amy_agatha

So the last few days have been good. Had our Christmas Pagent and the Market that goes with it. My Relay for Life team had a stall there and we managed to raise a bit of money. Stayed over a friends that night and was attacked by her kitten all night. lol the little thing (his name is Sox or Socks (not sure how they spell it, I've never asked) I'll just use Sox) has just gotten big enough to jump onto the bed by himself and decided he wanted to attack my legs all night and when he wasn't doing that he was trying to chew the phone charger cord. He was very annoying that night but I can't be mad at him, he's too cute. lol Then in the morning Sox and Jaffa (my friends 3 yr old cat) were play fightning on my legs as I was trying to get a few more minutes sleep. of course, when I told them off they gave me the cute kitty look and I couldn't be mad no more. lol. Got told yesterday by two different people that I looked like I'd lost weight, which was nice, though according to the scales I haven't (but I didn't say that.) It was nice that they thought that I had. Got an AWESOME lightning show last friday night. Not much thunder that we could hear but lots and lots of lightning. I wish I had my camera charged, I would have gotten photos. but was awesome none the less. Ok now the bad news... It's not confirmed yet but the doctors think my grandfather may have liver cancer.... Just wish Cancer would (insert bad word here) off. It really needs to dissapear. hope they find a cure soon. I hope that the doctor is wrong and they are trying to get him in for testing before christmas but not sure if they will be able to. I'm hoping its not Cancer but who knows. UPDATE: It's confirmed Well thats all for now Take care Amy

Hi Juliet I was 21 when I was banded. I have had my ups and downs. I did a lot of research before deciding to get the op. I guess I was lucky as I had my mum, uncle and great aunt who i could talk to as they had all had banding too. Though I don't have the other health problems that you do, so unfortunantely cannot comment on that part of it, I do not regret getting banded. I have been overweight my whole life and I think that for me this was the way to go. one thing I was told was to remember that while you hear all the bad things about banding you rarely hear the good things and the good things outweigh the bad. but I guess its a personal choice. Good luck in your decision sorry I couldn't help more Amy

My uncle was banded in 1999 and he is going well.

Welcome to the March Bandits Group. Feel free to chat about your banding journey or about anything else you can think of. Please be respectful to everyone and understand that everyone has their own opinion and is entitled to it. Please do not swear or put others down. Thank you and I hope you enjoy your stay here. Take Care Amy

amy_agatha

amy_agatha

Well I'm new at this. I haven't really ever done a blog before. I tried once but only ended up doing one entry. So thought I'd give it a go here. I thought I'd start with my story. My name is Amy, I am 24 and live in South Australia, Australia. I have been big all my life. I have photos of me as a baby and I was a chubby little thing. I have always loved all the junk food and hated most of the healthy food. I was a fussy eater as a child and still am today. I used to dress up as Fat Cat as a 4 year old, until one day my Mum says I was teased and never wore the costume again. Growing up, chocolate, chips, cakes, soft drinks and all those bad things were favourites of mine. I loved fast food and didn't do much sport. I did do Netball for 3 years in Primary School but never did enough to actually loose any weight. I gave that up when I entered high school. I did Archery for a year in grade 10 but gave that up as well. I tried a lot of different diets through high school but could never stick to them. I lacked the motivation, something I'm still struggling with today. All my friends would say I didn't need to loose wight, that I looked fine how I was. In 2008 my Mum got lap band surgery and in 6 months she had lost 60kg. I wished I could do that but knew that even if I could get the surgery done that I'd never be able to loose weight as fast as her. Mum's problem wasn't that she liked junk food and not healthy food, she loves all food and is rarely fussy, her problem was the amount she ate. I knew it'd take longer for me if I ever got it done. In 2008 my great Aunt came to visit, she had had lap band as well. She offered to pay for me to have the surgery and told me to think about it and have a look into it to see if it was something I'd like to do. I researched for a few months and asked my mum, great aunt and uncle (who also had it done) about it. In the end I decided I'd like to do it but knew I wouldn't be able to afford the 12 months health insurance that'd I'd need to go through the private system. So I told my Aunt and she said she'd pay the insurance if I really wanted it done and I agreed. In late 2009 we got some bad news. My Dad had been diagnosed with Lung Cancer. The doctors weren't sure he would make it to Christmas but thankfully he did. In March 2010 I had the surgery. I stayed 3 days in hospital and then went home. It was really hard at first but I slowly made my way through the liquid and mushy stages. I managed to get down to 82kg (from a starting weight of 118kg) by June 2011. August 2010 I moved to Brisbane, QLD, Australia, hoping to find some work as I was unemployed. Unfortunantely I was unable to and was planing to move back to South Australia in late September, but by May I just wanted to go home. I booked a flight for June 21st 2011 as I wanted to be home for my birthday the next day, but because of a volcanic ash cloud my flight was cancelled and I had to get the plane the next day on my birthday instead. During my time in Brisbane, I found out my Nana also had Lung Cancer but had decided to forego treatment as doctors had told her that other health issues she had would take her first. I will always be thankful that I went home when I did, instead of late september like I had planned to. I got to spend those last few months with my Dad before he passed away on 12 September 2011. On the Saturday night (10 September, Dad had been rushed to hospital earlier that day) we got a call from Mum saying that the doctors didn't think Dad would survive the night. So my brother and I went to stay with him and Mum for the night. Thankfully he did survive the night and my sister (who was visiting her boyfriend in another town 2 hours away) was able to come see him on Sunday, 11 September. I will also be thankfull that on that day, Monday 12 September, I had a kickboxing class and my brother insisted that I drop him off to visit Dad on the way to my class and pick him up after. I visisted my Dad after the class, though the original plan was for my brother and I to visit him the next day (Tuesday 13th September), as I got to see and speak to him one last time. My Dad passed away that night just after 10pm, unfortunantely it wasn't a case of him falling asleep and not waking up, Mum says the doctors were shocked at how violent it was. He had gotten pneumonia and had burst a vessel in his lung and was coughing up blood for the three days before he passed on (sorry for the details). The next few months weren't much better. We had just lost Dad and the doctors had found another cancer in Nana just behind her stomache and she was getting worse as the days passed. On 15 March 2012 Nana lost her battle with the Cancers. doctors say the second cancer accelerated the Lung Cancer which is was took her. She passed away in her sleep. I will always love them and miss them both but they are no longer suffering or in any pain. I wish they were still here and healthy but I know that will not happen. Since then I have had trouble once again with junk food and soft drink. I am slowly getting back on track. I have great friends and family that help me and also Canteen (The Australian Organisation for Young People Living with Cancer) have helped lots. I have put on 20kg but I am working to get that back off now. Well that's about it I think. Take care all Amy My Dad and Nana Some before and after photos This was taken about a week ago

I was banded 9 March 2010, so 2 years 8 months.

Hi All I haven't been on for a long time. Not sure how long, few years I think. My journey was going well until September 2011. I was down to 82kg from a starting weight of 118kg before surgery in 2010. I am now back to 102kg. I lost my Dad and Nana both from lung cancer only 6 months apart. My Dad in September 2011 and my Nana in March 2012. I found myself eating a lot of junk after this (as I usually do when I'm upset) but I think that I am slowly getting back on track. Hopeing to be online a bit more often. Well thanks for reading and hope everyone has good luck on their own journeys Amy