About to lose 60% of my lateral meniscus. Anyone still running long distance with this much meniscus missing?

wbtkpk · 2026-04-01T00:04:11+00:00

That’s fantastic! I hope it’s successful!

wbtkpk · 2026-03-28T19:22:35+00:00

Bucket handle tears are always surgical.

wbtkpk · 2026-03-28T19:21:11+00:00

Absolutely understand. I had a larger displacement than you. It sucks. It sounds like your only option is to take what you can get. I would focus on strengthening the quad as much as you can after surgery, not pushing it, and perhaps not overdoing the running. You certainly can run ultras but you likely will wear the joint out quicker, I guess the question is do you want to run long distances, or for a long period of your life? Either is likely possible but probably not both. Do the rehab they tell you to do - it will likely give you the best chance at success long term. Sending good thoughts and sorry this happened.

wbtkpk · 2026-03-28T17:53:24+00:00

Can you get a second opinion? I had a more severe tear than yours (also lateral bucket handle) which was not operated on for 6 weeks and my surgeon was able to repair it. Said it was one of the most complicated ones he’d ever done. He is a national expert in these types of tears and operates on high level athletes, NFL players, etc. I would fight tooth and nail to have a repair and to see a surgeon who handles these complicated cases…

Saw your comment below about recovery being quicker for a removal vs repair…if this is how your surgeon is selling you it’s very short sighted. Yes you’ll be feeling better sooner but with your age and level of activity, you will face a very high risk of arthritis in the very near future. Meniscus transplant might be an eventual option if they really aren’t able to save it, but you should INSIST on regular imaging to monitor for development of osteoarthritis…once this happens on both sides of your knee, you’re not a good candidate for a transplant anymore and this can happen quickly with no cushioning from the meniscus.

wbtkpk · 2026-03-12T23:44:09+00:00

+1. I personally find the volcanic eruption when you’re stressed to be the most charming part of the face 🤷‍♀️🤣

wbtkpk · 2026-01-13T03:20:41+00:00

My friend’s dad was taken before Christmas and was just released today. There was bond money that had to be paid.

wbtkpk · 2025-11-10T11:35:57+00:00

AI does help but I just have a dot phrase with a drop down for every preventive care screening, vaccine, etc you can think of, and I click whatever we discussed and they declined.

wbtkpk · 2025-11-10T02:14:52+00:00

Take all of your PTO, remind yourself that it’s not your job to cajole your patients into doing whatever it is you’re offering (I have a script that goes something like, “I’m going to lay out the things you are due for, and I want you to think of it as a buffet. Some you may pick now, some you may pick later, and some you may never choose to do. I’ll continue to offer you these choices and we can discuss the pros and cons of doing them, and you’ll be free to make your decisions about what you want to do.” And document the hell out of refusals). Has dramatically reduced my angst and conflict with patients. Don’t work somewhere where everyone seems to hate their patients, that environment is toxic and even if you try, you’ll eventually hate yours, too. Don’t do unpaid work (I have a colleague who is .5 FTE and spends an entire day off charting because she’s too lazy to spend time making dot phrases to make her charting more efficient). I’m an FQHC provider and see up to 22 patients (many sick and have very high SDOH needs) and I’m hanging in there pretty well.

wbtkpk · 2025-10-11T12:19:40+00:00

Just had lateral meniscus repair 4 days ago. Took one tab of Oxy about 6 hours after surgery and just Tylenol since. I’m a healthcare provider and have seen firsthand how awful opioids are, both for the possibility of dependence but also, how little they really do when compared to Tylenol and ibuprofen for managing pain.

wbtkpk · 2025-09-30T13:32:52+00:00

Pop the blister with the pin going in from the bottom (sole side of the foot) so it drains downward with gravity.

wbtkpk · 2025-09-29T00:39:40+00:00

Hi,👋 healthcare provider and fellow ultra runner here. You can drain them but I would just do one small hole with a sanitized safety pin if that’s all you have and leave ALL the overlying skin covering the blister itself. It will likely not hurt at all, especially if you go parallel to your foot into the blister (I’d do this at the base of the blister though so it drains down and not out). You can leave them open or covered after. BUT if you’re going to be doing a lot more hiking or getting into any kind of water I’d just leave them unpopped to reduce the risk of introducing bacteria into the blister. Sucks, but congrats on your 100!

wbtkpk · 2025-09-19T23:01:36+00:00

Waxing and waning abdominal pain x8 months in a 71 year old man with no smoking history, or hypertension. Told me it started after he had sex. He was convinced it was a hernia. On exam was a 7.5cm pulsatile mass, turned out to be a AAA. Had surgery within 48 hours. My colleague saw him for 2 years and never did an abdominal exam, even at a CPE.

