El11 - I am having a dryish February so will have to take a raincheck on the champagne. How is your 6 month hip compared to your 4.5 month one? I still get some zings and zaps if I overstretch the operated hip and still ice when I get home from work, six months on... I am wearing my thermals - even though the weather has warmed up a bit. Keeping the hip warm at work and icing at home seems to be key.. I have quite a few steps up to my office and, if not too stiff from driving, try to do them very day. Sometimes it is quite hard and I have lost count of the number of helpful students who inform me that there is a lift at the other end of the building.
You are so slim - I need to get my figure back and take the weight off my knees. Easier said than done. Will be 60 next year xx
@SurreyGirl - How many steps? Good for you; you seem to have a great handle on how much to do, icing when needed etc. I remember when we were looking for a house, at one point I was resigned to the idea of it needing to be a ranch house because I had so much trouble with steps; then I read an article saying if you stop climbing steps, you lose your ability to do so and get progressively weaker. And of course I was not thinking of hip replacement at the time, or the possibility of getting my strength back.
The main difference between my hips is that thigh phenomenon. The left side is a bit more tender/numb, but it's subtle, like at the eye doctor when they say "Which one is clearer?" and you go, "That one ... I think, no wait ..." I have a little compulsive habit of rubbing each a few times a day to check that the right one is less sensitive.
The night before last, I slept poorly; both hips were way sore when I woke up for the last time, and I had Tylenol with coffee. I hadn't done much the day before, either. But anyway, what you describe seems in line with my own recovery. A few zings and zaps, occasional soreness.
I recently saw a Facebook post from the wife of a guy I work with, about getting a shot in her hip. I messaged her about my ops, knowing she was probably on the surgery path; she said she'd been to see a doctor about the posterior approach and was going to see another about the anterior, and that there was a long wait for surgery (she is in LA), as many as six months— but would love to talk to me about my experience. She said that at this point, every day was a series of "micro-tortures," getting out of a car being the worst. I remember that so clearly; another pre-replacement memory for me was one fall day when my bf and I were walking in a gorgeous park (see image) and after 15 minutes, I started to tear up, the pain was so bad as I limped along. What a difference.
I don't know if I'd call myself slim, but not overweight. I use this app that's an imitation of the Weight Watchers Points Plus system (no one owns the math, after all). I feel I could stand to lose 5 pounds, that's it for my age. But a few pounds can make a big difference in one's comfort level.
United Kingdom
I’d think that could be a bit disconcerting to go into it with a sense of a certain timing/experience from before, and then have to adjust to the differences. 
(And I'm also really glad you didn't hurt something, because "snow falls" are so unpredictable!)
