I am an obese woman. I fell off of my stairs and ever since falling I have knee pain and my legs swell up. I didn’t have knee pain before and could walk fine. I decided to make an appointment with my primary care physician. I told him what happened and requested a referral for an MRI since I was getting quite a bit of pain on the outer side of my right knee. I also could not lift or bend it too much without pain. My doctor did not want to order an MRI; he kept saying that I have mild osteoarthritis and that is why it hurts. He also stated that because of my size they would not operate on my knee if needed. He said obese people have a higher risk for infection. After advocating for myself because I knew something was torn he was upset and finally ordered an MRI. Turns out that I have a tear in my meniscus. I’m still dealing with severe pain because they won’t give me anything else but online physical therapy.
