Do you NEED referral to a surgeon?

Can I just call an orthopedic surgeon or do i need a referral? I messed up my knee. It’s not an emergency. But there is no doubt in my mind that someone who knows things about bones/muscles/joints needs to look at my knee because it’s fucked.

But it will take 2 weeks to get into my PCP, he can’t do anything for it so he will need to refer me to an orthopedic doctor and then I will have to wait another few weeks to get in with that guy and man. I don’t want to walk around for a month like this. I just don’t. My knee is screwed.

I will be making calls tomorrow. I will get my knee taken care of, I just want to know what I can do and how fast I can do it and I know in my gut that I’m probably gonna have my knee cut into. Surgery. I’ve never had a surgery in my life and that really freaks me out.

Ever had a moment when you look down at a body part and you realize “oh that just ain’t right.” And Just KNOW. That’s where I’m at

ETA oh wow y’all were really helpful here, thank you 😊