A mother almost died after buying a cheap “skinny jab” online in a desperate attempt to lose weight after an ex called her fat.
Victoria Boyd was rushed to hospital severely dehydrated days after injecting herself with a shot she bought on social media.
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The 38-year-old claims she was in an abusive relationship for a decade before she started dating her current husband, Pete Boyd, five years ago.
The mother-of-four says her ex-partner, who has since passed away, made her “hate herself” – leading to issues with her self-esteem and body image.
So when the mum, who lives in Walker, Newcastle, booked a family holiday to Turkey, she decided to look for a quick fix to shed a few pounds.
Victoria came across a tattoo parlor’s Facebook page that she said advertised injectables that they proclaimed helped suppress people’s appetites and thus lead to weight loss.
Despite Pete always saying she looks “perfect”, Victoria admits she “went behind her back” and paid £75 for a batch of ten injections to be administered once a week – injecting her first pre-mixed injection into her stomach in 10 Of april. .
The family of drugs, known as GLP-1 ARs, originally developed to treat diabetes, are now often used for weight loss.
My husband always says I’m perfect, but I went behind his back and bought
Victoria Boyd
However, just hours after Victoria had the vaccine, she started vomiting – and continued to vomit continuously for 48 hours before calling 999.
The stay-at-home mum was rushed to hospital where doctors told her her “kidneys were failing” – and she was lucky to be alive.
Victoria said: “I saw on Facebook, a tattoo studio page, saying they had ‘skinny jabs’ for sale and I saw all the results.
“I thought maybe it could be me. I just thought I wanted to be thin. I had holidays coming up and I wanted to lose some weight.
“I was in an abusive relationship before I met my husband, where I used to be called fat and ugly.
“My husband always says I’m perfect, but I went behind his back and bought it. I’m very funny with my body.
“My ex-partner embarrassed me so much that I started to hate myself. I wanted to lose weight for the holidays and for myself.
“Every time I looked in the mirror, I felt fat, ugly and disgusting.
“I look at myself now and cry. It’s hard when someone tells you for 10 years that you’re fat, you can’t get it out of your head.”
After giving the skinny jab, Victoria vomited for two days and called an ambulance after her heart rate spiked to 225 bpm.
Victoria said: “At first I was fine, but then I started to feel sleepy. I woke up at 2am the next day and started feeling sick.
“I had to tell my husband what I had done. He was so shocked. He said, ‘Why Vicky? You’re perfect’. But I didn’t feel perfect.
“I called the hospital because I couldn’t take it anymore. They took me away immediately.
They told me I was about to die… I felt so guilty for doing this to myself
Victoria Boyd
“My heart rate was 225 bpm. I was thinking, what did I do? I knew it had to do with these blows.”
Victoria was admitted to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle for three days, where doctors informed her she was “on the verge of death”.
NOTICE TO OTHERS
The experience prompted Victoria to warn anyone else considering using the weight loss products after almost losing her life.
Victoria said: “I was severely dehydrated. My kidneys were damaged, they said the toxins in my blood were high. They were really worried about my heart rate.
“I really felt like I was dying. I couldn’t walk, I was so weak. It was so scary.
“The doctor told me I was very lucky.
“They told me I was about to die. I felt so guilty for doing this to myself. I didn’t start eating properly until two weeks later. I could only eat baby portions.
“I would tell anyone thinking about buying one of these not to do it.
“I feel so embarrassed. I was thinking in my head that this would improve my appearance and I could be normal.
“It’s not worth risking your life. You could be unlucky and lose your life. My children could have lost their mother because of that stupid needle. I feel lucky to be alive.”
A Facebook spokesperson said the company does not allow the sale of pharmaceutical drugs on its platforms and removes violating accounts when it becomes aware of them.
They claim to remove weight loss content that contains a miracle claim and attempt to buy, sell, trade, donate or gift weight loss products.
Content related to weight loss products is restricted to those under 18 years of age.
They claimed to be constantly working to improve detection and urged people to report anything they feel violates their policies so they can review it and take action.
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JABS DODGY
Victoria did not reveal the names of the vaccines it used, but there are numerous unregulated companies selling injections with potentially dangerous or deadly consequences.
