To be disappointed my scan was normal

[cantdothisanymor]

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.

That is absolutely understandable, @cantdothisanymor - constant pain is exhausting and depressing. But hopefully your consultant will be able to help you with the next steps, and this is one step towards a diagnosis.

It might also be worth talking to him about pain relief, in case there are better options available for you.

I’m sure you can understand then just how awful a year of pain every single day is, and you can imagine how awful it would be to have no end in sight

Ask for blood tests- not everything shows up on scans! Investigate your symptoms and read up on forums to see what sounds similar. This is how I got diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis- ultimately my scans showed up my messed up spine through work damage but I asked for specific blood tests which showed up À.S and explained all the other unusual symptoms I had! Good luck- you really have to fight for answers nowadays. Pain is a reaction to something in your body- it could be an anti inflammatory disease you have! X

I don't understand why you say the scan found nothing when in fact it found a cyst. I ran your report through Chat GPT without any prompting or mentioning pain and it said:

What happens next?

Treatment depends on your symptoms:
If the knee is only mildly painful, doctors often recommend physiotherapy, activity modification and monitoring.

If the cyst is causing persistent pain, catching, or limiting activity, an orthopaedic specialist may discuss draining it or arthroscopic surgery to remove it, though many never need an operation.

You can buy Co Codamol over the counter at pharmacies, low dose but might keep you going til you see Consultant

If I was able to pay for surgery privately I’d agree, but I’ll be going through the NHS. I can see it now - because I can walk and I’m not actively dying, they won’t do anything.

Look into neuroplasticity. Its a real thing where your body perceives danger and creates pain signals. The pain is 100% there and 100% real btw. Your body needs to learn how to turn off the over sensitive alarm. Look up John Sarno or Dan at Pain free you. Lots of free information and advice. Its been a game changer for me.

You're fortune-telling.

What is the Fortune Telling Cognitive Distortion?
Fortune telling is a type of cognitive distortion where people habitually predict negative outcomes without good evidence. This distorted way of thinking is responsible for anxiety, depression, and chronic worry, and is a frequent treatment target in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Instead of making informed predictions based on realistic data, a person engaging in fortune telling assumes the worst will happen—and treats that assumption as fact.

Why We Predict the Future—and When It Becomes a Problem
As human beings, we rely heavily on our ability to anticipate outcomes. This kind of prediction is often necessary and adaptive. For example, if we drink sour, expired milk, we reasonably expect to get sick. When we board a flight to San Francisco, we expect to land in San Francisco. These are rational predictions based on past experiences and a sound understanding of how the world works.

The problem arises when our future predictions become skewed by fear or insecurity, and we start assuming failure, rejection, or disaster—even when there’s no clear evidence to support that conclusion. That’s when normal forecasting turns into fortune telling: a cognitive distortion that overestimates negative possibilities and underestimates realistic or neutral outcomes.

Ganglion cysts aren’t always painless. I have one on my wrist and at times it nips the nerves and its agony. They themselves are painless but they can interfere with surrounding structures.
knee pain is not nice company. I struggled for years, I’ve little meniscus left but they wouldn’t operate as at the time I was about your age. The only thing that ever helped me (I’m now 38) was starting to work out regularly and building the muscle in my legs. More muscle has taken the pressure of my knee cap. It’s sore to start but if you go easy and build it up it might help.

Because she believes Dr Google over strained medical professional

They haven't told you that. You're just leaping to conclusions. Draining a cyst isn't a big expensive operation so I'd be amazed if they didn't try that given the amount of pain you're in.

They operated on my son’s knee
i used my workplace private cover for his face as it was classed as plastics and the waiting list was huge, I was worried about the scar on his face, and I had the choice

the NHS absolutely were willing to remove the second one

OP excruciating pain in my knee took a long time, referral to a rheumatologist and blood tests to diagnose. It was rheumatoid arthritis. I was told that what was showing up on the scans was likely a cyst - it wasn’t. It was a pocket of excess synovial fluid in the joint which the rheumatologist later drained. I realise you’re very young but RA does happen to younger people. Can you ask for a referral to a rheumatologist to get checked out ?