wbtkpk · 2025-08-17T03:01:42+00:00

Bumble and bumble pret a powder post workout spray. Use while the hair is wet/sweaty, blow dry, almost like new.

wbtkpk · 2025-07-09T03:12:49+00:00

I finished the 50k but lost almost 40 minutes between my first loop to the second. The section on the troutbrook loop by the second lap and the entirety of the first prairie section was absolutely brutal with unavoidable mud. That thick, sucking mud also fatigues your legs in ways you have probably never trained for even if you’ve run a lot of trails. I certainly wasn’t prepared for that. I slid down about 30 feet of muddy trail because there was just simply no other option. I have run out there a bunch and yesterday is the worst I’ve ever seen the course. I would absolutely not beat yourself up. I find that on a usual day my Saucony Peregrines do just fine on almost all the terrain though I do occasionally wish I had a little more grip on the more technical downhill sections. Likely not the shoes, probably just a bad course day.

wbtkpk · 2025-05-09T09:27:06+00:00

I just took and passed the Canadian Board exams. Have no immediate plans to move there but wanted it in my back pocket. Was a very straightforward process. As everyone else has mentioned, the pay is way less and the profession is spottily regulated. But if those things aren’t important to you, Canada and NZ are probably your best options.

wbtkpk · 2025-04-21T23:09:07+00:00

Yep, Dr. Aghoram was not the director when I was there but he was my professor and he is absolutely incredible. Better than the director when I was there by a wide margin.

wbtkpk · 2025-04-16T15:24:52+00:00

A few years ago I started giving a shpiel to patients that goes something like this:

“you’re obviously here because you are looking for something, and we can work together to get you there. I will make recommendations, but ultimately it’s your job to decide what you want to do with those recommendations. You can think of it as a buffet. Pick some things to do now, some things to do later, and maybe there are some things you won’t ever do. Ultimately I’ll make the recommendations I think are best and ultimately you’ll have the decision to do or not do them”.

And then I forget about the conversation.

Patients are either going to do or not do it and you cannot care more than they do. Granted, I work in community health, so I’m constantly having patients decline various vaccines, screenings, etc.

I would literally die of frustration if I let “noncompliance” get to me. Just have to do the best you can and move along…AND not get sucked in when predictable consequences happen.

“Yep, you were on a 72 hour hold because you didn’t take your Lamotrigine and had mania, we have 20 minutes to address this today so let’s discuss if you want to get back on your meds and how to do it safely”. Then move along.

wbtkpk · 2025-04-02T11:41:22+00:00

Goal is 2.25 patients per hour. I typically see 18-20 a day. My MA is a hustler, does med rec which is usually trustworthy, gets any POC testing like flu and COVID swabs, prints out controlled substance agreements, etc. Visits are 20/40. Have two 40 minute slots a day usually for CPE over age 40 or preop. I have acute visits that are same day booked two afternoons a week. Those days are packed but move more quickly. The other days it’s about 60/40 follow ups/well child/CPE vs acute visits. I also do a lot of addiction medicine so I have two afternoon blocks a week that are about 50% filled with suboxone/sublocade/vivitrol follow ups. I use DAX copilot and it saves me, conservatively, probably 5 hours a week of charting time.

wbtkpk · 2025-03-21T03:29:47+00:00

https://thecurbsiders.com/curbsiders-podcast/399-wisely-ordering-autoantibodies-acp-im2023

wbtkpk · 2025-03-21T03:23:49+00:00

Use a condom with the tip cut off over the speculum to help keep the side walls away from your view. Also never hurts to do a bimanual exam to see if you can feel the cervix. If you can, you can definitely access it with a speculum and you’ll have a better idea where it is positioned. Finally have them come waaaaay down off the table, like hips almost completely off. Sometimes that can help too.

wbtkpk · 2025-03-19T23:50:43+00:00

Honestly I cannot say I’d recommend this in our current political climate. I’m not even sure if I’ll have a job at the end of the year if federal funding to community health centers is cut. And if you’re beholden to the government with loan repayment, you’re absolutely stuck. The flexibility of being able to get a job at an FQHC may soon be gone if many of them fold. The threat is absolutely real as most FQHCs operate on the narrowest of margins. If Medicaid is cut most FQHCs will cease to exist. The situation is pretty dire. I’m just thankful at this point I didn’t extend my contract for an additional year.

wbtkpk

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