Gotta think a little, the most recent one was about 4 years ago now. When you are coming out of the anesthesia, you notice an immediate improvement, it's HUGE. I felt improvement every day for at least 6 weeks. I tried (and was pretty successful) staying off the Dilaudid pain medication. It doesn't do much to alleviate pain for me, just makes me dizzy, constipated and cranky. I think I had taken myself off the prescription stuff within 48 to 72 hours after surgery. After that, I would just pop regular old aspirin and it did the trick. Was I in pain after the surgery ? Yes, but the pain was much, much less than pre-surgery. It is very manageable. Overall, the improvement started tapering off after about 6 weeks and I suppose I hit the "new normal" stage at about 6 months.
A big no-no to be aware of; They advise you to NOT bend at the waist any more than 90 degrees while recovering, less is better. AND, they mean it. I did and was loaded up on pain pills at the time. I didn't realize what I had done. The pain pills wore off and my left butt cheek hurt like a son of a bitch. Called the doctor on a Saturday night. His answering service tracked him down and he called me back a half an hour later. He wanted my wife to put me on the phone and he told me that unless he was having a hard time hearing an ambulance driver over my screaming (he wasn't), I'd be OK. "Take two aspirin and call me in the morning"......
How old are you ? If you're 70'ish +, they will probably install the "cemented in place type". I was 52 when I had the first one done and they installed "non-cement, replaceable" type, because of my relatively young age at the time. My procedure(s) took an average of 60 minutes (first one = 55 minutes, second one = 65 minutes). My Surgeon's name is Dr. Craig McAllister, of Proliance Surgeons in Kirkland, WA if you want a reference. Great guy.
If this is your first hip, you have no idea just how much better you're going to feel. It is amazing. I was doctor/hospital/blood/needles/medicine averse, but I literally could not wait to get the second one done. It is that good.