Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired

The last three months have been a slog.  There has been a weird viral, upper respiratory sick going around here, and I have caught it full force.

I was sick all the way through our Spring Break trip to the beach.  Even lost my voice for a few days there.

I was sick when we got home.

And I have been plodding forward, sick still, ever since.  This week, it finally settled into my lungs again -- and I'm down with a fairly nasty form of bronchitis this time.  Ugh.

Since my chemo a few years ago, my immune system has just not bounced back like it used to do.  Each day, I try to eat a lot of fruits and veggies in a rainbow of colors, try to stay active and pushing toward 10,000 steps most days (unless I'm down for the count, and even then I'm in the 5,000 step range on a light day).  Since track season began and the weather has gotten a little better, I'm out walking around the outside of the track while The Peanut has her practices, which has really upped my step count on practice days.

I've even lost 6 pounds in the last few weeks.

But still:  sick and tired.

I've tried taking it easier this week -- lots of rest, pushing fluids, sleeping in, going to bed early, lots of fruits and veg with vitamin C, not over-doing it, etc., but am still feeling lousy.  The truth is that I am sick and tired of feeling so darn sick and tired.

So I'm asking for some advice.


What have you done to jump start how you are feeling?  How can I boost my immune system in a healthy, sustainable way?  (But also be mindful of not putting anything funky into my system, given that I'm already taking anti-cancer preventatives on a daily basis and I don't want to interfere with what they are doing in my system.)  What exercises have you done, especially post-multiple surgeries, to get you back into the swing of things?  What foods are especially important to add into the mix for good health over the long haul?

I'd love to make this the year I start feeling better again.  If I could only figure out how to make that a reality.

(Photo by Christy Hardin Smith.)