Louisville woman says lap band surgery changed her life for the better
Like many first-time moms, Mary Vaught started thinking about her future differently.
After having had her first child 10 years ago, she weighed in at 330 pounds.
"I couldn't walk without getting out of breath. I couldn’t walk up stairs," said Vaught. "I couldn't chase after my kid. I knew if I didn't do something I was going to die before I was 30, and couldn’t take care of him anymore."
So, she took the advice of a family member and scheduled a lap band surgery.
"At first I was horrified, and I kept changing my mind because what if something goes wrong? Do I really want to do this?" said Vaught.
She ultimately did go through with it, and nothing went wrong.
Mary lost 175 pounds.
Her back pain disappeared, her knee pain was gone and she no longer needed blood pressure medication, not to mention she could move and enjoy traveling again.
"And just like when you get on the airplane you're not worried if you’re going to fit or not," said Vaught. "So, I don’t have to hold back."
Doctors say the lap band is much less extreme than the gastric bypass procedure that became popular 20 years ago.
It is an adjustable band placed on the stomach to control hunger and portion size.
To qualify, a patient must be at least 75 pounds overweight or have a body mass index over 40.
A typical patient seen for a lap band is not the 600-pound person, according to a local surgeon who performs the procedure. It is, rather, the prediabetic, or person seeking long-term weight loss.
That is exactly why Mary Vaught says she recommends the life-changing procedure to anyone considering it.
"I just think that things wouldn’t be as good as they are now," Vaught said. "I'd probably be a pretty miserable person."