Elliott - I had a THR - left side 2 years ago. I’m 69. It went well. The pain I experienced pre surgery (groin pain, hip pain, loss of flexibly, sleep loss) all went away. I remember the first night sleeping thru the night - first time in years. I had a TKR in 2019, also the left side. It did not go as well. I can’t bend the knee more than 100 degrees. My PT was cut short due to Pandemic.
My THR was actually delayed because of Pandemic.
Here’s what I have to say about waiting. For me it came down to disruption in sleep. When I could no longer stand being dead dog tired, I had the surgery.
But there is another thing that happens as we wait: de-conditioning. Think how much work it is to get in shape and stay in shape. As we get more and more pain, and lose more range of motion, we pull back from exercise (movement) and we de-condition. My goal is to continue to be able to walk for the rest of my life.
I met with my surgeon regarding my right hip/knee last week. I have intermittent pain on the outside of my right knee. I probably will never get that knee replace, so my hope was it was joint to joint pain from my hip. It was confirmed it’s my hip. But my surgeon’s advice is that it’s my timeline. I decide. I’m totally not there for another THR. But I am starting to need Tylenol to get to sleep - it pushes back the knee pain. And I’m careful in my Aqua Fitness classes not to do the exercises that exasperate the hip pain.
I’m not sure if this helps - but it is your call. You will know when you are ready. For me, Hip surgery was so much easier to recover from than knee surgery.