Knee (left)

[redbird]

My left knee started hurting more after I got home from the gym last night. cattitude pointed out that I really ought to go see the doctor about it.

So, this morning I emailed in sick, called my doctor's office to have the recording tell me when they opened, and then called about five minutes after they opened. I asked for an appointment "as soon as possible" and explained why. The receptionist asked "Can you be here by 10:30?" I said "yes," grabbed the spare brain, and called a car service, which got me there about 9:45. The doctor actually saw me around 10:30, which seems reasonable.

She felt the knee, moved it a bit, and told me that (a) it's basically stable, (b) she's fairly sure I don't have a torn meniscus, and (c) there's some arthritis in there in addition to whatever else is going on. She wrote me a referral for an X-ray, and a prescription for an anti-inflammatory (of the NSAID class, so I am not to take aspirin, ibuprofen, etc. while on this medication). Depending on what the X-ray shows, it's possible she'll send me for an MRI; my insurer tends not to approve MRI for knees without the person having an X-ray first.

I stopped at the nearby bagel shop for second breakfast (toasted pumpernickel with butter and a cup of tea), then took an assortment of buses up to St. Joseph's Medical Center in Yonkers. It took me significantly longer to get to the hospital than I spent there: three buses, and I let the first Bx7 go by because it was quite crowded and I didn't want to stand on those hills), and then I think it was half an hour from the time I walked up to the reception desk at the hospital entrance to the time I walked out again after my X-ray. [Free plug, on the off chance anyone reading this is trying to decide where to get a walk-in X-ray and St. Joseph's is one of the choices.]

More buses, lunch, and I waited for about 20 minutes at the drugstore for them to fill my prescription.

I note that the knee felt significantly better by the time I had eaten my bagel than it had first thing in the morning, and then started hurting more around 5:00 (I'd had two ibuprofen about 8:30, and then no other meds until I got home, circa 3:30, and took one of the prescription pills). Oddly, this is after resting for a while when I got home.

Depending on how it is in the morning, I may take another sick day, or I may try going in and see how it feels after a block or so. (I have my current project on a thumb drive, as I often do, so maybe I can work from home.)

[Addendum: blood pressure at the GP's office was 120/80, which is a fine number, especially for someone whose knee hurts and who has something to worry about.]

Comments

[grendel1031.livejournal.com]

My hopes for quick alleviation of joint pain (in your case, knee). I understand completely the aggravation and frustration with bus travel; be grateful, however, that you live in a metropolitan area. Were you to live in a smaller urbanity, bus service suspends a 8:10 a.m. to resume at 3:55 p.m.

Be grateful also for "sick days"; this concept does not occur in the universe of Independent Contractors.

This has turned into an exercise in "Oh, I'm so sorry for myself." It was not intended to be so. At present, I am free from joint pain. I wish the same for you ... and in the Near Future.

[daharyn.livejournal.com]

I hope your knee improves, and that an MRI proves unnecessary (though I hope it's as easily achieved, if deemed essential). Thanks for the hospital plug -- I really appreciate these little tidbits of area-specific information. (No, seriously. I have a file, they all go in there...)

[redbird]

I hope that if you ever do need an X-ray, there will be something closer to you than St. Joseph's, but I have no current idea of the Queens hospitals.

(The other reason I went there is that St. Joseph's knows my doctor, and she'll be able to log in and get the results; the hospital around the corner from me is the one that managed to lose track of my pulmonary function test this past winter.)

[janetmiles.livejournal.com]

I hope the knee pain can be resolved relatively quickly and, um, painlessly.

[threeringedmoon.livejournal.com]

I hope your knee recovers quickly.

Totally off-topic: what is the difference between car service and a taxi?

[redbird]

In New York usage, a car service is a hired car that you call: "Hello, I would like a car at $address" and the nice person says "one minute" (or "ten minutes" if you aren't in the middle of their service area), and you either trust them or ask how much it will be to your destination before you get in. A taxi is hailed on the street, and has a meter that determines the fare based on measured distance and waiting time.

In theory, it's illegal for a car service to pick up passengers who just wave them down; enforcement varies.

And yes, that's a dialect thing; when I lived in New Haven, taxis came if you telephoned, or you could pick one up from a cab rank at the railroad station.