Hi Ben! I too was a young THR patient (well, 42 — sorta ‘young!’) — Next week will be my 5 year anniversary for my new hip. Like you, I was definitely nervous about the surgery, put it off as long as I could — Have Dysplasia and the hip was doomed from the start, but I fought it hard as I could. Like Felicity said here as well — I wish I had done it sooner.
The ability to get your life back is so worth it. If you know you are heading for THR anyway, just do it. Suffering on a bit longer won’t improve your quality of life and really in the big scheme of things a 6-12 month window in when you get the hip done is not going to have a big impact on overall usage expectancy for the implant.
Since having my THR done I went back to running (took it very slow but completed a 1/2 marathon about 14 months after), walking hiking, aerobics, yoga, etc. The most important thing for me is the ability to walk and travel pain free. Recently traveled to Japan and several days in a row logging 10+ miles each day walking and sightseeing and went to sleep each night gleefully pain free.
The biggest thing is be ready for the recovery — Feeling a bit broken for a while — Especially as a young, active person you will probably struggle with that. I actually wrote a piece for Prevention after my THR talking about this issue you may find helpful:
https://www.prevention.com/health/a20459894/hip-replacement/
Just remember to take it slow and let your body heal! Trying to push it too hard too fast will not benefit you. Go easy, give yourself a break and always keep the end game in mind — Pain free life!
Good luck and keep us posted!
Aimee.