I got my first cane when I was 25. I was very upset by the idea, but still holding on to the concept of employment, so something had to give. My husband bought me a silver walking stick with an ornate ball-shaped top, which doubled as the handle of a hidden sword.
He said that if I had to use one, I should use one with style, and that if anybody didn't like it I could always show them the business end of it.
I used that one for a while just when I absolutely had to, but eventually had to buy the good old fashioned kind for when my hands hurt (the ball is pretty, but not always the most comfortable grip), or for boarding airplanes (getting tackled by security is theoretically bad for the spine).
I also have a placard, and like others already said, if you aren't feeling badly, you don't have to use it. The police won't ticket you for not parking in a handicapped spot. But there have been times when it has been a God-send, let me tell you.
As far as people treating you nicely, I suppose like anything else, that depends on the people and the situation. I have had some people hold doors open or stop to let me pass before. I've also been cut off or run over (once by a woman driving one of those motorized walmart carts), had small kids run smack into me or kick my cane out from under me (saw them coming, no harm-no foul), had Christmas shoppers pass me by with dirty looks as I stood with my cane with my hood up and my car broken down in a handicapped spot in the snow waiting for help, and had an elderly woman stop me in the parking lot of a hospital to exclaim, "My God, what happened to YOU?!", and proceed to argue with me about whether or not I was old enough to have arthritis. To be honest, I was treated with more courtesy and consideration when I was pregnant, but I wouldn't advise that as a method to receive better treatment.
In the end, I'd rather walk a little more comfortably, than trudge slowly through excruciating pain, so I use a cane. I figure I've met whatever invisible pain requirement might exist for the placard, so when I need it, I use it. And what anybody else thinks about it, I don't care (in front of anybody anyway).
Of course, now that the baby is here, I use the stroller as a walker, and play normal for the strangers. Maybe you could take up baby-walking for a hobby?
