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AIBU?

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Original poster

To be disappointed my scan was normal

268 replies

cantdothisanymor · 01/07/2026 17:15

I saw a physio ages ago and was told I likely had a torn meniscus.

I’ve finally had the scan and the report says all is fine, just a small cyst. It could be a ganglion or a parameniscal. But it’s all fine.

I’ve got an appointment booked in with an orthopaedic consultant to discuss the scan properly but I’m almost sad that I just have to live with this pain now. For the last year I’ve been in agony, every step hurts, and now it turns out it’s just me being a baby.

I could cry, I really thought that I was about to find an answer and a cure. But this is just how I live my life now. I can’t imagine another 70 years of this agony.

OP posts:
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Original poster
cantdothisanymor · 01/07/2026 18:15

PancakeCloud · 01/07/2026 18:14

Yes but it isn’t a painless benign cyst is it?

I don’t think it’s reasonable to just accept this pain. Talk to the consultant.

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Realistically though they’re not going to say anything different to the MRI, and it’s just such a bitter pill to swallow. I’d told myself that this was only temporary, I’d get the diagnosis and a treatment plan and instead it’s just more pain.

OP posts:
PancakeCloud · 01/07/2026 18:14

cantdothisanymor · 01/07/2026 17:25

But that’s not important. The mri is fine, my knee is fine. I just feel like such a baby. I’ve been in this much pain because of a ganglion cyst, which is a painless benign cyst. What an idiot I am

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Yes but it isn’t a painless benign cyst is it?

I don’t think it’s reasonable to just accept this pain. Talk to the consultant.

Original poster
cantdothisanymor · 01/07/2026 18:13

Beamsss · 01/07/2026 18:10

This is surely good news. A ganglion is much easier to fix than a memiscus tear. You can probably have it done this week if you can find £200.

A ganglion is painless though and wouldn’t cause the degree of pain I’ve got in my knee

OP posts:
Beamsss · 01/07/2026 18:10

This is surely good news. A ganglion is much easier to fix than a memiscus tear. You can probably have it done this week if you can find £200.

AppropriateAdult · 01/07/2026 18:10

cantdothisanymor · 01/07/2026 18:07

I’m just so gutted. I wanted an answer, I wanted to get it treated and put it behind me. I feel like I just have to put up with it now

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Yes, I understand that completely - but you haven’t seen the specialist yet! You’re jumping the gun to a ridiculous degree. Have the conversation, explain calmly and clearly how much pain you’re in every single day, and what effect it’s having on your quality of life. And then ask what the options are for treatment.

PickAChew · 01/07/2026 18:10

cantdothisanymor · 01/07/2026 17:35

Not related to the cyst, obviously.

I’d built myself up to this so much, convinced I’d get the results and have an answer and a clear solution.

Instead I’ve wasted £360 to be told I’m pathetic. I actually feel like such an idiot

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Benign just means it's not cancerous or fast growing, not that it's not painful. They can be very painful.

Some go away on their own. It's possible to get temporary or permanent relief by having them drained and massage and exercise can sometimes help them to drain naturally. So it's not nothing and it's not all hopeless.

Beamsss · 01/07/2026 18:09

cantdothisanymor · 01/07/2026 18:00

The NHS won’t do that and I can’t afford to do it privately. I have a private consultation booked but I think I’ll cancel it and ask my GP to review because I think the extra £200 will be a waste of time

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When I had mine done privately, by a surgeon who also worked in the NHS, after being told by GP that the NHS doesn't do them, she told me they do see them on the NHS, so it might be worth pushing harder.

But it was the best £210 I've ever spent.

Fwiw her letterhead called her. Podiatric surgeon, but I'm not sure she was what we'd think of as a surgeon

Original poster
cantdothisanymor · 01/07/2026 18:07

AppropriateAdult · 01/07/2026 18:05

OP, it’s hard to know what you really want from this thread - you’re being so disingenuous and passive-aggressive. You know quite well that the scan report is just an objective description of what was seen by the MRI - the machine hasn’t called you a baby, or told you you’re imagining it, or any other of the ridiculous things you've said. You have significant pain, and the fact that you don’t appear to have a meniscal tear is neither here nor there.

’Benign’ in this context simply means ‘not cancerous’ - it says nothing about whether the cyst is causing your pain.

As a GP I know well that sometimes breaking good news to people - “You scan is normal, Mrs X” - can be complicated - having a significant finding on scan can be very validating, especially if the patient has been suffering for a long time. So I do get that. But this pre-emptive defence of what you assume is going to happen when you see the consultant - all the silly self-talk and calling yourself names - is not serving you well.

