Results from orthopedic doctor

Well, I'm back on the internets, and I hope there will be no more problems.
I went to see the orthopedic doctor on Tuesday. I printed out the papers on HAES with all the links, and wrote on the bottom that I had done diets and they didn't work, and had WLS and that didn't work, and I would not discuss weight loss as a cure for any ills. I handed that in with the paperwork I had to fill out for seeing a new doctor when I went for the appointment.
So, they sent me for x-rays (I hadn't had any done in 20 years, and those were in Illinois). Found out not only is the cartilage in my right knee almost totally gone, it's also very thin on the inside of my left knee (didn't know that, my left knee hasn't been giving me any problems). When the doctor came in with my x-rays, he showed me where the cartilage was thin, and gave me a couple of options. He could give me a shot of cortisone, and said that should help a lot with the pain for about 6 months. I guess they have to do cortisone shots first, and if those fail, then insurance may pay for a shot that's made from a rooster's comb. I told him that I had an appointment to check out Curves, to see what kind of exercise machines they had. He told me exercise could help, but it has to be low-impact, no stair-steppers. He never once mentioned my weight as being a problem. He did say that since both my parents have arthritis, and grandparents on both sides had it, that I was probably bound to get it too, and the injuries to my knee didn't help matters any, just started it earlier than it might have otherwise.
I said to go ahead with the cortisone shot, and dammers, am I ever glad I did. This is the first time in 20 years I've been totally pain-free in that knee. I still can't bend it enough to go down stairs like a normal person, but damned if I can't go upstairs like a normal person for a change. And I'm wondering how much my knee problems are contributing to my back problems. DH and I went to Wal-Mart the other day, looking for an ethernet card for my puter, and I actually walked from my van to the store, and through the store to the computer dept, and back out to the van without my back killing me. Then we went to Office Max and I walked there too, with no pain. If I had known years ago about the pain-killing properties of cortisone (or if my fucking asshole doctors had even bothered to suggest that instead of weight loss), I'd have been doing the shots back then.
Then on Wednesday, I went to check out Curves, and it looks like I might be able to afford it in a couple of months (have to get the budget worked out after all the money we had to spend on my puter, router, and ethernet card). Karen asked me what my goals were, why I wanted to do Curves, and I told her I wanted to be able to walk without pain, and to do stairs like a normal person for a change with no pain. I told her I didn't want any part of any diet talk, I didn't want to be weighed or measured, that if weight loss happens, it happens, but if it doesn't, that's fine too. I just want to be more fit at the size I am now. She said that was pretty cool, that at least I had realistic goals and didn't expect to lose 100 lbs in 3 months (yeah, like that would ever happen, even with my WLS, it took 4 months to lose 70 lbs). So, for about 50 bucks a month, I can go for a half hour a day, 5 days a week if I want. She also said that there were a couple of the machines I probably wouldn't use because they would cause problems with my knees and back (yeah, she wanted to know what kind of physical problems I had, and asked about heart/blood pressure/diabetes/etc). I'm thinking of going with the month-to-month plan, that way, if I have to quit for any reason, I'm not out any pre-paid money. I figure less than 3 bucks a day for a work-out is pretty good, if I decide to go every day (and I probably will, just because if I'm going to spend that much money, I'm damned well going to get as much value as I can for my dollars, not to mention the fact that the more I exercise, the better shape I'll be in, I hope).
Man, I can tell you, this has taken a load off my shoulders, finding out that it's not the fault of my fat that my knee is bad, it's genetics and injuries.