stabbed

Today I went back to Dr. Crane to get an injection in my knee to add some lubrication and hopefully alleviate some of the pain.

I didn't know what to expect so I was pretty nervous this morning before the appointment. Dr. Crane was running late but he told this other doctor that was going to do the injection that he wanted to do it. I think he likes me as a patient. A nurse painted iodine all over the side of my knee and then said "I need to get Dr. Crane's bucket". That made me more nervous but it turns out it was just a square sort of bucket thing that had all the shit in it for the injection.

When Dr. Crane came in I gave him a status report of all the things I've done since I last saw him. He was pretty happy with my progress. I joked with him that it would be hard to find a place in my knee where he could insert the needle since it's all bone and he said "even if I hit a bad spot don't kick me because I'm in a very vulnerable position". I was sitting on the examination table with my legs dangling over the side - he was sitting right in front of my right foot with his legs spread so he could get leverage on my leg to get the needle in.

The initial poke of the needle wasn't bad. When he started to work it under my femur, that was terrible. I could feel it scraping on the bone like there was a snake in my leg. Then when he started injecting the stuff it felt like my knee cap was going to blow off. He told me to look at an x-ray he had brought in of a normal knee instead of watching him wiggle the needle under my knee cap but I didn't want to look at the good knee x-ray. That's like when I cook something from a cook book and the picture in the book looks great and my food looks like shit.

When he finally pulled the needle out (the most painful part, but maybe because it was the end) I thought I might be a little sore from the poke but other than that I was expecting instant pain relief. It turns out the injection can take up to 6 weeks to start working. Sometimes the pain is worse after the injection. Sometimes the injection doesn't help at all and sometimes it wears off before 6 months (shot on average provides relief for 6 months) but you can't get another one until the full 6 months have passed. He said to take it easy and not even ride my bike for a week. I was kind of surprised at that, but I was like "okay, I'll be good" and Dr. Crane said "that will be the day" and walked out.

I hopped off the examination table (stupid stupid stupid) and the second my right toe touched the floor the pain was so excruciating I thought I was going to throw up. I was like what the fuck did I do to myself???? Then I looked down at my knee and saw it was hugely swollen from the injection goo. I couldn't straighten my right knee fully so I limped out of the office and into the parking lot. I seriously could barely drive home.

Anyway, the goo should get itself settled in a week. Hopefully. Dr. Crane thinks I will see a big difference in the pain I'm experiencing, and hopefully I can ride my bike in three weeks when I get back to Denver from a trip odyssey where I will be flying to Williamsburg, driving to DC, then flying to Houston, then flying to San Fran, then flying back to Houston all in the space of 3 weeks. Ech.