A couple Mondays ago, I went to see Baby Doc to get a Synvisc injection in my left knee. I’ve had these rounds of three injections every 6-8months for years in both knees, at least until I got the fake one. One shot once a week for three weeks, no big deal, and I’m done until the pain returns. Cool, right?
This time, I should have been warned when the receptionist made only one appointment for me. Okay, I figured I’d schedule the others when I got there.
So I show up, wearing a skirt to make access to the knee easier. The routine is for me to sit on the side of the table, even though the nurse always asks me to lie down. Baby Doc comes in and makes small talk while swabbing and injecting, then I get a Band-Aid and I go home.
Per usual, the nurse suggests I lie down. I do, knowing the doc will say, “Oh, she doesn’t need to lie down. She’s tough.” Then Doc comes in and says, “Sorry, but you have to lie down for this one, sweetie.” Then he comments that he’s using the Synvisc 1, which gives you three shots in one.
Consider this: the joint space is limited, and just one injection makes it feel very full. WHO thought doing a triple shot at once was a good idea?
He injected . . . and injected . . . until I thought my knee would explode. “Oh, my God, it was terrible. There was cartilage and motheaten bone everywhere!” Finally he finished the shot, and I got the Band-Aid and the okay to go. I stood up and almost slithered to the floor.
Once I had my balance, I hobbled to the waiting room to check out, where I realized blood was running down my leg. Well, the blood that didn’t immediately soak into my skirt was running. (Did I mention the skirt was white?)
Call me a wuss, but in the twenty-four hours it took the pain to go away, I decided I’d much rather be a 3-shot girl.
Unless the next one comes with narcotics.
Oh, Marilyn–
Owwwie. I thought with the 5 shot round my knee was going to explode. Poor baby times 10.
Maybe you won’t have to go back for awhile.
Lots of fun, ain’t it?
These shots have been lasting about 8 months instead of the usual 6, so fingers crossed . . .
So sorry for your bad experience. Episodes such as yours do not further the love most people have of treatment by the medical community. Hope your knee is better today. Drugs-always ask for drugs. Ask for some to take home. Then all of you will “shine”. Not just your little knee.
LOL, Deb! I do believe in drugs, I do! I have complete trust in my doctors; they’re all the best in this area. It’s just they tend to err on the side of caution when it comes to pain meds. And though it hurt for the first day, the relief since then is a fair trade-off.
Aw, the fun of bad knees and osteo . . .
OUCH!!! Why in the world did they decide to do that? When you’re feeling up to it, go back in and smack him for doing that to you. He should’ve warned you ahead of time what to expect. But then, you probably wouldn’t have gone through with it. I know I wouldn’t have. Sorry about the bad experience and I hope you’re doing better now.
It surprised me how uncomfortable it was. I mean, I’ve had probably 35+ injections in that knee, and I just wasn’t prepared. Baby Doc and I will have to talk about this before the next one.
Ugh, so sorry. Not the end of the day you were expecting, was it?
Not at all. The good news is that the Synvisc worked its magic. I’m hoping to put off replacing the left knee for . .. oh, forever sounds good to me. Fingers crossed.