The scale may go down, but it doesn\u2019t always stay there.<\/p>\n
About 1 in 8 American adults now says they\u2019ve used GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy to lose weight or manage a chronic condition. But many also stop using them \u2014 and often regain the weight.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt came back with taxes,\u201d said Pamela Melgarejo, a former GLP-1 user. \u201cI gained twice as much weight as I lost.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Pamela, that cycle led her to a different option: bariatric surgery at the NYU Langone Health Weight Management Program<\/a>.<\/p>\n Pamela Melgarejo underwent bariatric surgery at the NYU Langone Health Weight Management Program. Tamara Beckwith\/NY Post<\/p>\n The results, she said, were dramatic \u2014 more than 100 pounds lost in six months \u2014 and the weight has stayed off for over a year.<\/p>\n \u201cI no longer crave the same things, and I can no longer consume the same amount of food,\u201d she said. \u201cIt offers a big change in a small period of time, and then that change is sustained.\u201d<\/p>\n Her surgeon, Dr. Loic Tchokouani<\/a>, said her case reflects a broader shift as patients who stop GLP-1s and regain weight increasingly turn to surgery.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a scenario that is familiar and a major driver of patients seeking surgical treatment,\u201d he said. \u201cA majority of my patients have now tried a GLP-1, be it a sample or prescribed course, before seeing me. I do think many patients are missing out on, or at least foregoing, a more effective solution to their obesity.\u201d<\/p>\n Searching for a solution<\/p>\n Pamela spent years working to lose weight, trying diets, juicing, fasting pills, acupuncture \u2014 even patches promising to melt belly fat.<\/p>\n \u201cI did metformin before metformin was fashionable,\u201d she quipped. \u201cEverything I did was successful. But nothing got me near my goal, and nothing was sustainable.\u201d<\/p>\n Weight impacted her health, causing sleep apnea, back pain and menstrual issues. It was no picnic mentally, either, especially when it took the fun out of shopping for clothes.<\/p>\n So, in 2021, Pamela came to NYU Langone. At first, she explored lifestyle changes<\/a>. When those proved insufficient, she turned to GLP-1s.<\/p>\n She\u2019d spent years trying everything to lose weight \u2014 including GLP-1s. NYU Langone Health<\/p>\n They worked \u2014 in the beginning. Pamela lost 30 pounds, and her blood sugar returned to normal levels.<\/p>\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t hungry all the time, like I was before the injection,\u201d she said. \u201cI saw a lot of improvement.\u201d<\/p>\n But side effects followed, including nausea, extreme appetite suppression and, most concerningly, suicidal thoughts that \u201ccame out of the blue.\u201d<\/p>\n Her care team tried four different GLP-1s<\/a> in an effort to balance benefits and side effects, but she eventually stopped taking the medication altogether.<\/p>\n \u201cI have a lot to lose, and putting that in jeopardy to shed a few pounds wasn\u2019t something I wanted to do,\u201d said Pamela, a full-time caregiver for her husband, who suffers from Type 2 diabetes complications.<\/p>\n She hoped lifestyle changes would hold the weight off, but as is the case for so many people, that wasn\u2019t enough. When her weight climbed to 267 pounds, doctors raised another option: bariatric surgery<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI did metformin before metformin was fashionable,\u201d she quipped. \u201cEverything I did was successful. But nothing got me near my goal, and nothing was sustainable.\u201d NYU Langone Health<\/p>\n Long-term results<\/p>\n Bariatric procedures surged in the 1990s with the rise of minimally invasive techniques, but they have declined by as much as 25% amid the growth of GLP-1s. Yet surgery outcomes tend to be more durable than medication alone.<\/p>\n \u201cStudies show patients can regain 60% of their lost weight within a year of stopping GLP-1s,\u201d Tchokouani said. \u201cIn contrast, bariatric surgery, most commonly sleeve gastrectomy and gastric bypass, may see a 5% to 15% regain from their lowest weight over several years.\u201d<\/p>\n In March 2025, Pamela underwent a gastric sleeve procedure, in which surgeons removed a large portion of her stomach to limit intake and reduce hunger signals.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything has improved by a lot. My body now functions the way it\u2019s supposed to \u2014 that is a big plus.\u201d<\/p>\n Pamela Melgarejo<\/p>\n \u201cI was incredibly scared, but it was so much easier than I expected,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n A month later, she\u2019d lost 30 pounds. In September of that year, she reached her goal weight of 160 pounds and has maintained it since.<\/p>\n \u201cThe GLP-1 tricks your mind more than anything, but the surgery is something that changes how your body functions,\u201d she said. \u201cEven if I wanted something that is very high in carbs, or that is not so good for my health, I couldn\u2019t eat enough that would harm me.\u201d<\/p>\n Tchokouani called bariatric surgery the \u201cmost effective and durable tool\u201d against obesity, a chronic disease that affects more than 2 in 5 US adults. <\/p>\n She\u2019s since lost 100 pounds \u2014 and kept it off. Tamara Beckwith\/NY Post<\/p>\n \u201cThe hormonal effect produced by bariatric surgery is magnitudes higher than what GLP-1s can produce and thus helps patients lose weight more effectively,\u201d he said. \u201cGLP-1s require consistent administration and escalating doses to maintain their effect.\u201d<\/p>\n More than a year later, Pamela says the operation has reshaped her life.<\/p>\n Today, she can run and play softball, breathe more easily and wake up without pain. She\u2019s reversed several weight-related conditions, including high blood pressure and an irregular heartbeat. Her fatty liver disease \u201cdisappeared completely.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEverything has improved by a lot,\u201d she said. \u201cMy body now functions the way it\u2019s supposed to \u2014 that is a big plus.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNow, my life expectancy is as long as I want to make it.\u201d<\/p>\n Her surgeon, Dr. Loic Tchokouani, said her case reflects a broader shift as patients who stop GLP-1s and regain weight increasingly turn to surgery. NYU Langone Health<\/p>\n One of the greatest feelings in the world that she discovered? \u201cWaking up and not feeling anything.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYour stomach is not supposed to hurt, you\u2019re supposed to feel good \u2014 like it did when I was 15,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s like going back in time.\u201d<\/p>\n She wants more people to know solutions aren\u2019t one-size-fits-all and that they have options to explore.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the NYU program is the best place to do that,\u201d she said. \u201cThey provided support in so many aspects that I felt comfortable risking a surgery, which I was most afraid of. I think that can ultimately help people.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr. Loic Tchokouani<\/a> is a bariatric and general surgeon at NYU Langone Health. Experts at NYU Langone\u2019s Weight Management Program<\/a> offer a full array of medical and surgical weight loss options at locations across New York City and Long Island, supporting patients throughout their weight loss journey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The scale may go down, but it doesn\u2019t always stay there. About 1 in 8 American adults now…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":895596,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[236667,49,48,13663,84,392,218149,2856,236668,953],"class_list":["post-895595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-better-health","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-glp-1","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-nyu-langone-medical-center","tag-surgery","tag-the-best-medicine","tag-weight-loss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/895595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=895595"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/895595\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/895596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=895595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=895595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=895595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}