I hope in just one more week you will start to feel better. I do remember quite well. About 4 weeks out I started to improve.
Don't worry yet about the pain medications. Your doctors won't take you off of them until you are really ready. They by the level you currently experience. If not 100 % a pain specialist can be involved to lend a hand. This is the route I had to go for a long time, and it was OK. ginnie