Pippapips, I'm 63 and have osteoarthritis in my hip, knee and wrist & thumb joints all on my right side. It has been developing over a number of years and is now starting to really affect my sleep as its much worse at night. My GP has been keen to refer me to a surgeon to discuss replacement but for various reasons, I don't yet want to go down that route. My physio pointed out that as only one side is affected, this is wear and tear rather than weight related (how I loved him for that!) Your age should be immaterial, a decision for surgery should be based purely on how your quality of life is affected. At the moment regular Ibuprofen seems fairly effective at keeping the pain tolerable.