Wegovy vs bariatric surgery

[Adipocyte Apoptosis 2]

Hi all,

I had been on Wegovy for weight loss, and it almost completely silenced my food obsession. I stll got hungry and enjoyed my food, but I wasn't thinking about it all the time. My insurance no longer covers wegovy, so I've started on the bariatric surgery pathway. My question is, will surgery work in the same way? Will that voice be silenced?

TIA!

[catwoman7 10,864]

for awhile. For most of us, hunger comes back sometime during the first year after surgery - although I do know of a few lucky folks for whom It never came back. I don't know if that's true of Wegovy or not - if that effect is permanent or temporary.

[NickelChip 686]

I also took Wegovy for a while and am going the surgery route in part because my new insurance won't cover it. But also, the big difference with surgery is that it is a permanent, lifelong change. Not necessarily the lack of hunger, but the overall benefits of the tool remain with you lifelong, changes in your metabolism that are very enduring, whereas with meds, the effects start to reverse as soon as you stop taking it. You might check the Pound of Cure Youtube channel for recent videos on how surgery plus meds like Wegovy can work together down the road for those who need both.

[Adipocyte Apoptosis 2]

3 hours ago, catwoman7 said:

for awhile. For most of us, hunger comes back sometime during the first year after surgery - although I do know of a few lucky folks for whom It never came back. I don't know if that's true of Wegovy or not - if that effect is permanent or temporary.

Thanks for responding! No, wegovy doesn't work forever, and I had heard that as body physiology heals post bariatric surgery and normalizes (6-12 months post surgery) appetite returns. I'm more interested in that first 6 months when most weight loss occurs. I've been able to maintain my weight post Wegovy, so I'm not incredibly worried about when my appetite starts normalizing. I was just curious about the difference in how we feel post surgery vs medication.

[Adipocyte Apoptosis 2]

6 minutes ago, NickelChip said:

I also took Wegovy for a while and am going the surgery route in part because my new insurance won't cover it. But also, the big difference with surgery is that it is a permanent, lifelong change. Not necessarily the lack of hunger, but the overall benefits of the tool remain with you lifelong, changes in your metabolism that are very enduring, whereas with meds, the effects start to reverse as soon as you stop taking it. You might check the Pound of Cure Youtube channel for recent videos on how surgery plus meds like Wegovy can work together down the road for those who need both.

Thanks for the recommendation! I will look into that YouTube channel. Honestly, I feel like I took Wegovy before I had admitted to myself that I was ready to undergo surgery. It had always been in the back of my mind, but I never thought that it would be something I would do. It's hard to give up the lifelong hope of being able to lose weight on your own.

I took a class on weight loss where we discussed energy homeostasis and the different survival mechanisms our bodies have to prevent us from starving, i.e., stop us from losing fat storage so we don't die. It was very eye-opening to the types of changes that must take place for sustainable, long-term weight loss.

Bariatric surgery has a ~75% success rate compared to the ~10% success rate seen in conventional weight loss attempts, and it's BECAUSE of the physiological changes made in your body due to the anatomical change made to it during surgery. That, paired with practicing healthy behaviors for both physical and mental health, leads to more permanent weight loss. I've been able to maintain my post-Wegovy weight loss for months now, but achieving additional weight loss has just been impossible.

[Arabesque 6,478]

Both methods have a failure option. You go off meds & return to your old eating habits, the weight comes back. With the surgery, you go back to how you used to eat, you regain the weight.

Both require you to do the work to change your relationship with food, make better food choices, become more active, learn to recognize real hunger from head hunger & learn about what drives you to eat & develop strategies to manage those drives like your food obsession voices. Neither routes are true easy permanent solutions without doing this work. The class you attended seems like it got you started on this & on the right path.

The win of the surgery for me was time. The period of time when I wasn’t hungry or interested in eating, the change to my taste buds, etc. allowed me to start doing that work. I learnt what my body needed, how to keep my boosted metabolism going & to keep my new weight set point stable.

Certainly worth conversations with your doctor & a bariatric surgeon to see what they think is the best way forward for you. Also ask for a referral to a therapist who specialises in disordered eating to support you through doing the head work. Many who’ve had surgery find therapy very helpful & contributed to their success & it would likely be helpful even if you choose not to have surgery.

