I took a weight-loss jab to get beach-body ready. After one dose I realised I'd made a terrible mistake...

On a Wednesday evening a mates of weeks ago, a friend and I stifled giggles arsenic we sat connected her bed.

The doorway was firmly shut, successful lawsuit our children tried to barge in. And what we were astir to do felt arsenic naughty and illicit arsenic that first cigaret down nan motorcycle sheds arsenic schoolgirls.

In beforehand of america was my friend's Wegovy injection 'pen' – which is, alongside Ozempic, 1 of nan self-administered weight-loss jabs that person taken nan world by storm. And she was offering to stock it pinch maine truthful I could spot for myself what it was like.

But I americium not overweight – acold from it. My assemblage wide scale (BMI) is 21.7, astatine nan little extremity of nan 'normal' range, while my friend is slim and elegant pinch a glossy Instagram provender successful which she looks fabulous (and thin).

So what, you mightiness rightly ask, were nan 2 of america doing pinch a prescription-only medicine utilized to tackle terrible obesity and type 2 diabetes? In hindsight, I wonderment nan aforesaid thing. In fact, I can't judge I was truthful stupid and bitterly regret my experiment.

But what we did is acold from unusual. We are among a increasing number of middle-aged mums who are experimenting pinch this powerful drug, not to combat superior wellness issues, but for vanity and curiosity.

Weight-loss jabs for illustration Wegovy person been a basking taxable of speech astatine my children's schoolhouse gates successful westbound London for months – who is utilizing it, what it's for illustration and, crucially, really to get it. Women get together erstwhile they want to suffer a fewer pounds, possibly a fewer weeks earlier a holiday, without nan faff of fare and exercise, by having a spell connected 'The Pen', arsenic it's known. They moreover person a sanction for it – Wegovy Wednesdays.

The constituent of doing it connected a Wednesday is to make judge immoderate broadside effects, specified arsenic nan well-documented post-jab nausea, person passed earlier nan weekend.

By past nan progressive ingredient, semaglutide, will person peaked successful your system, ensuring you'll beryllium little tempted to binge connected takeaways and alcohol. There's moreover a TikTok hashtag – #WegovyWednesday – celebrating nan trend, pinch millions of videos giving advice.

The logic I'm blowing nan lid connected this frankly shameful behaviour is arsenic a warning. I want different women to cognize nan horrific consequences I suffered, and not travel specified a ridiculous, vulnerable trend.

And I've discovered that doctors are progressively worried astir it, too.

Last month, Professor Stephen Powis, nationalist aesculapian head for NHS England, said he was alarmed astatine nan number of young group utilizing nan weight-loss narcotics arsenic a 'quick fix' to get 'beach-body ready'. 

And Dr Vicky Price, of nan Society For Acute Medicine, has warned that 'increasing numbers of patients' are showing up astatine hospitals pinch 'complications from caller weight-loss narcotics they person purchased online'. And I almost became 1 of them.

It mightiness sound shocking, but Wegovy and Ozempic person been successful nan headlines arsenic a magic slug for nan overweight and nan obese for immoderate clip now. Celebrities including Elon Musk, Rebel Wilson and Oprah Winfrey person confirmed they utilized nan supplier to slim down. As a journalist, I cognize loads much celebrated names that are secretly utilizing it. Many were acold from overweight to statesman with. And location is nary uncertainty it works.

Semaglutide floods nan assemblage pinch a type of a earthy 'appetite hormone', GLP-1, which sends signals to nan encephalon that nan tummy is full. NHS guidelines authorities that nan jabs should beryllium offered only to group who person a BMI of astatine slightest 30 (less for immoderate ethnicities which are prone to wellness problems astatine a little BMI) and 1 weight-related wellness condition, specified arsenic precocious humor unit aliases diabetes.

But it is still easy to get clasp of if you don't meet this criteria.

One friend revealed location were pharmacists who could beryllium sweet-talked into handing complete a prescription. Others had gone to backstage doctors, while immoderate had managed to get it from online pharmacies by lying astir their weight.

One patient had required a photograph arsenic grounds of obesity, truthful different friend manipulated 1 – adding her ain caput to nan assemblage of an overweight stranger. While this effort was rejected by nan online pharmacy, it didn't return agelong for her to find different institution which didn't require a photograph.

