the MRI imaging will occur in June 2017.