Before You Spend Another $1,200 a Month on Ozempic… Read This.
Written by a top-1% bariatric surgeon whose practice prescribes GLP-1 medications every week — and who will tell you exactly when they work, when they don’t, and what happens the month you stop.
Virtual consultations available · Insurance verified before your first visit
“I Prescribe Ozempic. That’s Exactly Why You Should Hear Me Out.”
Dear friend,
Every ad in your feed right now is selling you the same needle. What none of them mention is the question that decides everything: what happens when you stop?
Here’s the honest answer, from a practice that offers GLP-1s and surgery: the medication quiets your appetite while you take it. Stop — because of cost, side effects, or supply — and your body’s set point is still exactly where you left it. For most people, the weight comes back. That’s not a flaw in you. It’s how the drug works.
So I have no problem prescribing Ozempic to the right patient. I have a big problem with people renting weight loss at $1,000+ a month while believing they bought it.
My promise: come in for one honest conversation, and I’ll tell you which tool fits your body, your BMI, and your budget — medication, surgery, or neither. Some patients leave with a prescription and my blessing. Nobody leaves with a sales pitch.
— Dr. Sofiane El Djouzi
Dual board-certified, fellowship-trained bariatric surgeon
Ozempic: What It Does — and What It Can’t
Where it shines
- Quiets hunger and “food noise” for most patients
- Typical loss of 10–15% of body weight while on it
- One injection a week — no surgery, no downtime
Where it stings
- Nausea and GI side effects push many patients to quit
- Around $1,000–$1,200/month without coverage — indefinitely
- Stop the shots, and the weight typically returns
What surgery changes
- Resets the set point the medication only suppresses
- One procedure — most insurance covers it
- Patients like Sylvia: 100+ lbs down, prediabetes reversed, no monthly bill
“Ozempic Helped Me Lose Weight… Until It Didn’t.”
“The nausea became so bad I had to stop,” one patient told us — a sentence we hear in some form every single week. Others stop when the coupon expires, the insurance changes, or the pharmacy runs dry.
Then the appetite comes back — and the scale follows. If that’s where you are right now, you haven’t failed. You’ve just finished the experiment the ads didn’t want to run: renting a result isn’t the same as owning one.
You Might Qualify for the Permanent Fix — and Not Know It
Most people taking (or pricing) Ozempic have never checked whether they qualify for surgery — the option insurance usually covers. The criteria are simpler than you think:
- BMI of 35 or higher — at 5’6”, that’s about 217 lbs
- Healthy enough for general anesthesia — we evaluate this for you
- No active, untreated addictions
Below 35? That’s exactly what our supervised medical weight-loss program — medication included, dietitian included — is for.
Your BMI Decides Your Options. Check It in 30 Seconds.
35 or higher usually means surgery is on the table — and likely covered. Below that, our medical program may be your lane. Either way, you’ll know in half a minute.
Meet Dr. El Djouzi
Dual board-certified, fellowship-trained, top 1% of bariatric surgeons nationwide — 2,400+ procedures, 99% robotic. His practice runs a physician-supervised medical weight-loss program too, with prescription medication and a registered dietitian.
That combination matters: a doctor who earns nothing by steering you toward either option has no reason to spin you. You get the recommendation your body actually calls for.
- Both tools in one practice — GLP-1 program and surgery
- Insurance verified before your first visit — BCBS, Aetna, UHC, Cigna, Tricare, Medicare
- Straight talk — including “stay on the medication, it’s working”
Ozempic & Surgery: Your Questions, Answered Straight
Should I just stay on Ozempic?
If it’s working, you tolerate it, and the cost is sustainable — maybe yes! We prescribe GLP-1s ourselves. The consultation is about making that call with real data on your body, not a guess.
Is surgery riskier than staying on medication for years?
Modern bariatric surgery — 99% robotic in our practice — is far safer than most people assume, and the long-term health risks of staying at a high weight are well documented. We’ll walk through your personal risk picture honestly.
Will insurance cover surgery when it won’t cover Ozempic?
Very often, yes. Many plans that balk at long-term GLP-1 coverage do cover bariatric surgery. We work with BCBS, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Cigna, Tricare, and Medicare, and verify your benefits before your first visit.
I already lost weight on Ozempic. Can surgery help me keep it off?
This is one of the smartest questions we get. For qualifying patients, surgery can lock in what the medication started — instead of watching it reverse when the prescriptions end.
What if I’m scared of surgery?
Everyone is, at first. Most patients are walking the same day, and recovery typically runs two to six weeks. Fear of the unknown shrinks fast when you see the actual process laid out in your consultation.
What does the consultation cost me?
45–60 minutes of your time, virtually if you like. You’ll leave knowing your BMI category, your insurance coverage, and which option — medication, surgery, or neither — actually fits you.
Stop Guessing. Start Knowing.
One 45–60 minute consultation with Dr. El Djouzi — virtual or in person — and you’ll finally have the answer the ads keep dodging: what actually works for your body.
Book My Virtual Consultation NowOr call us: 773-365-1300
P.S. — A year on Ozempic without insurance runs $12,000–$14,000 — and the results last only as long as the payments do. One consultation tells you whether your insurance would cover the option that lasts. That’s a very expensive question to leave unasked.