From Gastric Sleeve Surgery to Wegovy: ‘I Never Want to Stop Taking It’
Key takeaways:
Allison Buchholz has lost weight with the help of weekly Wegovy injections.
But she has also faced social stigma and reluctance to talk about taking a weight-loss medication.
Still, she shares about her experience on social media because, she says, it keeps her accountable and she’s proud of her success.
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Allison Buchholz weighs less today than she did after having weight-loss surgery in 2018.
She credits weekly Wegovy injections for helping her lose 45 lbs. She now weighs 185, which is 10 lbs less than she weighed after her gastric sleeve surgery 6 years ago.
One downside, though, is that she’s been reluctant to talk about her experience with the weight-loss medication.
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The social stigma around taking Wegovy
Allison says her decision to have gastric sleeve surgery — which she spoke openly about, documenting her weight loss on social media — was easy. But her decision to take Wegovy (semaglutide), an injectable medication for weight loss, has been more difficult.
“It’s a judgey subject,” says Allison, a 38-year-old school secretary and photographer in Dunellen, New Jersey. “But my doctor is treating obesity like you would treat a heart condition or any other disease.”
Allison says she feels the social stigma associated with taking a medication originally developed to treat people with Type 2 diabetes. That original brand-name medication, Ozempic, made headlines recently when people couldn’t get it because of increased demand. And even though Wegovy is approved for weight loss, the expense and spotty insurance coverage for the medication can make it out of reach for some people.
“People are, like, ‘You’re taking medication from people who need it,’” Allison says. “Well, I need it, too. They say, ‘You’re taking the easy way out. Just exercise. Eat less.’ I can’t. [Obesity] is a disease. [Wegovy is] a tool to help me maintain the weight loss I worked so hard for.”
Seeing a photo of herself was the turning point
Allison’s weight loss journey began in 2018, when she saw a family photo from her son’s first birthday party. She almost didn’t recognize herself. After having her two children, her weight had climbed to 324 lbs.
“I realized I needed to do something,” she says. “I couldn’t fix it myself.”
Allison consulted a bariatric surgery center in New Jersey and decided to have gastric sleeve surgery, during which a portion of her stomach was removed. Choosing to have the surgery was easy, she says.
“I was miserable. I was so unhappy. My whole body hurt,” she says. “My ankles hurt. My knees hurt. I couldn’t get out of bed. I was out of breath walking to my second floor, picking my baby out of his crib. That is not a way to live. I’d tried everything. I tried Weight Watchers. I tried diet pills. I tried low-carb [diets]. I tried everything. But I couldn’t lose weight and I needed help.”
With the help of the surgery, Allison, who is 5-foot-7, lost 130 lbs in 18 months, feeling comfortable when she reached 195 lbs. And she has documented her progress on social media ever since.
“I started that Instagram page to keep myself accountable and to help people. I’ve helped 25 friends have surgery,” says Allison, who even did a promotional video for her bariatric surgery center about her success story.
With the pandemic, she began snacking again
Then, the pandemic began and Allison, like many people, turned to food for comfort. Classes were canceled at the high school where she still works as a secretary in the athletic department. At home, she began baking and snacking. And, eventually, she regained 25 lbs.
“Going back over 200 affected my mental health,” she says. “I’d worked way too hard to go back.”
Ineligible for another surgery, her doctor suggested she try Wegovy — an increasingly common solution for people who have previously had weight-loss surgery. Initially, Allison says, she balked at the idea of giving herself a weekly injection.
“I was terrified because I am a giant wimp. And I say that after 80% of my stomach was removed. I’m still a giant wimp,” she says, laughing.
Allison’s husband gave her the first injection, but she took over the weekly practice after that. Like most people, she started with a lower dosage, which was gradually increased over time. For 5 months, she saw little change in her weight.
“But I trusted [my doctor],” Allison says. “And she kept saying, ‘Trust the process. It’s going to come off. Just wait. We’re creeping up slowly so that you don’t feel sick.’”
Allison felt a difference when she began taking 1.7 mg of Wegovy. She now takes 2.4 mg.
“I told my doctor that I never want to stop taking it, because it helps me stay where I want to stay,” she says.
She uses social media to keep herself accountable
Allison continues to post updates to her Instagram page about her progress. When she recently shared that she’d fit into a size 8 pair of jeans — when, before surgery, she wore a size 22/24 — her followers celebrated the milestone with her.
“The people who have been following my story are cheering me on,” she says. “It’s fun to be a part of a community of people who understand. It’s helped me so much.”
Wegovy, Allison says, “was like a [gastric sleeve] reset.” Her stomach feels as it did after the surgery, meaning she gets full more quickly and even a single extra bite can make her feel sick. Because of that, she has once again had to modify how she eats. She doesn’t drink and eat at the same time for fear of filling up on empty calories, for example. And she keeps her diet protein-focused.
Wegovy is “a tool,” Allison says. “You have to do the work. You can’t eat whatever you want. If you do, the weight creeps back.”
Allison sees her weight-loss surgery as the jump start she needed, and Wegovy as the support she needs to maintain her healthy size. She says the medication has been a gift to her entire family.
“Now, we’re a healthy family. We go on long bike rides, and I’m running up to them in the park. That’s invaluable,” she says. “It’s so important to be a good role model. I feel better. I feel confident. My only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner.”
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