I have one. My PC doctor wanted me to have one since I have trouble walking long distances. I do not feel bad using it.
I had one when I was in my 20's. I had had two back surgeries, walked with a limp, and couldn't carry any sort of weight any sort of distance. If you need one, use it. I used mine only when I needed it, such as if I knew that I would be carrying things out to the car.
My mom was embarrassed to get one. She has nerve damage from a spinal fusion, and uses a walker. It's easier in some ways if the disability is visible, but don't worry about it.
I have one. I was not going to things i usually enjoy as it was too difficult to walk too far. It has made it possible for me to go places I might have skipped. I walk with a cane when I go outside the house and that helps too.
I have a temporary one. I will be asking to have it extended at my next appointment. It makes a huge difference in my ability to do everyday tasks - I can walk from handicap parking in to the grocery store but if I had to park at the end of the lot I would be hurting too much by the time I actually got in the store to start shopping. It gives me independnce that I wouldn't have without that small scrap of plastic.
I have a temporary one that's still good for a few years. I use it when I need it, don't use it when I don't need it.
The difference it can make is really amazing - more than I realized when I got it!
I refused to acknowledge I needed one until I was 30 (I was dx at age 10, I'm 40 now). Now, I see I was stupid for not getting it earlier. It makes a HUGE difference in my life. Maybe no on the way into a store, but when I'm tired on the way OUT, just making it those extra steps would be impossible. And some days it is the only way I can go anywhere.
I know that this post is from many many years ago. I had been agonizing as to whether to ask my rheumatologist for a permanent handicap permit. I finally sent the email last night, and this morning I got a call from her assistant that the permit paperwork would be sent to me sold out by the doctor. I don’t need to use it full-time, but there’s definitely enough times that I could benefit from it that I realize it is something that I want to have. I’m just wondering why I made such a fuss out of it.
Hey Stoney,
This is Merl from Modsupport (Not Seenie lol )
I don’t know that I’d say you made a fuss over it. I think it’s one of those things we try our best to do without. For myself, I saw the application as admitting defeat, so I fought against it and it’s one of the few things I still had some sort of control over. So admitting to myself I needed one was a real bitter pill to swallow. Although I have one now, I still ‘try’ not to use it, but there are times when I’m so thankful I’ve got one. I believe it’s one of those things that we all have to assess for ourselves and when it’s time, well, we know.
Merl from the Modsupport Team
I finally got it! Somehow the paperwork got lost in the mail so I had to go to the doctor’s office and bring it to town hall to get the permit but it’s done and I have one less thing to worry about now
That’s wonderful to hear @Stoney! That you finally got it, not that it was lost 
.
I can imagine it will be one of those things that you don’t even how good it is till it comes in handy just when you need it
A big step! Send me a copy? 
I denied I needed one…for a few years. I drive so little now that when I go someplace I am so stiff I can hardly walk. I will not park in an HC place if I feel like walking.
Exactly. There’s plenty of days that i don’t use it, but it’s really nice to have the option