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.

Is this the same poster who wanted to argue about counting business days after their scan?

I think I’d just become really attached to the idea of it being something that’s easily diagnosed and sorted. A cyst just sounds kind of silly and something that won’t be taken seriously by a medical professional.

It has to be a ganglion because the report mentions a parameniscal cyst, but that is caused by a tear, and I don’t have a tear

Now you are just sounding silly yourself.

You have an identified issue in your knee which is causing you a great deal of pain.

You have an appointment with the right sort of surgeon to sort it out for you (more easily than a meniscal tear).

But you’re still somehow not satisfied that anyone will help you. Why?

Edited for autocorrect fail

A ganglion cyst is painless (as I’ve pointed out multiple times), and it won’t actually get sorted. I can’t afford to get it done privately, as I’ve said. There is 0 chance of my NHS trust, with three year long orthopaedic waiting lists, doing something as minor as this.

A ganglion cyst is only painless if it can grow out into space. If it’s inside a structure like your knee, it is very painful. Other posters above, and me (three times now) have already told you this.

Why are you so determined not to believe people with experience in this, or medical knowledge, who have posted in the thread you started, to try to help you?

OP you are NOT an idiot. Don't let them tell you are stupid or babyish. You know whether your knee hurts, and it hurts like hell. The fact that they found nothing on the scan just shows that the scan wasn't the right diagnostic tool for your pain.
Have you tried acupuncture? It can be very good for this kind of thing. And/or have you seen a good osteopath? They can be excellent at diagnosis of muscular skeletal problems.

After having surgery for a locked bucket handle meniscus tear last year, I would honestly try to be grateful it’s not a tear. Hopefully the orthopaedic consultant will have some helpful advice for the cyst. I empathise - having knee pain / injuries is the pits and it’s the old cliche you don’t realise how important your mobility is until you lose it.

Not everything shows on a scan and MRIs are actually not as accurate as most people believe. I was told my MRI showed I had zero cartilage left. They cut me open and there was a completely normal amount in there.

Ive also been in horrendous pain before and been dismissed, they really thought I was after painkillers. Eventually they found it was a ruptured ovarian cyst. No apologies for my pain being ignored obviously.

The human body is complex and not fully understood. If you are in pain there will be a cause, they just haven’t found it yet. It’s their failure, not yours. Have a pity party tonight if you want but tomorrow get back to fighting for your right to find out what’s causing it.

The cyst ITSELF could be painless yes. But if it is interfering with a nerve or part of your knee joint then that could be contributing to the pain. It can absolutely be common for pain to not be located in the exact same spot as a cyst if it is located on or near a nerve. My friend had a ganglion cyst on her wrist which did not hurt at all until it was pressed and then she would get pain in her shoulder. The doctor explained that nerves are incredibly complicated and the way they sense pain can often seem illogical and strange.

Sorry i am confused. Does the scan report say you have a ganglion cyst? Or a parameniscal one?

the scan does not give a definite diagnosis. It suggests what’s most likely based on the images but gives a differential. The consultant’s job is to correlate that with the signs on examination and your symptoms. I’ve spent a medium chunk of this week anaesthetising for people with orthopaedic problems that neither prevented them from walking nor were causing them to be dying. There’s a bit more to orthopaedics and physio than googling scan results - you might just be surprised!

Oh OP! I could have written something similar myself a few years ago.
Constant knee pain which then affected other parts (my other knee, ankles, back, hips etc!). Whilst they did happen to find a tear to my meniscus, the consultant said that I shouldn't be in as much pain as I was with a tear so wouldn't operate anyway until another team had completed their investigations. Anyway, I was eventually referred for rheumatoid arthritis - I'm still undergoing investigations but at least there's some light at the end of the tunnel and I've got a team still reviewing me, testing me and offering pain relief etc. Just an idea in case it might actually be a rheumatology thing you have and your GP can refer you there? Best of luck, I know how debilitating it can be :(

Apparently the fact it says it’s “differential” means it could be? But obviously it can’t be as there’s no tear

Hang on, someone on the thread already mentioned that sometimes small tears in the meniscus don't show up on an MRI, but parameniscal cysts caused by the tear show up, evidencing the tear.

I’m literally just lying here on the sofa and the pain is radiating up my thigh and down my calf, the back of my knee is pinching and feels like it’s being crushed. I can’t even lie down without it being so painful

I'm still confused! You don't have a ganglian cyst (which can go on its own by the way I had one) - you have a parameniscal cyst which is a sac of synovial fluid that develops just outside the meniscus in the knee. I have had one of these too (agree its painful due to pressure). It is usually created from a tear - but you've had pain for a while maybe the tear has healed itself. The NHS treats baker cysts I can't see why they would not treat your parameniscal cyst? It usually heals after a while - maybe your initial pain was a tear which healed and hopefully this cyst will heal soon too.

I have a ganglion that could potentially be a parameniscal, but likely isn’t because there’s no tear

NHS website on ganglion cyst below - nhs can clear if painful? (I fell on mine and it popped!).
Ganglion cyst
A ganglion cyst is a fluid filled lump under the skin that usually appears on the wrist or hand. Ganglion cysts are common and often get better on their own. There are treatments if it's painful or affects joint movement

Ganglion cyst - NHS

I had a cyst which was sitting behind the kneecap and causing my knee cap not to sit correctly in the joint. Surgical intervention via keyhole to remove cyst, clear up some other debris, and redefine joint - and now much better. So a cyst doesn’t necessarily mean nothing will be done.

Sounds like sciatica?

It’s in my knee. Not my back.

I understand. You’re in pain and you want a visible reason that can be dealt with. My DH wanted something to show in his brain MRI for the same reason however bonkers that sounds. A diagnosed issue can be fixed, treated or at least known… an undiagnosed one is a painful, nebulous thing.

Humans can cope with almost anything so long as they know what they’re facing.

Well let’s assume the scan is accurate- all that says is what is on the scan is fine.

It doesn’t tell you that you have no problem ; it doesn’t tell you what the problem is. It just tells you the problem isn’t what was in the scan.

My guess is the physio was wrong!!!!
If you’re in agony- something is amiss. I wouldn’t take a physio’s rough guess as a diagnosis. It’s something else!

hope you feel better soon. I have bad back - it’s ok now but god for almost a year I thought my life was over… you’ll be amazed at how low you can go and still recover xx

Exactly.

I also need a diagnosis for travel insurance purposes

I think it’s v possible a cyst would cause you agony; it might well be pushing on a nerve or not allowing a muscle to contract - this would sound like sciatica to some people as a pp has mentioned; because this is what happens with sciatica essentially and the nerve gets stuck or compressed / muscle gets stuck in one position.