Hi! I am 2 years out from my gastric sleeve, I’ve lost plenty of weight but I’m still not at my target goal and I’m struggling to lose weight. Has anyone tried Ozempic or Wegovy? I’m considering going on one of these but I would appreciate any insight from anyone if they’ve used either of these drugs! Thanks!

i know several people who are on or HAVE been on Ozempic (including me**)...all of them lost weight in varying degrees...all with different starting weights. but they all did lose weight and it was noticable (to me).

from what i can observe, the ones who stopped taking it gained the weight they lost back eventually. the ones who are still on it seem to maintain the weight loss.

**i tried ozempic last year for fun/testing as my mom is prescribed it for diabetes and she had some surplus. I used it for a month at the lowest dose, and by the end of it i lost almost 8 lbs (and my starting weight was like 120 so that was actually quite a lot for my size). i stopped taking it because really, i didn't need it and just wanted to see what the fuss was about anyway. within a 2-3 months i gained back 5-6 lbs of the inital loss. so end net result was minimal (for me).

in summary:

- it works, but it seems you have to keep taking it indefinitely for long term maintenance.

- it is expensive, so keep that im mind.

- im my experience (and the general consensus of those i know who take it), part of its charm/workablitiy is because you basically don't want to eat when you are on it. so when you get off it, you want to eat again.

- if you have the means and desire and accesss you could try it and see for yourself...the initial weight loss may even be a mental boost to inspire you do more on your own?

good luck!

10 hours ago, greekgoddess2468 said:

Hi! I am 2 years out from my gastric sleeve, I’ve lost plenty of weight but I’m still not at my target goal and I’m struggling to lose weight. Has anyone tried Ozempic or Wegovy? I’m considering going on one of these but I would appreciate any insight from anyone if they’ve used either of these drugs! Thanks!

My bariatric team and GP both suggested it when I hit a three month stall and was becoming discouraged and angry. I was prescribed Ozempic and it broke my stall the first week! I've lost 10lbs in one month so my stall is over. I stuck to my "diet" plan the entire time so some might just say it was nothing more than my stall finally ending, who knows?

I receive the compounded version with B12 and its $120.00 a month without using my insurance (I didn't want to go through the hassle of pre authorization). So, its a possible option for you.

I've had no side effects as of yet, I'm starting on my second month with a higher dose so I can't speak on the head cadence beat of the drum to EAT yet, perhaps its diminished a bit and my hunger has quieted. Your best bet is talk to your doctor they'll know what's best for you and it can't hurt to ask. I hope this helps. Good luck!

Edited July 23, 20242 yr by BlondePatriotInCDA

I know a few people on the compound semaglutide as well as tirzepatide, 1 person on Zepbound, and 1 person on Wegovy. They all say the same thing. It helps lower blood sugar, suppresses appetite, quiets head hunger, causes crazy constipation after the initial dose, causes nausea on the 2nd dose on up, and you basically have to stay on it forever because once you go off it, all the benefits go away and you gain back the weight you lost (sometimes even more).

It doesn't cause weight loss in and of itself, it does burn or melt away fat, it doesn't speed up metabolism. They changed their eating habits while on the medication, but once they stopped, that all kind of went out the window because all the things the meds stopped came roaring back.

So make sure, if you want to be on it, you can be on it for the long haul. Otherwise you well very well could undo the progress you make while on it once you go off it.

45 minutes ago, SleeveToBypass2023 said:

I know a few people on the compound semaglutide as well as Tirzepatide, 1 person on Zepbound, and 1 person on Wegovy. They all say the same thing. It helps lower blood sugar, suppresses appetite, quiets head hunger, causes crazy Constipation after the initial dose, causes nausea on the 2nd dose on up, and you basically have to stay on it forever because once you go off it, all the benefits go away and you gain back the weight you lost (sometimes even more).

It doesn't cause weight loss in and of itself, it does burn or melt away fat, it doesn't speed up metabolism. They changed their eating habits while on the medication, but once they stopped, that all kind of went out the window because all the things the meds stopped came roaring back.

So make sure, if you want to be on it, you can be on it for the long haul. Otherwise you well very well could undo the progress you make while on it once you go off it.

"They changed their eating habits while on the medication, but once they stopped, that all kind of went out the window because all the things the meds stopped came roaring back."

This is the problem. If people who decide to utilize this medication tool don't maintain healthy smaller portions and eating habits they will put weight back on. They've never learned or failed to follow a new healthy life "diet". They need to learn healthy eating while on the GLP-1, unfortunately most don't and go back to their old eating habits prior to starting the medication regimen. As long as you know this and stick to better, smaller portions and maintain a healthy lifestyle gaining weight back shouldn't happen. I know two people who've done this and have maintained their weight loss!

