Having worse & new pain, foot pain 6 weeks after Microdiscectomy than before surgery. Regretting surgery.

25M had microdiscectomy six weeks ago and I'm really starting to regret it. I had a diffuse bulge with central protrusion @ L5-s1.

MRI Photo

Before surgery I was mostly fine except for mild sciatic pain that was manageable but spreading to the other leg. Surgeon said that operating on the right side would possibly alleviate pressure from the other nerve root.

Surgeon said surgery went well. I did not get, nor is there a detailed surgical report for me to access. I didn't get pictures of removed material. All I was told is roughly 1/8 of the "disc" was removed.

After surgery I had intense sciatic pain while moving, which eased up after a week or two. That's when I started having foot pain at top/left of right ankle when walking, which has lasted for about a month. I'm able to go hiking, walking long distances except for this damn foot pain.

I'm also still having flare ups of sciatic pain which seems much more easily aggravated. Especially with me being in PT for a few weeks now, doing nerve flossing, dead bugs, etc.

I'm also still having "poking" sensations in both feet which make me worried that the surgery didn't successfully remove pressure from opposite nerve root, even if the other leg is basically symptom-free compared to right leg.

The most frustrating thing is this foot/ankle pain, followed by the fact I generally feel worse than I did pre-op. The sciatic pain feels slightly more intense generally, and much easier to flare up.

Surgeon doesn't want to do an MRI until three months but I see him for follow up soon and I'm gonna push him for a new MRI.

Just sucks