I had developed to a good natural physique at 220lbs @ 6 feet tall, a fast runner with a flat bench of 385 for reps. Then I got hospitalized and diagnosed with an Anaphylactic Shock while in a foreign country.
I spent a month in the hospital while being administered major meds and my real killer - Prednisone. In a large dose IV. To those of you not familiar with it, Prednisone is an antinflamatory corticosteroid that causes high cortisol levels and increased apetite - bad combo! There are many stories of weight gains in excess of 100 pounds of fat weight from people on Prednisone treatment.
I was released and treated with Benedryl and oral Prednisone for about another 6 weeks or so.
Getting back in to the gym was shaky- literally. All my lifts dropped considerably and I shook on everything.
I got my flat bench back to 315 and hoping to break 405 soon. I also started the rehab treatment the doc failed to give me
Here's some of my pics before my "home treatment". Once I get my bench back up I plan to cut up... probably start in about 2 months. I want to maintain a 10-11 percent B/F in the future - with 8-9 percent in the summer time.