My RA diagnoisis came about 1.5 years after a hip replacement. I'm sure I had some symptoms of overall inflammation prior to the surgery: unexplained episodes of fatigue and frequent tendonitis. About a year after the replacement, I had a significant problems with hip tendonitis. I had a fenestration procedure (poked several holes in the tendon) hoping to increase healing. I basically "fell off the RA cliff" after that procedure. Rather than just increasing a healing inflammation to the tendon, I went into a full blown flare. Prior to the procedure, neither the doctor nor I knew I was headed for RA. I believe RA was inevitable, but the procedure pulled the trigger. I've heard the analogy - RA is loaded into the gun, perhaps genetically. Then an illness, infection, stressor, etc pulls the trigger. Also, I believe it can be harder for us to heal from surgeries because of the constant level of inflammation and differences in our immune systems. I had a major shoulder repair 3 years after RA diagnosis. My surgeon was very conservative with immobilization, PT and NSAIDS. My healing was slow, but by 6 months I was very happy with the results! Jo