Hip Replacement

From what I have experienced, others have posted, and reviewing approximately 100 orthopedics journal articles:
1. Hip replacement surgery is usually painful from day 2 to about 6 weeks, with pain the first week most difficult. Every patient and every hour of every day varies, from zero to 10 pain. For me, I had nerve block, so no pain for 72 hours.
After three days, pain of 6 or 7 at night; I didn't use opioids (tramadol, oxycodone, hydrocodone,etc), but did have regular scheduled acetaminophen, celecoxib, low dose prednisone. Pregabalin was an option but I didn't use, after conferring with the surgeon. After week 1, very little pain.
2. Most, but not all, surgeries provide pain improvement. Regardless of approach (anterior, posterior, "Super",robot, etc), or surgical experience, serious complications in the first year are about 1 to 2%, and your surgeon will have you sign a consent that discusses the complications (pain, bleeding, stroke, nerve damage, fracture, death, etc.). Complications continue after the first year, although I believe at least one person on Mayo Connect mentioned hip replacement went well and lasted over 30 years, for them. Some surgery results are poor, and revision is done, in other words re-do of surgery, and the success rate of revision is lower than first surgery, so that is another topic.
3. Be sure to consider conservative treatment, before hip replacement. Suggest to search on terms such as hip pain treatment and Mayo Clinic and also JAMA. If I had it to do again I would have tried celecoxib for a few days a week, once or twice a month, for at least 6 months, before moving to hip replacement. I noticed the 6 weeks of scheduled celecoxib after my hip replacement seemed to eliminate occasional aches in the low back and other hip! Celecoxib and other NSAIDS have risks of course, so they are usuallynotrecommended for continuous long term use.

Best wishes in your decision

I was 74. Not too bad at all. You will walk fairly quickly. Took me about three months to feel 100%. But back to good mobility within a month. Do all the PT they give you, take the pain meds you need, ice your leg and do the daily exercise movements to prevent blood clots. Ask questions about anterior/posterior approach. Ask to see the device, do your research. If you are pretty healthy and active, I expect it will go well.

My hip is 8 months on August 30. The first week is extremely painful.
I am a chronic pain person on Norco so it was really hard to get the extra meds I needed but I had
Been through this before with my knee replacement and got it done.
Honestly after a month my hip didn’t really hurt. I had a scary infection at all my suture sights but doc realized I was allergic to the sutures.
I was terrified because I’ve had sepsis before. So that really didn’t help. But I have stiffness and some adductor
Pain but I would be very happy if my chronic pain leg( the opposite one obviously ) felt
Like my surgical leg.
The other bonus is my osteoporosis was
In that hip! So now
I’m considered to only have osteopenia which was great
For
My mental health.
I will
Say the cortisone shots I got before surgery worked amazing.
If I could have
Just continued getting them I would have.
I did do All
My PT and took pain meds
As
Indicated. Good Luck

I have had very little pain in the three months since I had my total hip replacement. The pain I did have, from overworking a muscle, a Tylenol took it away. Do not overdo, take it slow and easy. Follow the doctor’s directions. Do the exercises that are Given to you by the doctor or the physical therapist at the hospital.
I am 86 years old and am waiting for my other hip surgery in October.
Praying all goes well with your hip surgery.

Everyone is different. My experience was astounding in that I had NO pain from or after the surgery. My surgeon's instructions were to take my prescribed medicine which was oxycodone and Celebrex. The instructions for each were to take it for pain until not needed, then reduce my usage. I took one oxy the first night because I didn't know what would happen when the anesthesia wore off. The next day I had no pain so I called my doctor's office and reported that and asked if I could stop the oxy. They said yes. Two days later I did the same with the Celebrex.

I was fortunate but I also had selected my surgeon because he satisfied my two principal criteria: (1) use of a minimally invasive muscle and tendon sparing procedure; and, (2) the surgeon has done it at least hundreds and preferably thousands of times. My surgeon was actually the principal inventor of the first criteria (Superpath).

Even though my surgeon invented the newest procedure, he agrees with me that the second criteria is the most important. Having a surgeon who has successfully done many, many such procedures is the most important goal.