Surprisingly not. This is embarrassing but I didn't realize it wasn't normal til this summer. Three years ago I attempted to work as a cashier and literally could not do it and quit almost immediately, but still no one at work or any of the people I mentioned it to seemed concerned. I thought standing was a physical activity. I had always been hilariously weak and unathletic and I thought this was a part of that. It's funny the connections the mind makes in order to create sense out of things.

But yeah, I've lived this way my whole life. I spend a total of maybe 5min a day upright. Just going to/from work or from room to room. That's it. I'd built that lifestyle for myself before I truly understood why. I knew I was in constant pain but since it had been there my whole life, it was normal to me. It took going to a music concert and being the only one sobbing and gasping for air and visibly in agony to realize I wasn't normal. Everyone else stood there for an hour no problem, while I desperately forced my way to the ground (sitting on the wet muddy grass surrounded by darkness and sweaty butts) multiple times and still couldn't bare to stand. I guess I'd never been exposed to people standing so long without issue before. I mean obviously I knew that many jobs (even basic ones like a cashier) require HOURS of nonstop standing but I never truly thought about it. So I guess it was seeing it on a large scale first hand that finally woke me up.

I went to a doctor and described my pain. We did xrays and blood tests and stuff. They were inconclusive. They set an appointment for me to see a neurologist. This was back in October, but my appointment isn't until the end of April. I'm really hoping to get some answers. It would be cool to do normal things like stand up while doing certain tasks at work, cooking a more complex recipe on a stove top, even just sitting without pain. (The only time I am truly pain free is when laying down)

But as I said, I've never known any different. So it's not so bad. Ive become a lot more aware (read: wimpy) about it since the realization, but I figure it could always be worse!