I’m just so gutted. I wanted an answer, I wanted to get it treated and put it behind me. I feel like I just have to put up with it now

OP posts:
Morphingirl · 01/07/2026 18:05

have a look into complex regional pain symdrome . I have this in my foot and it's awful but it's not as limiting as it seems online

AppropriateAdult · 01/07/2026 18:05

OP, it’s hard to know what you really want from this thread - you’re being so disingenuous and passive-aggressive. You know quite well that the scan report is just an objective description of what was seen by the MRI - the machine hasn’t called you a baby, or told you you’re imagining it, or any other of the ridiculous things you've said. You have significant pain, and the fact that you don’t appear to have a meniscal tear is neither here nor there.

’Benign’ in this context simply means ‘not cancerous’ - it says nothing about whether the cyst is causing your pain.

As a GP I know well that sometimes breaking good news to people - “You scan is normal, Mrs X” - can be complicated - having a significant finding on scan can be very validating, especially if the patient has been suffering for a long time. So I do get that. But this pre-emptive defence of what you assume is going to happen when you see the consultant - all the silly self-talk and calling yourself names - is not serving you well.

catslovehairties · 01/07/2026 18:04

ChickenBananaBanana · 01/07/2026 18:03

Did you post previously as whatawonderfullife op?

I recognise them too but she says she's never posted before.

Original poster
cantdothisanymor · 01/07/2026 18:04

RancidRuby · 01/07/2026 18:03

But it’s not painless.

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The NHS doesn’t give a shit if you’re in pain though, that’s how I ended up having to go private

OP posts:
Original poster
cantdothisanymor · 01/07/2026 18:03

ChickenBananaBanana · 01/07/2026 18:03

Did you post previously as whatawonderfullife op?

No, I’ve never heard of that poster before.

OP posts:
RancidRuby · 01/07/2026 18:03

cantdothisanymor · 01/07/2026 17:33

The NHS won’t operate on a benign, painless growth, and I can’t afford private surgery

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But it’s not painless.

ChickenBananaBanana · 01/07/2026 18:03

Did you post previously as whatawonderfullife op?

WheretheFishesareFrightening · 01/07/2026 18:00

DH has has an entirely painless and mildly inconvenient ganglion surgically removed from his wrist on the NHS, so I’m not sure you’re right that they won’t do anything.

And you need to switch the narrative. If you go to a doctor saying there’s nothing wrong with you, they’re not going to do anything. If you go waging you’re in so nice pain that you can’t live your life and it’s causing mental health issues, and it’s possible that a simple cyst/ganglion removal might help then it’s not a forgone conclusion they’re just going to send you home.

Original poster
cantdothisanymor · 01/07/2026 18:00

NotSure222 · 01/07/2026 17:59

I'm so confused - my knee was painful and they found a cyst and tried to drain it and put steriod in. Have they refused to do that for you?

The NHS won’t do that and I can’t afford to do it privately. I have a private consultation booked but I think I’ll cancel it and ask my GP to review because I think the extra £200 will be a waste of time

OP posts:
Beamsss · 01/07/2026 17:59

Why do you think you have to live with it? I had a ganglion that was causing me a lot of pain. I know they're supposed to be painless but it depends what it's pressing on.

I had it drained (privately £210) and the pain was resolved instantly.

NotSure222 · 01/07/2026 17:59

I'm so confused - my knee was painful and they found a cyst and tried to drain it and put steriod in. Have they refused to do that for you?

Original poster
cantdothisanymor · 01/07/2026 17:58

SummerDive · 01/07/2026 17:58

Btw @cantdothisanymor pkease ask your consultant if he just read the comments from the radiographer or if he saw the scan himself.

Summaries with the scans are known to have been wrong…..

I have to take the pictures along to the appointment and he’ll apparently go through them then

OP posts:
SummerDive · 01/07/2026 17:58

Btw @cantdothisanymor pkease ask your consultant if he just read the comments from the radiographer or if he saw the scan himself.

Summaries with the scans are known to have been wrong…..

Original poster
cantdothisanymor · 01/07/2026 17:56

catslovehairties · 01/07/2026 17:56

Well, if it's not you, there's another poster with an identical injury and identical posting style.

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Good for them.

OP posts:
Original poster
cantdothisanymor · 01/07/2026 17:56

SummerDive · 01/07/2026 17:55

I voted YABU because the scan does NOT say you’re a baby.
It doesn’t say you’re going to be in pain for the rest of life.
It just means theres nothing they can see on a scan.

And please don’t let tge consultant or a physio fob you off as ‘one those things’ or ‘you’re just anxious’.

I just hope that because it’s a private consultation it might be a little more productive

OP posts:
catslovehairties · 01/07/2026 17:56

cantdothisanymor · 01/07/2026 17:53

What? No I haven’t. I’ve not posted about it before.

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Well, if it's not you, there's another poster with an identical injury and identical posting style.

SummerDive · 01/07/2026 17:55

I voted YABU because the scan does NOT say you’re a baby.
It doesn’t say you’re going to be in pain for the rest of life.
It just means theres nothing they can see on a scan.

And please don’t let tge consultant or a physio fob you off as ‘one those things’ or ‘you’re just anxious’.

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