Picked on in high school because of her size, Shaelyn Weaver would often eat lunch in the teacher’s classroom or even skip meals altogether until she got home.
The now 19-year-old dental student tried to lose weight on her own by only eating dinner or trying to distract herself to “forget” to eat.
“All of that didn’t help,” says Weaver, who weighed nearly 300 pounds. the most difficult for her. “It just made it worse.”
In 2020, Weaver’s mother turned to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Pediatric Clinic in St. Louis for help. Petersburg, Florida. Weaver was diagnosed with pre-diabetes and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a hormonal condition that makes it difficult to lose weight. She started taking metformin, a drug that lowers blood sugar – but progress was slow.
Shaelyn Weaver 2021.
Courtesy of Shaelyn Weaver
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In December 2022, she was prescribed Ozempic. Her mom was hesitant, but Weaver told her, “This is something I want to do.” She also changed her lifestyle, adding a weight lifting routine, practicing portion control and increasing the number of daily walks with her grandmother.
In eight months, Weaver lost nearly 150 pounds. She recalls the pride she felt looking in her closet and seeing so many shirts that were a size small. She enjoyed walking through Target and “not feeling like someone was watching you.” But most importantly, she qualified for the breast reduction surgery she desperately wanted.
“There is no word that could be bigger than ‘terrible,'” she says of how she felt. “I finally saw myself as the girl I wanted to be.”
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Shaelyn Weaver 2023.
Allyn DiVito/Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital St Petersburg, Florida
However, the journey was not necessarily easy. Weaver describes how her weight loss sometimes stagnated, or she would “retreat” and gain weight. But she accepted it calmly. “There will always be ups and downs,” she says.
The biggest hurdle came in August 2024 when her insurance stopped covering Ozempic because she was no longer pre-diabetic. The price jumped from $27 to more than $800 a month. Weaver had to stop taking his medication.
She has since gained more than 50 pounds back. and her desire for food returned. But she won’t give up. She continues to exercise and “instead of stuffing my face with junk food, I stuff it with fruit,” she says.
“I try to do my best to fight back. It’s like a fist fight.”
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Source: HIS Education