discectomy at l4/l5 level, stenosis at l3/l4

[jmlipp]

Hi, Thanks for developing this site. I have been looking for such a place and I'm glad I found this.
I have had very little back pain my whole life until about 2 months ago when I bent over to tie a student's shoe. My back tightened up and I couldn't bend my back at all. I treated it at home with ice/heat, massage, etc and it seemed to be getting better. A little over 2 weeks later, I did something (I have no idea what) getting into bed and I had the worse pain in my lower back I have ever had. I could only lay on the floor and hobble to the bathroom. A MRI showed spinal stenosis at the l3/l4 level and the first orthopedic doctor I went to said I needed surgery to release the pressure there. I wanted a second opinion and went to a neuro surgeon. He read the MRI and said that although there was a significant narrowing at l3/l4, the problem causing me the pain, weakness and numbness was a herniated disc at l4/l5. He got me to surgery in 2 days because I had fallen and had no knee reflex.
So, here I am at home, almost three weeks past the surgery. The horrible pain is gone but the feeling that my knee is going to give out and the numbness remains. My left leg is very weak. I know that is common but especially the weakness is scary. I am walking everyday, up to 2 miles. I don't see my doctor for another 2 weeks.
What I'm wondering about is the tenderness I have down by my ankle on the affected leg. It is still numb in the shin but down by the inside ankle bone it is very tender to the touch. It isn't warm and not swollen. Do you have any insight? Could any of this be from the stenosis which i didn't even know I had before this?
Thanks for listening and sorry for giving so many details. If I could just know that I'm not going to fall it would be a great relief. I know you can't give me that assurance.
Thanks again