Nightowl also from my side, huge congrats for playing Chopin. 
(Chopin is something, I always wimp out.)
Nightowl I did not use the pedal at all, as just getting the notes under my fingers was challenging enough...
About the pedal: Don't be afraid to use it, because it makes playing often easier. 🤫
It seems counterintuitive - if you must coordinate your hands AND your foot, how can this be easier than to use only the hands? 🤔
The answer is quite easy: With the pedal, you get your fingers free. You win a lot of time for repositioning them on another location. And sometimes, you can use an easier fingering.
The thing is, if you learn a piece without the pedal, then you get used to a fingering that probably does not need the pedal that much. Or you are used to keeping the fingers on the keys for a long time, resulting in some hand stretches.
If you try to add the pedal after you learned it without, everything is already baked into your muscle memory. Your muscle memory won't change, and the finger-work stays as hard as it was before. Then you think - "Okay - with pedal it sounds maybe a bit smoother, but it is harder to play because I have to think about the foot, too."
If you want to play with the pedal - use it from the very beginning of a new piece. Aim for a fingering that is as easy as possible, and enjoy the fact that you can lift your fingers early. Then you have more time to reach the next keys. Your playing becomes easier, faster and more relaxed at the same time.
Nightowl ... but maybe I will do that if I rework the piece at some later point.
If I were you, I would lay down this Chopin piece and make your first pedal steps on another one.
