@saeternes : congratulations on your biking! I never liked any kind of stationary bike, even though I used it a little in the beginning. The fitness person made me aim for keeping my heart rate at 120 bpm or above (roughly 5 to 6 weeks after TKR), and that was pretty intense. And boring. And my butt hurt after 20 minutes.
Re. pool: no idea what facilities near you look like. Since “my” pool is specifically designed for seniors, it is moderately warm water, hand rails all around the inside pool wall, 2 entrances with wide, low concrete steps with hand rails on either side, depth ranging from 4 1/2 ft. (for lunge walks) to 6 ft. That is about as ideal as it can get. And to top it off, it’s less than a mile from my house.... walking distance if I should chose (I don’t! either I walk, or I swim, not both.)
Regarding pain medication: I had been prescribed Percocet or Oxycontin roughly 6 times over the past decade for various legitimate reasons, and I simply dislike the way they make me feel. I have no fear of addiction - if I am “addicted” to anything, it’s doing Sudoku or other brain games, reading of any kind, a good pinot noir - specifically from the Willamette valley in Oregon, more specifically from Stoller, Sokol Blosser, or Lemelson. Hard to impossible to get in SC., so I indulge when out West.