A review in 2017 said side effects from the injections tend to be gastrointestinal.
This may include nausea, diarrhea, stomach pain and constipation.
Other side effects can be more serious and lead to long-term complications.
The GLP-1 medicines include semaglutide – the active ingredient in the Ozempic and Wegovy vaccines – which the NHS says can help with weight loss.
The first, however, is only administered to patients with type 2 diabetes.
Saxenda (liraglutide) weight loss injections are also available on the NHS.
You can only take liraglutide or semaglutide if they are prescribed by a specialist weight management service, says the NHS.
However, medicines are being purchased online from unregulated sources.
Last year the government warned that fake fat vaccines were being imported into the UK.
Everything You Need to Know About Fat Scams
What you should know about Ozempic, Wegovy, Saxenda and Mounjaro
Weight loss vaccines are a hot topic in the media right now, with hundreds of success stories sharing how they helped them lose weight.
In March 2023, the NHS announced that it would make Wegovy, a medicine made by Danish company Novo Nordisk, available on prescription to thousands of obese Britons.
It contains the drug semaglutide, which has reportedly helped reality TV star Kim Kardashian and Twitter boss Elon Musk lose weight.
Wegovy, which helped a third of people reduce weight by 20% in trials, is now available in pharmacies such as Boots.
How do they work?
The injections work by suppressing your appetite, causing you to eat fewer calories and therefore lose weight.
To do this, an ingredient found in the anti-fat medicine known as Semaglutide mimics the role of a natural hormone called GLP-1.
GLP-1 is part of the signaling pathway that tells your body that you have eaten and prepares it to use energy from food.
London GP and founder of wellgoodwellbeing. withZoe Watson, said: “Your body naturally produces an appetite-regulating hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1.
“These injections work by regulating your appetite, which can lead to eating fewer calories and weight loss.”
Aren’t they diabetes medications?
Semaglutide, the active medication in Wegovy, was originally sold under the name Ozempic specifically for patients with diabetes.
But they began to notice that it helped suppress their appetite, stopping them from eating as much and helping them lose weight.
So Novo Nordisk developed Wegovy, which contains the same chemical but in higher doses, specifically to help with weight loss.
Wegovy is not prescribed for patients with diabetes.
Can I get them?
Wegovy is offered by prescription to obese adults receiving specialized weight loss treatment.
The NHS also currently offers a similar medicine called Saxenda, or liraglutide.
Both are only available in Level 3 and Level 4 weight management services, which means you should be referred to specialist-led weight management clinics.
General practitioners also cannot prescribe them themselves, Dr. Watson said.
Vaccinations should be taken as part of an overall program to help with lifestyle changes and psychological support to get the best effect from the prescribed medication.
But despite being approved for use, the supply of Wegovy on the NHS has been delayed indefinitely due to a surge in global demand.
Supply also fell by half in the US due to soaring demand.
Are there risks?
Like all medicines, vaccines have no side effects.
About half of people taking the medicine experience intestinal problems, including nausea, bloating, acid reflux, constipation and diarrhea.
Sarah Jarvis, GP and clinical consultant at patient.info, said: “One of the more unusual side effects is severe acute pancreatitis, which is extremely painful and happens to one in 500 people.”
Other uncommon side effects include altered taste, kidney problems, allergic reactions, thyroid tumors, gallbladder problems, and hypoglycemia.
What other options are there?
Mounjaro (trade name for tirzepatide) also hit the market in early 2024.
Like Wegovy, tirzepatide is derived from a medication originally developed to treat diabetes.
The weekly injection helped overweight people lose more than two kilos in 18 months.
It is available on order with an online prescription from pharmacies including Superdrug and LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor.
It works similarly to Wegovy and Saxenda, but is more effective.
Dr. Mitra Dutt of Lloyds Pharmacy says: “Based on clinical trials, 96 percent of people were able to lose more than five percent of their body fat using Mounjaro. In similar trials, 84 percent of people lost more than five percent of their body weight on Wegovy and 60 percent on Saxenda.
“Mounjaro works by activating two hormone receptors (GIP and GLP-1), which increase insulin production, improve insulin sensitivity and act to decrease food intake.”
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
