Learn to Live with it (just telling my story).

I have had problems with my knees since I was about 8 years old. In my mid twenties, I was diagnosed as having inherited Chondromalacia, along with having knee caps that were displaced so that they rubbed and wore away the cartiledge even faster. By my thirties, I was walking bone on bone. I have been in constant pain since my early 30's. "Learn to live with it" is getting more and more difficult everyday. I cannot do as much as I used to, and the loss of movement and flexibility amazes, frustrates, and angers me. While waiting to be "Old enough" for knee replacements in both knees, things of course have gotten worse. The loss of activity has caused my weight to become an increasing problem. I started going to the YMCA gym with the guidance of a physical therapist to try to increase my activity and mobility. I now started experienceing increasingly severe back pain. It took me 6 months and the loss of movement in my right leg, to prove to my doctor that the pain was not due to my weight. After finally convincing the doctor to have xrays taken, then MRI's, etc. It was found that I had fractures in L 3 and 4. The fractures had been there "awhile." I have no idea when I broke my back, but that requires surgery too. I have lost 80 pounds, and need to lose about 70 more before they will even consider doing the surgery on my spine. I now have osteo arthritus in my knees, upper and lower back, plus my right shoulder. This does not seem to be enough, the more they test and poke around, the more oddball things they find. Ammusingly, after being diagnosed with Raynauds Syndrome, one Doctor swears I have Lupus. I have had the butterfly rash, plus many other symptoms and unexplained flares. After blood work came back negative, another Doctor says no, I have NO anti-inflamatory diseases. While an MRI of my hands and back show rheumatoid arthritis, which IS an anti-inflamatory disease. Who wins here? Who loses? I wish those two would figure it out and stop trying to put me in the middle. I have enough problems, I need to keep just plodding on through life, trying to fly on my own.