I have a dilemma and I hope this doesn't come out as whining. I'm an ambitious person, I want to succeed in everything that I put my heart and soul in. For the past three years I've been in and out of surgery and physical rehabilitation. My initial operation was the Ilizarov procedure (think Gattaca, or google it up if you don't know what I mean) and that had to include 6 months of being bedridden. I had a complication a year after my first surgery and I had to go under the knife and live on a bed again. So, I think I've been through a lot.

Ever since early last year, I have been walking again, doing just fine. I worked my way up, started to walk a little further everyday. It's just that I would get so tired so easily. I went into college last year and the stress just shot my energy level. So this year, I decided to go back to the gym. I would get my energy up so I can handle what my workload asked of me.

It felt amazing at first and I really felt like I was starting to get back to my old self. However, I contracted a bone infection, and it hurt like hell. The doctors said that by working out and putting my body in an anabolic state and working it under such strenuous physical activity made the infection get aggressive and that's why it hurt. I underwent surgery again and had a contraption attached to my body. I carried the medicine pump around me for two months and I was not allowed to work out while it was on me.

The doctors gave me the go signal but every time my body does something demanding, it gets so tired and I sometimes get sick. I tried to do other stuff outside of the gym like dancing and backpacking, things I used to do with no problem at all. But now I can't even carry my own backpack anymore. My muscles are sore. My energy level is very low and my mood isn't doing well with this situation. I really want to go back to the gym. I miss it very much. But how do I do that, especially now that I'm scared of strenuous activity?

Thank you for reading this post. I think you've just read an essay's worth of writing and for that I thank you. You've already come this far so please, I'd like to have someone's input on this. Thank You

Well first thing is keep positive as hard as that may be because that will have a profound effect on your well being. Sounds like you have been through a lot and are eager to get your life back on track but your body isn't responding or rebounding as fast as you would like it to after your ordeal. I would definitely speak to your GP who is familiar with your situation and see what he says about this. Sounds to me like you are possibly trying to jump into an intense training regimen a little too quickly and your body is shutting down.

These are things I would try first:

1./ Overhaul your diet. Look at what you are consuming and rework it. Start by making sure your body is getting everything it needs to get well and try removing the things that could be slowing it down like processed foods, sugard, sodium intake. Try getting more complex carbs, lean proteins, lots of fruits & veggies and fresh fatty fishes.

2./ Mild activity: Try swimming. Excellent cardio exercise and works every part of your body, also low impact. You can also increase the intensity as you see fit.

3./ Low intensity body weight exercises: Pushups, chinups, dips, crunches, lunges..etc. all the while listening to your body and making sure you don't push it too hard.

4./ Time for yourself to rest and regroup. Get enough sleep, find ways to deal better with stress and work the above steps into you weekly routine.

That's pretty much all I can help you with in terms of working a healthy diet and fitness routine back into your life. Just take it slow and eventually you will get back to where you want to be. Your body has been through a lot so it needs time to adjust, give it the time it needs and I think you will be ok.

Good luck..

Take it slow, listen to your doctors and don't give up. If you try to much to quickly you might wind up doing more harm than good. Best of luck, you sound to me like you have lots of courage.

Yes, I agree, start out very slow.

Take it slow at one day exercise per week or perhaps two lightly.