So, in the past month, I have had oddly swollen feet / ankles for no apparent reasons. See exhibits 1 and 2 below. This isn't even a bad day.
After running urine and blood tests and having everything come out normal, Peace Corps sent me to an orthopedist, who looked at my ankles and said they're fine. I also told him about the odd knee pain I have had after strenuous bike-riding or hiking. After he looked at my knees, I was informed that my kneecaps don't line up correctly with the rest of my knee, resulting in pain, which usually worsens in the mid to late 20s. Great.
As a result, I got an ultrasound of my leg veins, so see if the swelling was a circulatory problem, and knee X-rays to check out my kneecaps. Luckily my veins all appear normal, as that would be pretty scary, but still leaves us ankle swelling clueless. I find out the results of my X-ray analysis in April when I go back to the doctor. I am a little worried about that visit, as he said that if it was severe, the only real remedy is surgery. Say what? So I'm a little freaked out about that, because while bike riding is not a favorite activity of mine, hiking is, and lately hiking has hurt too, regardless of how careful I am about impact, etc. I don't want surgery, but I also don't want to be limited in my activities.
Now, about the ultrasound. This thing is amazing. I've had a lot of ultrasounds before, but it's always been to look at things we consider more solid tissues. Looking at blood is somehow cooler. So the ultrasound machine shows you the tissues, and colors the veins and arteries depending on which direction and what speed the blood is flowing. It can tell all that. We could also use the machine to basically hear my heartbeat in my leg. Here's what this type of ultrasound looks like, although this isn't mine personally.
Finally, it was very gratifying to realize that I could learn about circulatory system ultrasounds in Spanish, as my very nice doctor spoke no English. Things like that assure me that despite my constant frustration, I am in fact making progress.
I'll keep you posted about the crazy ankles.
After running urine and blood tests and having everything come out normal, Peace Corps sent me to an orthopedist, who looked at my ankles and said they're fine. I also told him about the odd knee pain I have had after strenuous bike-riding or hiking. After he looked at my knees, I was informed that my kneecaps don't line up correctly with the rest of my knee, resulting in pain, which usually worsens in the mid to late 20s. Great.
As a result, I got an ultrasound of my leg veins, so see if the swelling was a circulatory problem, and knee X-rays to check out my kneecaps. Luckily my veins all appear normal, as that would be pretty scary, but still leaves us ankle swelling clueless. I find out the results of my X-ray analysis in April when I go back to the doctor. I am a little worried about that visit, as he said that if it was severe, the only real remedy is surgery. Say what? So I'm a little freaked out about that, because while bike riding is not a favorite activity of mine, hiking is, and lately hiking has hurt too, regardless of how careful I am about impact, etc. I don't want surgery, but I also don't want to be limited in my activities.
Now, about the ultrasound. This thing is amazing. I've had a lot of ultrasounds before, but it's always been to look at things we consider more solid tissues. Looking at blood is somehow cooler. So the ultrasound machine shows you the tissues, and colors the veins and arteries depending on which direction and what speed the blood is flowing. It can tell all that. We could also use the machine to basically hear my heartbeat in my leg. Here's what this type of ultrasound looks like, although this isn't mine personally.
Finally, it was very gratifying to realize that I could learn about circulatory system ultrasounds in Spanish, as my very nice doctor spoke no English. Things like that assure me that despite my constant frustration, I am in fact making progress.
I'll keep you posted about the crazy ankles.
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