Hi,

I posted a similar question a few days ago, and I got some great advice for answers. If you want to go back and look at my thread, feel free. The main idea, though, was that it's important to start slow and work your way back in. As far as how much weight is okay, that will be up to your body. My advice is to start very small... say, start with just the bar on most things and every time you get through a workout and rest day without increased symptoms, add five more pounds. I can imagine that's quite a difference from where you are now, but you'll get back to the heavier weights before you know it and in the meantime your body has a chance to adjust again.

I'm no doctor either, but it seems to me that, if you find the point that your body can handle for now, you should be able to build back up to what you think of as 100% capacity. I know how you feel... my workouts are very important to me too. But your body needs rest if it's going to keep improving. You may or may not backslide in your healing because of the workouts, but at the very least I am almost certain you will slow your healing down and be miserable that much longer for every time you push too hard.

Oh, and weight lifting is safe for the most part (in terms of risk of hitting your head), but do be careful when bench pressing or doing anything else where you lift weights over your head. I dropped a bar on my head once while bench pressing... it wasn't fun.

Bottom line: please listen to your body. If you are experiencing any kind of symptoms that are made worse when you lift weights, go at a lower weight the next time.