IT IS AMAZING!!! as long as you have a top notch surgeon with experience. I got locked up (both times!) a week before surgery. There was no other option but surgery. Right away you notice that some pain is gone. But the truth is you have to participate in your own recovery. That is no lie. I am a pavement artist who sat in extreme positions well into my 50s and 60s. I had my first in 2012 and the second in 2014. Today I am 69 and SO GRATEFUL I sucked up my fears and did it. There should be online classes you attend to help you prepare.
Get in the best shape you can (there are exercises) before surgery. Prepare, prepare, prepare!
Just read the comment above that says to wait. Do not do that because you stop moving and your body is so much less able to restore itself. If your doc says it's bone on bone, then GO as fast as you can to that surgery table (IF you have a "prince charming" surgeon like I did!) . Yes, you can have a little respite, but its only going to get bad or worse again and you will stop exercising and it will be harder to recuperate.