Very Problematic Socks

I realized that even though my gauge is off, the socks should not be too big...If I'm supposed to get 5 stitches per inch and I get 6, then wouldn't my finished product be smaller than the pattern? I must just have scrawny legs, I guess. Anyway, I have had to make more adjustments to this pattern than I expected. I was counting on having to adjust the length because I'm short, but even taking that into consideration, the decreases just seem to be in all the wrong spots for it to fit my legs. Instead of decreasing 8 stitches (either 8 or 6, I'm not sure) between the thigh and the knee area, I decreased 12. And now I'm decreasing a bunch more considerably before where the pattern says to decrease. I think the next set of decreases in the pattern was from the calf to the ankle, but I need more from the knee to the calf. I left extra space in the knee so that I can still bend my knee, haha, but I need to decrease more before the calf area and then again after the calf/before the ankle. I was supposed to end with 54 stitches for the foot, but at this rate, I will have like 30. I don't know, we'll see how it turns out.