I’ve described my case in other posts but want to repeat certain things for you. I too had a problem with opioids and took them only in the first two weeks. The problem was ricocheting between opioid-induced constipation and Senna-induced diarrhea. After two weeks, I got painful hemorrhoids from the diarrhea and decided the mild relief I got from the opioids wasn’t worth it. The NSAIDs (and Tylenol) I took didn’t make a dent in the pain. In fact, nothing ever mitigated the pain, which was excruciating for the first four months. My pain may have been exacerbated by a blood disorder that increases inflammation, though I don’t know that for sure because there have been no studies to prove it. The pain inhibited my ability to do certain exercises, like putting a towel under my ankle to promote extension of my operated knee, I was supposed to start that in the hospital right after the surgery but was never able to do it. I will never achieve full extension, which affects my gait. I also did not achieve adequate flexion, although I’m still making progress in rehab. As such, I cannot yet walk downstairs normally. Your handle suggests you are overweight. That might not inhibit your recovery if you have a lot of muscle mass and are, thus, very strong. But if you’re not very strong, like me, then the excess weight could make it very difficult to do certain exercises, like sit-to-stand, squats, and walking upstairs, which could impede your recovery. I lost 35 pounds to get into the “normal” weight range before surgery, but still struggled with certain exercises. Because of my significantly decreased range of motion and continuing post-op pain, I regret doing the surgery so far. If I end up pain free at the end of the year-long recovery period, then the reduced range of motion might have been a good trade off for eliminating the chronic pain I had pre-op. The jury’s still out for me. If you choose the surgery, at least you’ll have your eyes wide open about the risks. Good luck.