GLP-1's are nothing more than a tool and should be used accordingly by learning to eat to maintain the loss and how to understand the hunger when it comes back. I'm assured that it won't happen to me since I have learned to eat healthy and exercise - we shall see!

Edited July 23, 20242 yr by BlondePatriotInCDA

6 hours ago, BlondePatriotInCDA said:

"They changed their eating habits while on the medication, but once they stopped, that all kind of went out the window because all the things the meds stopped came roaring back."

This is the problem. If people who decide to utilize this medication tool don't maintain healthy smaller portions and eating habits they will put weight back on. They've never learned or failed to follow a new healthy life "diet". They need to learn healthy eating while on the GLP-1, unfortunately most don't and go back to their old eating habits prior to starting the medication regimen. As long as you know this and stick to better, smaller portions and maintain a healthy lifestyle gaining weight back shouldn't happen. I know two people who've done this and have maintained their weight loss!

GLP-1's are nothing more than a tool and should be used accordingly by learning to eat to maintain the loss and how to understand the hunger when it comes back. I'm assured that it won't happen to me since I have learned to eat healthy and exercise - we shall see!

The problem is they don't have smaller stomachs like we do. The medication makes them not hungry, so they can't tolerate eating much. But once they're not on the meds anymore, all the head hunger, real hunger, and not being full or even satisfied with small meals comes back. If we didn't have this surgery, would we be able to sustain all the changes we made after the surgery? No. If we could, we wouldn't need the surgery. Same with them. If they could sustain the healthy lifestyle, smaller meals, and not giving in to head hunger without the meds, they would do it. But they can't. Which is why they gain it all back and then some. Same that we would if our stomachs just randomly started to stretch out over time (as a hypothetical, meaning not eating around the surgery but it just being something that wasn't permanent but could undo itself).

1 hour ago, SleeveToBypass2023 said:

The problem is they don't have smaller stomachs like we do. The medication makes them not hungry, so they can't tolerate eating much. But once they're not on the meds anymore, all the head hunger, real hunger, and not being full or even satisfied with small meals comes back. If we didn't have this surgery, would we be able to sustain all the changes we made after the surgery? No. If we could, we wouldn't need the surgery. Same with them. If they could sustain the healthy lifestyle, smaller meals, and not giving in to head hunger without the meds, they would do it. But they can't. Which is why they gain it all back and then some. Same that we would if our stomachs just randomly started to stretch out over time (as a hypothetical, meaning not eating around the surgery but it just being something that wasn't permanent but could undo itself).

True for most, but as I said I have two friends who didn't have bariatric surgery and have been able to maintain their GLP-1 weight loss. One for a year and a half and the other for 10 months both quit taking it. They said it can be tough but they maintain by eating right and getting their steps! So happy ending for them! There will always exceptions to the rules.

1 hour ago, SleeveToBypass2023 said:

The problem is they don't have smaller stomachs like we do. The medication makes them not hungry, so they can't tolerate eating much. But once they're not on the meds anymore, all the head hunger, real hunger, and not being full or even satisfied with small meals comes back. If we didn't have this surgery, would we be able to sustain all the changes we made after the surgery? No. If we could, we wouldn't need the surgery. Same with them. If they could sustain the healthy lifestyle, smaller meals, and not giving in to head hunger without the meds, they would do it. But they can't. Which is why they gain it all back and then some. Same that we would if our stomachs just randomly started to stretch out over time (as a hypothetical, meaning not eating around the surgery but it just being something that wasn't permanent but could undo itself).

If only it was this simple!
The exciting thing about the new anti obesity medication is the renewed efforts into researching the causes and solutions to obesity. We now know that some of these complex processes are beyond our control.

21 hours ago, greekgoddess2468 said:

Hi! I am 2 years out from my gastric sleeve, I’ve lost plenty of weight but I’m still not at my target goal and I’m struggling to lose weight. Has anyone tried Ozempic or Wegovy? I’m considering going on one of these but I would appreciate any insight from anyone if they’ve used either of these drugs! Thanks!

I am a huge fan of these new meds because: they work and it’s moving the research of obesity forward instead of continuing to moralizing it.
For our population, it’s not clear whether or not this a life long commitment because there are no current trials for this.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1155/2022/6820377

(section 2.9. Potential Roles of GLP-1 RA on Prevention of Perioperative and Postoperative Complications of Bariatric Surgical Individual)

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(19)30157-3/abstract

GRAVITAS Trial from 2016-2018

There is a dr who covers these meds from just about every angle in his podcasts. His name is Dr Matthew Weiner and he is a bariatric surgeon who prescribes the meds to patients before to try to prevent surgery as well as after if they can’t reach their goal or experience regain. He wrote a book about nutrition called pound of cure and if I remember correctly that is the name of his website as well. I subscribed years ago so I get emails about the podcasts and they cover a few things on each epksode but there is almost always something about these meds lately.