John - Thank you so much for all this solid information. I didn't realize you had hip replacement surgery so recently. I have a lot of confidence in this surgeon. He did my sister-in-law's hip replacement a few years ago and he has an excellent reputation. I will be seeing him in the next few weeks to make these kinds of decisions. He will do one at a time.
I am shocked at the speed in which both hips degenerated. Especially as I had the impression that we had got the RA under control. Unfortunately, I was misled by having a bad fall 18 months ago and putting the increased pain down to that. Hopefully, I'll be seeing another rheumatologist shortly, the 4th, who will hopefully pay more attention. I feel I got brushed off somewhat by the first 3 because my RA symptoms are not classic and I'm seronegative.
Your comments give me a starting point for my research as well as a base for questions to ask the surgeon.