Speaking to experts, they are horrified that women for illustration america are experimenting pinch a medicine drug. As Professor David Strain, from University of Exeter who besides runs a organization glucosuria service, points out: 'There is nary grounds from tests of semaglutide connected healthy, normal weight individuals, truthful we simply don't cognize what nan risks mightiness be.

'We don't cognize what mightiness hap to your earthy accumulation of gut hormones specified arsenic GLP-1 if you return it erstwhile you don't request to.'

Prof Strain explains that group who are overweight don't nutrient capable of these gut hormones aft eating, which is why they eat more. For them, taking Wegovy addresses that deficiency and makes them consciousness fuller for longer.

I'll admit that, aft each of our gossiping astir Wegovy, I was funny to effort it.

After 3 children I've mislaid my level tummy and I'm 7lb heavier than I was earlier I had my 3rd babe past year.

I can't get into my favourite pre-baby jeans, which bothers me, and I'm a kid of nan 1990s, taught to judge nan Kate Moss mantra that 'nothing tastes arsenic bully arsenic skinny feels'.

I mightiness person started to attraction little astir this arsenic I attack my 40th day successful November, but it's difficult to shingle disconnected those agonising years of fretting astir nan scales. And there's a genuine emotion retired location among thirtysomething mums that you tin person a speedy spell connected The Pen alternatively than strengthen weeks of clang dieting earlier squeezing into a swimsuit. So I rationalised trying retired Wegovy, conscionable once, arsenic a nosy research pinch a friend.

'This is conscionable a cheeky small circuit breaker to thief maine get backmost into my pre-baby jeans,' I told myself. 'I'll conscionable do this 1 jab.'

When I was collecting my girl from a playdate astatine my friend's location that evening, she ushered maine wrong arsenic we giggled complete nan naughtiness of it all.

Sitting connected her bed, I pinched a mini rotation of soma successful my tummy and squeezed my eyes unopen arsenic she gave maine nan shot. I didn't really consciousness a thing. By nan clip I near 10 minutes later, I was a small dazed.

At location I ate a vessel of pasta and went to bed. But erstwhile I woke nan adjacent morning, I felt hungover.

The encephalon fog was savage. I made a achromatic java but felt repulsed by it. A sip of h2o felt arsenic abhorrent. When I brushed my teeth nan toothpaste was hideous successful my barren mouth. By nan clip I sewage to work, I felt depressed.

Before a gathering I took a wound of a macromolecule barroom for a speedy sweetener hit, but 20 infinitesimal later felt a surge of nausea. I only conscionable made it to nan toilet, wherever I was violently sick 3 times.

Feeling faint, I went for a speedy locomotion for immoderate caller air, but nan sunshine was truthful agleam it felt arsenic if I'd emerged from a acheronian cinema. Everything felt weird, and I person small uncertainty it was linked to my Wegovy jab.

By 3pm I went location from activity pinch migraine symptoms and a vicious request to beryllium unsocial successful a acheronian room. My hubby was away, truthful I engaged emergency babysitters to look aft nan children because I was truthful drained of energy.

The adjacent greeting was nan same. I tried immoderate grapes but was sick.

I was besides incredibly anxious. In 2020 I had suffered a nasty bout of post-natal depression, and nan acheronian unreality that was descending felt frighteningly familiar. It was for illustration nan joyousness had been sucked retired of everything and life felt flat.

It was becoming progressively clear that I had poisoned myself, and I called my friend who admitted that I'd had a ample dose.

'Well, I suppose it did return 3 months to build up to a 1mg dose,' she mused, casually.

I've since discovered that you're expected to commencement astatine 0.25mg and build up slow complete respective weeks to larger amounts.

I felt truthful awful, and successful my authorities of panic I wondered if I could I dice from this.

I survived, thankfully. But I person publication a number of stories of women who person experimented for illustration I did and been hospitalised (see sheet above).

Since nan jab I person been hardly capable to eat owed to waves of nausea. I person mislaid weight but I look arsenic unwell arsenic I feel. It's not good.

Prof Strain says this is 'to beryllium expected' successful different patient people, adding: 'The emotion of flatness is not astonishing because these narcotics suppress nan pleasance sensor that goes pinch food.

'They besides thief pinch different addictive behaviour, and we spot group who were dense drinkers aliases smokers aliases moreover gamblers find it easier to discontinue those habits, precisely because nan pleasance deed they get from it is dulled. If you don't person immoderate of those problems and your patient receptors are barraged by these drugs, nan chances are you'll suffer liking successful beautiful overmuch everything. Pleasure will vanish retired of your life.

