Medical bariatric intervention may be a better alternative to Ozempic

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are very trendy right now and often touted as the right move for weight loss — especially on social media. But that may not be the solution for everyone.

Medical professionals say that although GLP-1s can be useful under the right circumstances, or combination of medical weight loss intervention, that’s not always the case.

“I didn’t get out of my chair. I walked from the chair to the bathroom, maybe to the kitchen and then back,” said Scott Diem a bariatric patient, “just it was miserable.” Diem had a sleeve gatrectomy and had to use Ozempic before surgery because he weighed 419 pounds and needed to get below the 400 mark.

Diem struggled with his weight for five years before having surgery. He was an Over-the-Road truck driver and suffered from sleep apnea and arthritis pain in his hips. “I went into a big depression and the right hip was really bad,” he said, “doctor wouldn’t operate because I was too heavy — so I gained more weight.

But his story has a happy ending. Today, Diem weighs 230 pounds and he can do things he couldn’t before surgery. “I’ve reinvented myself again,” he said, “I can tie my shoes, I can walk up steps, I can stand for an hour, I can run 10km a day, and still go on and do everything else that I ever wanted.”

Diem’s doctor, Dilendra Weerasinghe is the medical director of bariatrics at RRH, he says you have to be careful about introducing a drug like Ozempic as it may make other solutions less effective. “For example if you put someone on a GLP-1 there’s anecdotal evidence that the subsequent weight loss response may be less,” he said, “that may be attributed to the fact that your body is now getting used to the hormonal effects, which bariatric surgery brings about as well.”

Weerasinghe adds that he measures success by a patient’s ability to transform their lifestyle — and Diem says he has done just that.

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