I will say that my cousin had a knee replacement done in January of this year and she said that the recovery was worse for the knee than the hip replacement she previously had done.
It does tend to be rather routine. My MIL has had one done and I hardly heard a peep out of her and she's high maintenance! She very much enjoyed the personal attention at her physical therapy sessions, so that is very important to a good recovery.
About opioids: cutting into bone can be intensely painful. Opioids are recommended for severe pain for a limited period of time. It is okay to take opioids in hospital or for a few days afterward if necessary. If you're still in pain at that point, you should definitely tell your doctor because that might indicate other complications. Your pain should go down steadily.
You can take a half a pill and see what that does before you take a whole pill if you are worried about opioids. I've been through emergency hip surgery with my father from a car wreck and my husband has had spinal surgery. Both of them were given opioids in hospital with the dosage adjusted down steadily before discharge. Home prescriptions were lower dosage and limited. Then they limited it themselves even further with a dosage before bed for sleep the last to go, and then switched to ibuprofen as soon as possible.
It's standard here to get post-OP pain meds that are self-dosing immediately after surgery. You get a little plunger to hit when you're in pain and it will release more drugs, but only up to a preset amount. Research has shown that people use less drugs when they are self-administered.
Not to belabor the point, but opioid pain medications have a time and a place and that is after major surgery in hospital and a short time thereafter. If the pain continues there may be something wrong and you should see your doctor.
In general, though, it's a well-tolerated surgery and I've never heard anyone regret having it done. In fact, people are usually relieved at not being in constant pain and become more active.
Best of luck!
GT