Look into Glucosamine supplements - they really helped with my knee issues.

Ganglions aren't always painless - I had one in my wrist that was quite painful.

There IS something wrong with you - you're in pain. You just have to keep pushing for the right diagnosis and treatment. I know it's a slow process and can grind you down, but there's no reason to be this defeatist or to think you've been "stupid" etc.

You have not made a fool of yourself OP and you have not taken painkillers for no reason. Pain is not normal and is the body’s warning system that something is up. Stick with this and don’t give up.

You are just making this up.

I had something similar - no ganglia’s but meniscus irritation but no tear. It’s finally getting better with physio

I had a cyst in my wrist and it was agony. I couldn’t even wrest it in bed at night as I couldn’t stand anything touching it. The only thing that improved the pain was a steroid injection. Wait to see what the consultant has to say. The GP isn’t qualified to tell you nothing is wrong with your knee especially when you’re in agony. I’ve had injections in and fluid drained from my knees (I am very hypermobile) and knee consultants admit the knees are a bit of a wonder. One told me that a standard knee pain surgery is an arthroscopy and there’s no evidence they do actually help compared to recoveries in people who do vs don’t have them. But they still do them. Luckily the injections sorted me. Good luck and don’t be fobbed off, you don’t have to live like this xx

edited to add it wasn’t clear from my MRI scan what was causing the pain. There was a posssible tiny niggle in the cartilage. I then had a huge amount of fluid appear on the knee and it swelled so there was obviously some kind of inflammation going on

It actually says suggestive of a ganglion it doesn't say it's definitely that

Don't be ridiculous.

If you have pain and your scan is "normal" then there's no obvious solution/treatment for the pain, is there. Obviously you would be disappointed!

I just feel so stupid. I’ve made such a twat of myself
@cantdothisanymor , as others have said, you need to stop with this language. You're not stupid and you haven't made a fool of yourself. You have a problem and the professionals who are supposed to help you are letting you down. Start advocating for yourself!

Ask the orthopedic consultant what he/she can do to help you

Ask your gp to refer you to the pain clinic. You still have pain - the fact that they can't explain it doesn't mean they shouldn't take it seriously.

omg you are not a doctor!
even if MRI is clear you are in pain, the doctors need to continue treating you and finding what’s wrong, whether it’s the cyst or something else.
you are being overly dramatic.

It is only human to be disappointed in this outcome. I have had chronic pain for a big part of my life and I do understand how demoralizing this is.

In my history I have seen many women get attached to a diagnosis, paying a lot of time money and energy to attain it, thinking it is the answer to their problem. Often it is not.

Nobody can measure your pain but you. You do not have to prove your pain to anyone. It would be lovely if you find a doctor who would treat you as an adult and hear your pain as truth.

I have been devastated and as overwhelmed as you sound now. I can make myself that way again right now if I allowed myself to. You don’t need anyone’s permission to feel disappointed.

Once I have allowed myself to feel my feelings I find it very helpful to live one day at a time. Facing a lifetime of pain in a single moment is just not humanly possible, productive and most likely a waste of time.

I’ve come to understand that not everything is black-and-white and scientific. There are more cures than the scientific medical community. So many so that you cannot imagine from your vantage point now. Some of them are free, some take a kind of personal awareness and intention and some cost money. My journey through many of them has brought me a beautiful, often joyful life of acceptance and meaning.

I believe you ARE in pain. I am sorry you have to through this. I know how difficult it can be. I can only offer you the hope that I have many pain free days now.

Some days I just want to cut my entire knee off. I know that sounds so dramatic but it’s just so painful, 24/7. Even sitting here watching TV nothing alleviates it. Not ice, not painkillers, nothing. The only thing that works is codeine and I have horrible reactions to that, it makes me feel as if I’m on the worst trip of my life. So that’s reserved for really bad nights.

Maybe you’d rather blame yourself than admit and face up to the fact that the medical system as it is cannot help you because it is incompetent. Gives you a sense of control. Obviously to most people that the pain is not your fault at all.