Ankle Sprained 5months still weak

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I inverted my ankle 5 months ago when I landed on someone's foot playing basketball. It was pretty severe (I think grade 2) as I could not even bear weight for a few days and the swelling remained for over a month. I confirmed no breaks/fractures with xrays and have seen general practitioners, 2 orthopedists, and 2 Chinese acupuncturists. Yet my ankle is still very stiff (it hurts to point my toes toward the sky, and I'm unable to lift it as much as my healthy ankle) and still has some minor swelling (can tell by comparing to healthy ankle). I've been doing strengthening exercises that one orthopedist taught me for the past month, but I feel like I'm barely making any progress. Every time I do my exercises to loosen my ankle, an hour later it will be stiff again.

I don't have insurance, so all my doctor visits have been costing dearly. I'm planning on seeing the orthopedist again in 2-3 weeks if I don't make any progress from today. I'll probably discuss the necessity/practicality of an MRI and whether the injections he spoke of (forgot what they were) would help.

For anyone who has been though a severe ankle sprain, is this normal? To still have stiffness/pain/immobility this long after the incident? To barely notice any progress from doing strengthening exercises for a month? Am I being too impatient? Could the damage be worse than the doctors thought? Please let me know if you've been here before.