A mom of two who almost died after taking a fraudulent weight reduction injection is urging others to watch out about what they purchase on-line.
Michelle Sword, 46, from Carterton, Oxfordshire, ordered the slimming drug from an internet magnificence firm final 12 months.
She believed she had purchased an Ozempic injection however, as a substitute, it was fast-acting insulin, which despatched her right into a diabetic coma.
“I can not consider that I allowed my insecurities to virtually kill me,” Ms Sword mentioned.
She first purchased an Ozempic injection in 2020 from a reliable on-line pharmacy, which helped her lose almost 26lb (12kg) in six months.
“I used to be consuming rather a lot much less, the burden was dropping off me and I felt nice at that time,” she mentioned.
However by autumn 2023 her weight crept up once more so she determined to purchase one other jab.
“It was rather a lot tougher to pay money for Ozempic, so I did not go down the standard approach of doing it,” she mentioned.
“The wonder corporations and the web aesthetic corporations all appeared to have it.”
She managed to pay money for one in every of them they usually mentioned they may ship it instantly.
Household handout Ms Sword mentioned that in contrast to the earlier supplier, no medical checks had been made.
“As a result of I had finished it, I believed it was going to be OK,” she mentioned.
Quickly after the injection, she collapsed and suffered seizures.
Her blood sugar had decreased to about 0.2 millimoles per litre, with regular ranges being between 4 and 7, sending her right into a diabetic coma.
“I used to be rushed into hospital and a group raced in, acquired spherical me and tried the whole lot they may at that time to counteract what was in my physique,” she mentioned.
Weight reduction medicine have turn into widespread because of social media and celebrities using them to shed extra kilos rapidly.
Though prescribed on the NHS for individuals who are overweight or have Type 2 diabetes, they are often purchased privately, with not all providers legitimate.
The Medicines and Healthcare merchandise Regulatory Company (MHRA) mentioned in complete 869 counterfeit pens had been seized within the UK.
All of them contained insulin however had been relabelled as the burden loss drug.
The reliable drug comprises a substance known as semaglutide, which mimics a hormone within the intestine that suppresses urge for food and helps with weight reduction.
The BBC has tried to get involved with the corporate that offered the counterfeit drug to Ms Sword nevertheless it appeared to have ceased buying and selling.
Michelle SwordNovo Nordisk is the one firm within the UK with MHRA-approved merchandise containing semaglutide.
A spokesperson mentioned the corporate was “in shut dialogue with the MHRA to help sufferers in opposition to falsified merchandise”.
Weight problems specialist Prof Barbara Mcgowan mentioned the case was “sadly not remoted”.
‘Do it correctly’
“Lots of people are fairly determined to get these medicines as a result of they’re fairly tough to entry from the NHS,” she mentioned.
“In order that they go to different suppliers and a few of these suppliers sadly don’t present medicine that has gone by way of the suitable channels.
“They haven’t gone by way of strict qc and will comprise insulin, which is, in fact, very harmful.”
Ms Sword mentioned she regretted taking the slimming drug “each single day”.
“I might prefer to remind individuals to position the identical worth on themselves,” she mentioned.
“If you will do that, do it correctly.”
