I was worried about something I'd heard about called Bugas knees (I think my uncles had some problems with their knees), but the "doctor" (actually a nurse practitioner) said I should heal fine given time and gave me a knee brace and some drugs. I'm hoping she diagnosed me by what I told her, even though it seemed like she wasn't listening to me at all.

Here's a tangent: A look at the different drugs/vitamins/supplements I take pretty much every day:

Multivitamin
Loratadine (allergies)
Fish Oil (omega 3 acids, for heart)
Melatonin (helps me sleep)
Glucosamine (for joints, bought it today, probably should be every day since I work out)

OK, that's 5 things in a nightly cocktail (also now Motrin and Vicodin when needed for the knee pain). Is everyone like this? Modern consumerism at work.

*bing bing bing*

OK, I've been holding off on responding to any comments here because I was at 499 comments total left by people on my web site and I wanted to let the 500th commenter be someone other than me. I even secretly decided to reward whoever posted the 500th comment with a prize - a can of beans! So, oh husband, you are the winner.

Thank you for posting the 500th comment on my web journal. You can have your beans in can form, or I will cook them into something for you at a future time. It's up to you!

Are you sure you have a can of beans to give away after our dinner tonight?

I keep a close eye on my bean supply.

Hi Ben. Yes, I worry about Bugas knees too. I am glad that you went to medical people and didn't tough it out somehow. Consider getting physical therapy (your doctor needs to prescribe it, but you ask for that). I believe that is the only valid approach to mechanical body problems, other than the obvious symptom relief. It will repair you, and prevent further damages.

No, I don't think everybody takes as many supplements as you do, but lots of well-educated people do. Personally I take an 81 mg. aspirin, loratadine, and a statin drug every night, plus vitamin, flaxseed oil capsules and B vitamin tablets a few times a week. Plus allergy shots, and Flonase occasionally, and now I wash my sinuses several times a week too, and then there are skin medications, ear-drops and eye-drops as needed, and god only knows what else over time.

Hi Mom

I'm scheduled for a one month checkup so if it doesn't feel normal by then, I imagine I'll ask for therapy. The nurse didn't seem to want to do anything more than the minimum, and didn't seem to care whether I had injured cartilage or ligaments. I think I have cartilage trouble. In her defense, the brace is helping so far. So I'm just going to use the brace like she prescribed and not do anything more than walking on it. I also talked my way into getting it x-rayed, and she's supposed to get back to me if something shows up.

This hand crank thing at the gym is a wonderful stopgap measure to keep me working out in the mean time. I was really worried, but I'm less tense now.

Your list trumps mine. =)