After this is all over, please DO get a Healthcare Power of Attorney and a Financial Power of Attorney! Most states will have generic ones on line and you can print and fill out yourself. It makes life SO much easier should you become unable to make your own decisions!
More good wishes sent your way!
Oh yes, this is definitely on the docket!
I went through all of this when my parents were dying so am familiar with the process.
I totally understand, truly. But thatâs the thingâit IS entirely possible to come up with a pain management plan that doesnât leave you totally miserable. Complex patients, which you are, should be in the hospital, so they can be properly cared for. Surgery centers definitely have their place, but this isnât it. This surgeonâs lack of attention and care about your complexities is also concerning regarding how he will position you in surgery.
Please at least get your regular pain med person in the loop here. Have him talk with your surgeon and come up with a plan. Being ahead of this pays offânot just in your comfort in recovery, but also in preventing damage to you in the OR.
Sorry, a mini highjack: how well do you tolerate having your knee injected? My knees are screaming. My rheumatologist at first said we should do X-rays, but I wonât do replacement because I have so many other health problems, and i think my rheumatoid arthritis would greatly interfere with rehabbing after surgery. Then he suggested injecting them. Iâve had a ton of joints injected. Toes, fingers, wrist, hip bursas more times than I can count, and shoulders. But for some reason a knee injection scares me.
Rebecca
After you get past this, I hope you and your husband both make durable health powers of attorney, naming each other as decision maker. It gives me so much peace of mind. Iâve had so many surgeries, including one emergency one with no warning, and three just since last August. Itâs nice when they are putting you under to know that someone has all the legal power necessary to decide what is in your best interests.
I had arthroscopic knee surgery in 1987, and one of the things for which they wanted me to give prior approval was amputation. No, not to just fix a wonky ligament. I wouldnât sign it, but instead wrote in that my husband was sitting in the waiting room with POA in hand, and he would decide if it were to come to that. Of course, it wasnât even a consideration.
My husband being the kind of guy he is, he keeps telling me that one of these days heâs going to have me put down while Iâm under anesthesia. Then he will take up with a much younger, much healthier blonde or redhead (I have dark hair mixed with a lot of gray). I told him pick a young one so she can take care of you as youâre already old.
Still thinking of you, and jingling like mad for everything to improve and the surgery be a breeze.
Rebecca
Knees are a cake walkâsuper easy. Go for it!
Iâve had both knees injected, the left one twice (and Iâve had my low back/S/I injected, also my thumbs â but nothing like you, poor thing!)
IME the knee injection pain is really dependent on the ortho who does it. The first one was VERY painful - the Dr. who did it was one of these arrogant ortho types who pretty much didnât make any attempt to make it less painful 
, the second one was less painful, but still ouch ouch! The third one was done a couple of years ago, the ortho doc was older â and a horse person! He and I had a lively conversation about âgood old daysâ in Virginia re: horse sports, he was hilarious - and stayed a while after the injection to tell me stories. Iâm sure his next patient was wondering WTH? Lol. THAT injection was relatively painless! He was very quick and very skillful, which just comes from decades of experience - and considering my pain issues/sensitivities, having it barely hurt at all was pretty incredible.
The injections seemed to last awhile, much longer than my back injections - though my terrible spinal arthritis is not the source of my pain, my tight muscles are.
My advice is to find somebody older and experienced, then go for it.
And yes, we will definitely do that after the surgery. We keep meaning to but just put it off, easy to procrastinate like everything else! Thanks again for the well wishes and support 
I made an appointment for a pain management zoom consult with my DO for Monday afternoon, and triggerpoints on Wednesday â if it works out that I can get it done, that will give me a lot of relief!
Several have chimed in, but I will just add my 2¢. I started having knees injected in 2014. I agree that the person doing it matters, but Iâve had multiple series of injections and I can only think of one that was really painful. And it has helped. I really do not want knee replacement (I have had both hips and a shoulder), so I will take the injections as long as I can. The shoulder was much worse to inject, prior to replacement.
The injections are fairly quick and they spray with that ice cold stuff to numb the area. Well worth it in my mind.
Dr. D., perhaps itâs time to step away from Coth 
this thread is making me NERVOUS just reading along.
May I suggest some quiet time/ relax and enjoy your late afternoon/evening with your dogs and family - Everything will work out - wishing you a boring 
Thursday - weâll be anxiously awaiting your report on Saturday or Sunday. Jingles !
ThanksâIâll consider it.
Rebecca
My rheumatologist does this all the time, and is very good at it. I really saw the difference during the five years I lived in South Carolina, and had to see someone else. She injected my hips and shoulders multiple times, but I donât think she ever got it right. My current rheumy is someone Iâve been seeing since 1998, except for the five years I was gone. And I actually got desperate enough to fly back to Colorado in 2017 just to see him. I was so glad he took me back as a patient when I moved back. Heâs just a little younger than me, and I live in dread of him retiring. We were both in our 30s when I started seeing him, and weâve both in our 60s now.
Rebecca
Thanks, thatâs helpful. Iâve been OK with shoulder injections, so I guess I can do knees.
Is there any reason I wouldnât be able to drive an hour and some afterward? I keep seeing my rheumatologist from when I lived here before, because heâs great. But it means a lot of driving. My husband would take me if it would affect my driving. Of course, itâs my right knee that is the worst of the two.
Rebecca
Oh, no problem driving! I drive myself to and from my appointment.
Thanks! I just put in a request for the appointment.
Rebecca
Itâs Friday Dr.D ~ I hope this post finds you more comfortable with your new hip & consistent & strong meds ~
* and youâre keeping the strawberry jello down I could not â˘
*just wanted to say âGood Morningâ and hope your PT rep brings your a fancy latte as soon as you are settled a bit ~
Thinking of you ~ Jingles & AO ~
Hoping you will be reading along ~ as we return to wish you a smooth recovery ~
I am also thinking of Dr.D, and hoping surgery was a rousing success. And I certainly hope pain is being managed!
Jingles,
Rebecca
âOne day you will look back and realize how hard it was and just how well you did.â Charlie Mackesy
. âIf at first you donât succeed, have Cake 
.â Charlie Mackesy
âI canât see the way throughâ said the boy.
âCan you see the next step?â Asked the horse. âYesâ said the boy. âJust take that.â said the horse.
âOne of the kindest things you can doâ said the mole âis be gentle and patient with yourself.â
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