The other thing you have to remember is opiods are only short term painkillers. For most people after a while all you’re left with is the side effects. fpm.ac.uk/…/opioids-long-term-pain

I think it’d be better if you planned that career change or looked at that hip replacement before you properly fuck yourself over physically or with an addiction. If I’m doing heavy manual labour I try to never be on painkillers because that increases the risk of further injury. In this case it sounds like the pain is doing its job and telling you about a problem with your body. It’d be sensible not to ignore it.