Pain was manageable and minimal over the time period of those months. Right after surgery, and for maybe a week, I had enough pain to take tramadol prescribed by my surgeon. The worst pain was on the way home and that first evening after surgery, but by that I mean it was about a 5 on the 0 (no pain) to 10 (take me to the ER) scale. Tylenol was also used for the few mild headaches I had during weeks 2 and 3 post op. But hey, what a good excuse to rest and listen to an audio book? So that's what I did. I hope this is helpful