'Around 20 per cent of group taking it for type 2 glucosuria study suffering nausea successful nan objective trials. But if you're utilizing it inappropriately, chances are nan rates would beryllium overmuch higher.'

I'm truthful transverse pinch myself that I succumbed to a benignant of adjacent unit erstwhile I really didn't request to. The irony is that, earlier this, I was nan healthiest I've ever been. I nary longer portion alcohol, fume aliases do thing other harmful to my body. It's taken years of difficult activity to get present and it feels stupid to person voluntarily poisoned myself.

The bleakest portion was realising location was nary short trim to make nan broadside effects spell distant – Wegovy stays successful your strategy for weeks.

I yet tried anti-nausea medicine to thief maine to extremity being sick, and person had to cancel each my workout classes. I've moreover had to extremity stepping my girl to school.

What worries maine now is that slender women are utilizing this supplier because they already person a warped position of what they should look like, aliases an eating disorder.

The truth it's truthful easy accessible is peculiarly concerning, particularly arsenic nan NHS is struggling to get capable supplies to meet nan request from those who genuinely request it for aesculapian reasons.

Professor Naveed Sattar, an obesity master astatine nan University of Glasgow, says: 'We person to tighten nan strategy truthful group who are not eligible to get these narcotics aren't capable to misuse them.

'The awesome extremity is to get capable of these narcotics into nan NHS to group who really request it. For them, they tin beryllium lifechanging.'

And Prof Strain points retired that without oversight from a master these narcotics could moreover origin superior harm successful immoderate people.

'Particularly those pinch a family history of uncommon endocrine aliases thyroid tumours,' he says. 'Who should not beryllium prescribed semaglutide arsenic studies suggested it fuelled nan tumour.'

'People astatine consequence of pancreatitis should besides not return it.'

I americium now trying to put nan weight backmost connected truthful I consciousness myself again. My appetite is creeping backmost but I find I only really fancy sweets, chips and breadstuff – whereas earlier I enjoyed eating nourishing food. Once nan jab afloat wears disconnected I scheme to reconstruct due nutrition to my life.

I do fresh into my pre-baby jeans again but – and this is simply a instruction to anyone – putting them connected didn't springiness maine nan joyousness and consciousness of accomplishment I expected.

I took them disconnected an hr later arsenic they were a depressing reminder of really stupid I had been.

And alternatively of spending £50 connected Wegovy and different £200 connected emergency babysitters while I was ill, I could person treated myself to a bully brace of caller jeans which really fresh me.

There person been much than 7,200 superior adverse reactions to weight-loss jabs reported successful nan UK since 2019, according to Government figures. 

Powerful jabs... but pinch risks

Weight-loss jabs person already been linked pinch 20 deaths crossed Britain, and galore group person been near severely unwell aft utilizing them.

In February, 27-year-old Shannon Flannery, from Kent, was hospitalised aft taking an injection of semaglutide – nan progressive constituent successful Ozempic and Wegovy.

The mother-of-two – who weighed 13 chromatic – bought 10 weeks' worthy of jabs connected Instagram for £120. Within a time of taking nan first injection, Shannon began vomiting and, aft nan second, noticed humor successful her urine.

She was admitted to infirmary wherever medics claimed that taking 1 much alleged 'skinny jab' could person been fatal.

Last month, mother-of-three Stacey Smith was near truthful sick she thought she was 'going to die' aft taking a weight-loss jab she bought connected Facebook.

The 38-year-old, who is simply a size 12 to 14, paid £20 for nan jab and claimed nan process took 'two minutes'. The adjacent time she began to projectile vomit, and her 13-year-old girl was forced to telephone an ambulance.

And, tragically, a 56-year-old mother from Australia was past twelvemonth feared to person died aft suffering a fatal broadside effect linked to semaglutide.

Trish Webster, who wanted to suffer weight successful clip for her daughter's wedding, was prescribed nan supplier by a doctor.

She mislaid 35lb (16kg) but suffered changeless nausea and vomiting. In January 2023 she collapsed astatine her location and died later that evening successful hospital. Doctors recorded her decease arsenic 'acute gastrointestinal illness' and noted that semaglutide had been linked to fatal intestine blockages.

'I didn't cognize that could hap to a person,' said her husband, Roy. 'It's conscionable not worthy it, it's not worthy it astatine all.'