All the best what ever you choose to do.

PS - I second the Dr Matt Weiner’s Pound of Cure you tube videos. He’s also on instagram & has some great books. Dr John Pilcher also has some great you tube videos on weight loss & surgery. Another consideration is I understand the newest weight loss med is supposed to less expensive & is expected to help push down the cost of the existing ones.

[ChunkCat 673]

I didn't lose my hunger with surgery, it is still here. In fact, I woke up from surgery in the recovery room hungry. 😂

However, my taste buds have changed. It happened about 2 weeks out. I can't taste sweet spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. It sure does make holiday treats less tempting.

My brain hunger is a lot quieter too, I'm assuming that's from the surgical effects on GLP-1 in the body...similar mechanism to what quiets head hunger on the meds. I don't know how long this effect will last. I had the DS so it alters more of your anatomy than a sleeve does, and there are metabolic benefits to that alteration. So I'm hoping it is an effect that stays around for a while.

[BigZ 65]

I never did Wegovy (Semaglutide) but a few of my friends have done it. I went straight to surgery. As soon as my friends were off, their body put back on the weight and then some. Too many horror stories about semaglutide, rotten food stuck in stomach, stomach paralysis, to name a few. My best friends daughter has been on it for 3 months and has only lost 5 pounds, she needs to lose well over 100. Found out her thyroid is messed up so she is on thyroid meds and has lost 10 pounds in 2 weeks. She is still considering surgery, but will let her body adapt to thyroid meds first.

Edited November 27, 2023 by BigZ
typo

[froufrou 678]

I've done both. Surgery first and it didn't stop me thinking about food constantly. The wegovy has stopped the chatter in my brain. It's a miracle for me to be honest. In my opinion, I do think it's something chemical in some of us and we need medication to help.

Can I ask why your insurance has stopped paying for it?

[fed-up 67]

Froufrou - this where I am now .18 months post sleeve and my appetite is back and I am gaining weight .It started with stress when my sister became very ill , and now I am considering asking for Wegovy as I don't want it to climb further .I've done a lot of reading about the sleeve ,and it's pretty common for weight gain to occur between 12 months -18 months .I'll see what my doctor says ,I am hoping it will help me .

[ToInfinityAndBeyond 21]

My hunger started coming back late in month four post-surgery. But it has been a quiet "voice" --- nothing like before. And the beauty of the period of time that I wasn't hungry was learning to tell the difference between head or emotion-based "hunger" and actual hunger. In other words, when I started feeling what I thought was hunger, I paused and really tuned into my gut. Since I was never hungry at first, I could really focus on what that felt like so I now when I actually do get hungry, I know my gut well enough (and my head/emotion hunger) that I can differentiate this well. Also, one key is to follow the advice to eat slowly since it takes our guts 15 minutes or so to tell the head that we are full. Best wishes to you as you decide what you need to do moving forward!

[ibedebi 5]

I had GS surgery in 2016 and lost 70lbs. Once I reached my final plateau at 165lbs, I gained back 10lbs and have stayed there for the past 8 years. The issue with surgery is that it's good for the first couple of years until your stomach adjusts, then the more you eat, the more it stretches. I'm an over-eater, so when I eat more than my stomach can handle, it comes back up. I can usually feel it when it reaches my esophagus and by that point, it has to come up. It's not vomiting, just spitting back out undigested food. Within the past month, I've put on 10lbs. Mostly stress related and lack of exercise. I've thought of taking Wegovy to get a jump start, but doubt my doctor will prescribe it. I just need to get back on track. So for those of you who think the sleeve is a tool that will last forever, your stomach will eventually stretch, and when you continue to allow it to stretch, you will be right back where you started. I just ate 2 eggs and sausage. That's about 80% more than I used to be able to eat. Just beware that if you don't manage your eating, no medication or surgery is going to work.

[fed-up 67]

I'm not taking any weight loss pills after giving it some thought .I have gained about a stone , but I'm not unhappy with that .I'm almost done with my dietitian and almost at the 2 year mark .I plan to exercise more and watch what I eat .It's still been worth it for me .