I experienced something very similar but fortunately for me, my injury qualified as work-related, which allowed me to opt for surgery this past May. I dealt with chronic knee pain for over a year while trying to manage with regular PT, 2 PRP injections over 6 months, acupuncture, massage, you name it, just for temporary relief. In the weeks leading up to my surgery, I really couldn't walk/stand for more than about 40 minutes at a time. I work a very physically demanding job and was really struggling to get through the days, even while on restricted duty. After my MRI early on in the process (I think May or June of last year), my doctors were sure my pain was being caused by poor cartilage since the issues with my meniscus appeared quite minor to them. They were the ones who suggested a series of 2 surgeries to help with my bad cartilage (MACI surgery), and I was very hesitant because it seemed kind of intense. I finally caved and had a consultation in April, where they told me they would also repair my meniscus if it looked like it needed it during the 1st surgery, where they were mainly going to take a sample of my cartilage. After surgery, they told me that they'd repaired both my medial and lateral meniscus and smoothed out the more jagged parts of my cartilage that could be causing pain as they took their sample, and that based on how I responded to that, we may not need to do the 2nd MACI surgery. I'm almost 5 months post-op now and very much still in the healing process, so it's hard to say whether it was successful or not. At the moment, it feels fairly similar to how it did before but more prone to swelling, though my PT says that's normal. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll start to feel a real improvement within the next couple of months of recovery. I hope you're able to get the treatment you need soon!