A HEALTHCARE worker has told how she almost died after fat loss jabs she ordered from Facebook were feared to have been laced with cocaine.
Paige Roberts, 24, resorted to social media to get weight-loss drugs after being rejected by pharmacy Boots.
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After paying £80 for four jabs, Paige found herself vomiting and shaking last week, with a complete loss of appetite.
She said: “I went to Manchester for a friend’s birthday and was so dizzy and couldn’t hold back any alcohol, I just drank water all day.
“I was constantly throwing up the water I was drinking.
“I was getting the train home when I started feeling much worse.”
Paige, who lives in Llandudno, north Wales, said she was dehydrated, her heart was racing and she couldn’t stop throwing up.
“I felt like I couldn’t breathe – I felt hungry but I couldn’t eat.”
Her symptoms became more extreme that night but a 111 operator told her on the phone there was a long wait in A&E, so she tried to “ride it out.”
In the morning she was rushed to hospital by her mum and was warned by the doctors that her jabs may have contained Class-A drugs.
Paige was told her pupils were dilated, she was glazed over, and she had a a high heart rate – symptoms often related with the amphetamine speed.
However she fears the jabs contained other drugs: “I believe there was something in there and it could’ve been cocaine.
“I could’ve easily lost my life, I felt like I was going to die.”
The healthcare worker sought out the weight-loss drugs after being told by the GP she had to lose weight before being referred to a gynecologist.
She wanted the referral so she could tackle the “big bloat” around her stomach which was caused by the hormonal disorder polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
“I’m not a big girl but she said to me I would need to lose weight to be seen by a gynecologist, I was about a size 14/16 so not the skinniest nor that big.
“I did lots of exercise and dieting to try and lose this bloating but it wouldn’t go.
“Nothing was working, it looks like I’m pregnant.”
After unsuccessful diet and exercise regimes, Paige found skinny jabs online that promised to reduce excess belly fat.
Initially she tried to pick some up at Boots but didn’t fit the criteria of being “obese.”
For popular weight loss drugs like Saxenda you will need a prescription because it’s for adults who face excess weight, medical problems, or obesity.
Once she was turned away, Paige turned to social media to find her own jabs.
She claimed it was “very easy” to find an online seller because there were “loads everywhere” and shelled out only £20 per injectable.
“I didn’t have to tell them my weight or any details – it was so easy.
“They posted a lot of before and afters which looked really good.”
Within hours of injecting the first jab into her stomach on November 7, she felt dizzy and nauseous.
After three days of vomitting she was rushed to hospital.
The doctors reportedly told her that many counterfeits were “just speed” but Paige was fuming that she didn’t know what she was sold.
Once she attempted to complain and receive a refund, she found was blocked online and could no longer contact the fake-jab Facebook seller.
She said: “It’s upsetting, it’s made me really angry that I was sold this.”
“I will never use these jabs again, I would tell other people considering these jabs to really do your research and speak to doctors first.”
This isn’t the first time dangerous “miracle” jabs have been promoted on social media, with the counterfeit medicines landing countless people in hospital.
Weight-loss jabs are in high demand due their difficulty to access and steep prices, so they are regularly sold on the black market.
Without any regulation ensuring the medication is at a safe standard, these jabs can have life-risking consequences.
No weight-loss jab is completely risk-free, but by choosing what to buy with the decision with a qualified practitioner, you are far more likely to avoid harm.
The Sun has reached out to Facebook for a comment.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WEIGHT LOSS JABS
What are they?
Weight loss jabs are a hot media topic at the moment, with hundreds of success stories sharing how they helped them shed the pounds.
In March, the NHS announced it would make Wegovy, a drug made by Danish firm Novo Nordisk, available on prescription to thousands of obese Brits.
It contains the drug semaglutide, which is said to have helped reality star Kim Kardashian and Twitter boss Elon Musk lose weight.
Wegovy, which helped a third of people reduce their weight by 20 per cent in trials, will also be available from pharmacies like Boots.
Meanwhile, pharma company Eli Lilly last month announced results for its own weight loss drug tirzepatide.
The weekly injection helped overweight people drop more than two stone in 18 months.
How do they work?
The jabs work by suppressing your appetite, making you eat less calories and therefore lose weight.
To do this, an ingredient found in the fat-busting drug, known as Semaglutide, mimics the role of a natural hormone, called GLP-1.
GLP-1 is part of the signalling pathway that tells your body you have eaten, and prepares it to use the energy that comes from your food.
London GP and founder of wellgoodwellbeing.com, Dr Zoe Watson, said: “Your body naturally produces an appetite regulating hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1.
“These jabs work by regulating your appetite, which can lead to eating fewer calories and losing weight.”
Aren’t they diabetes drugs?
Both Wegovy and tirzepatide stem from drugs originally designed to treat diabetes.
Semaglutide, the active drug in Wegovy, was originally sold under the name Ozempic specifically for diabetes patients.
But they started noticing it helped suppress their appetites, stopping them eating as much and helping them shed the pounds.
So Novo Nordisk developed Wegovy, which contains the same chemical but at higher doses specifically to aid weight loss.
Wegovy is not prescribed for diabetes patients.
Tirzepatide is sold under the name Mounjaro for diabetes.
Can I get them?
Wegovy is offered on prescription to obese adults given specialist weight loss treatment.
The NHS currently also offers a similar drug called Saxenda, or liraglutide.
Both are only available on Tier 3 and Tier 4 weight management services, which means you have to be referred to weight management clinics led by experts.
GPs can’t prescribe them on their own either, Dr Watson said.
The jabs have to be taken as part of an overall programme to help with lifestyle changes and psychological support to get the best effect from the medication prescribed.
But despite being approved for use, supply of Wegovy on the NHS has been postponed indefinitely because of a surge in worldwide demand.
Supply was also halved in the US because of the skyrocketing demand.
Eli Lilly said it will apply for a UK licence for tirzepatide soon, which could make it available to the NHS.
Are there any risks?
Like all medicines, the jabs do not come without side effects.
Around half of people taking the drug experience gut issues, including sickness, bloating, acid reflux, constipation and diarrhoea.
Dr Sarah Jarvis, GP and clinical consultant at patient.info, said: “One of the more uncommon 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 tumours, gallbladder problems and hypoglycemia.
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