Hi Caycee,
1) I think keeping as fit as you can will help you recover faster. Start doing hip strengthening/flexibility exercises now and then you can continue after surgery. If you can run/job a little, which is what I did, I think that also helped with my recovery.
2) Hard to say as most of us have only had 1 so little to compare with. However many people with different materials and anterior/posterior have all done very well, so I’m not sure it’s critical
3) I’m 13 years in and run about 2,000 miles a year and race mainly ultra’s. The way I look at it is no one knows how long it will last, but I know I’m going to enjoy it while I can and if I need a follow up I’ll decide then if I slow down, but for now enjoying life to the fullest
4) Again everyone is different, I waited 3 months before I started running, others start much earlier. I don’t think waiting a while in the big picture is worth the risk of damage early on.
Anyway, welcome tot he club and looking forward to hearing about your successes.
Dave