New to the list

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this list. I joined to hopefully get some support and maybe even

some help. I was diagnosed with Chondromalacia when I was about 17-18 years

old. Needless to say, I've had surgeries, orthotics, and loads of PT since

then. I'm now almost 44. I just got new orthotics. They hurt but seem to be

better than the last ones. I know it takes time to get used to them, so I'm

wearing them for part of a day a few times a week, gradually increasing the

amount of time I wear them. My biggest problem with them is they don't fit

into office acceptable shoes, so I can only really wear them after work. I

used to work retail where I was on my feet for 40 hours a week, then I got

pregnant and was a stay at home mom. I've been back in the work force for

about 7-8 years now, starting out working just one day a week. About 4 years

ago, I got a job in a retail craft store working in receiving. I was then on

my feet for 5 days a week, on cement, moving heavy boxes for about 30 hours

a week. One day a week, I continued to be the ordering person (Merchandiser)

for a craft supply company. On that day, I was on my feet for 4-8 hours,

depending on how long it took me to write the order and what time of year is

was. My knees got really bad and then one of my hips started to hurt daily.

So bad that I could barely walk in the door at night and so bad that I had

to quit that job. I now have a job sitting on my behind working on a

computer for 24 hours a week. Much better than working on my feet, but I

still continue with the knee pain and hip pain daily. That's my background

in a nutshell. Right now, I've been told there is nothing they can do (I

live in a small town :-( ) until the time comes where I get new knees.

Problem is.I have two kids that I want to enjoy life with and sometimes it

seems I have no life. It's hard to exercise to lose the weight I've gained

since I quit working at the craft store. Everything hurts!

Thanks for listening.

Joi