Fairygodmother, my neighbour here at home, had her first hip replcement done a few years ago and had a bit of a time with it, which influenced her decision to defer going on the waiting list for the second. At the time, the second was pain-free, but the consultant said she'd start to feel it very soon; especially when the replace became painfree itself. She was undeterred and decline.
When she eventually went on the list, due to the escalating pain that developed, as predicted, not only did she then, rightly, join the end of the queue, the criteria had changed, meaning her hip had to be worse than it would have been in the first instance.
By the time she had the other hip done, alst autumn, she was almost constantly in real pain and unable to do lots of the things she likes to do. Ironically, the second replacement, although different, was comparatively a dawdle, and she has just come back from a 6 bweek walking holiday in Australia, New Zealand and the Cook Islands, saying how wonderful if was. She was completely pain free.
Soooooo, I think what that ramble is saying, if the Doc says it's time to think,............... don't leave it too long. My neighbour rues the day she declined the invitation to join the waiting list.