Erika and the Knee That Hated Everything

I started my second weight loss adventure 75 days ago. During those 75 days, I’ve lost 26 pounds and countless inches from different parts of my body. Here’s me from May:

And here’s me from two weeks ago:

As you can see, I’m shrinking!

There’s just one thing bothering me, though. It’s my knee. My left knee, to be specific. My trainer, Megan, (from Fitness Together in Issaquah, if you’re curious) has done an incredible job training me and helping me lose weight in spite of my bum knee, but I’m getting tired of hobbling around when I have so much energy and desire to exercise!

I injured my knee in October of last year, a mysterious injury that sounds like a meniscus tear but also sounds like it could be something else. My knee will be fine, but then out of nowhere acute pain engulfs my knee and shuts it down. No weight bearing, no pivoting, a continual, agonizing charlie horse for a few days and then back to normal.

I can’t pivot on my knee, or walk on uneven surfaces (like the beach), or wear high heels, or sit/lie in positions that put lateral strain on my knee. I live in perpetual fear of aggravating my knee. It’s become the cantankerous downstairs neighbor that may or may not poison my cat if I step out of line.

All this to say, I’m losing weight but getting tired of doing so in spite of my (literally and figuratively) lame knee. I’m going to go in for an MRI tomorrow to see what’s really going on in there.

My biggest fear is that they won’t see anything wrong. Isn’t that the worst? When you know something is up but diagnostic tests prove inconclusive?

I don’t know what to hope for. If there’s something wrong, my hope is it can be fixed. If there’s nothing wrong, I guess that’s good? It still doesn’t help solve the mystery of Erika and the Knee That Hated Everything, though.

Wish me luck.