"When I Decided Against Gastric Bypass Surgery, I Went On Ozempic."

I was always an average-sized youngster and never had weight issues. After my mother was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, I gained weight.

Coming out of high school was hard on my parents, sister, and me. Our lives altered. My mom was suddenly surrounded and loved as much as we could. My dad, sister, and I gained weight as we became depressed. Finally, I weighed 318 pounds.

I never woke up and thought, “How did I get here?” but I noticed my size altering over time. However, I’ve always felt confident in my skin.

I became pregnant with Beatrice at 35. I was delighted to be a mom, but gestational diabetes put me in my head. Luckily, my fantastic doctor informed me that my problem wasn’t associated with my size. I was told that even athletes get gestational diabetes and that it will likely go away after birth.

Despite this reassurance, I battled to control my blood sugar, especially in the morning, and was prescribed metformin, an anti-diabetic medicine. Luckily, my blood sugar normalized after having my daughter in 2015.

I decided to get healthier, but it was hard. After my mom died in 2011, I ate when I wasn’t hungry. Try WeightWatchers to shed 10–15 pounds. After a few months, I’d get off track and gain double or triple the weight.

I asked my primary care doctor about my weight, and she suggested gastric bypass surgery. I was anxious about major surgery, so we discussed Ozempic.

My doctor took bloodwork in July 2022 and found that my A1C was 6.4%, which is prediabetic and 0.1% below the type 2 diabetes threshold. After two gestational diabetes, I knew my risk of type 2 diabetes was high and was treading water. Not wanting to be there.

In July 2022, I began Ozempic. I started at 0.25 mg, then 0.5 mg, and now 1 mg. After losing 70 pounds, my A1C is 5.5%, which is normal. Do I have room to improve? Ozempic works for me.

Not everything has gone well in Ozempics. I’ve learnt not to overeat because I get quite unwell. After eating a Frosty at Wendy’s with my kids, it came out both ends. Ozempic hasn’t made weight loss easy, but it’s helped me get healthy.

I changed my Ozempic diet. If I take the kids to McDonald’s, I’ll get a Happy Meal instead of a Big Mac. I eat off the little dish at family dinners. I’ll get ice cream and frozen yogurt with them and a modest bag of popcorn instead of a big one at the movies.

Many people dislike Ozempic and have strong feelings about it. I even fought with a friend who said, “You’re one of the reasons there’s a shortage.” Choosing it for weight loss would be between me and my doctor, but I’m not. Because people are so ready to attack, I think some Ozempic users are afraid to talk about using the medication.

I have more energy and a “let’s get up and go” mentality. I sleep better and play with my kids more. I also choose health.

I have no definite goal weight or destination. Would it be wonderful to lose 200 or 220 pounds? Yes, but I’m glad knowing I’m doing my best to be healthy.