'Fake weight loss drug nearly killed me'

A mother of two who nearly died after taking a fraudulent weight loss injection is urging others to be careful about what they buy online.

Michelle Sword, 46, from Carterton, Oxfordshire, ordered the slimming drug from an online beauty company last year.

She believed she had bought an Ozempic injection but, instead, it was fast-acting insulin, which sent her into a diabetic coma.

"I can't believe that I allowed my insecurities to almost kill me," Ms Sword said.

She first bought an Ozempic injection in 2020 from a legitimate online pharmacy, which helped her lose nearly 26lb (12kg) in six months.

"I was eating a lot less, the weight was dropping off me and I felt great at that point," she said.

But by autumn 2023 her weight crept up again so she decided to buy another jab.

"It was a lot harder to get hold of Ozempic, so I didn't go down the conventional way of doing it," she said.

"The beauty companies and the online aesthetic companies all seemed to have it."

She managed to get hold of one of them and they said they could deliver it immediately.

Ms Sword said that unlike the previous provider, no medical checks had been made.

"Because I had done it, I thought it was going to be OK," she said.

Soon after the injection, she collapsed and suffered seizures.

Her blood sugar had reduced to about 0.2 millimoles per litre, with normal levels being between four and seven, sending her into a diabetic coma.

"I was rushed into hospital and a team raced in, got round me and tried everything they could at that point to counteract what was in my body," she said.

Weight loss drugs have become popular due to social media and celebrities using them to shed excess pounds quickly.

Although prescribed on the NHS for those who are obese or have Type 2 diabetes, they can be bought privately, with not all providers legitimate.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said in total 869 counterfeit pens had been seized in the UK.

• Global alert issued over fake Ozempic drugs - WHO
• What happens when you stop taking weight-loss drugs?

They all contained insulin but were relabelled as the weight loss drug.

The legitimate drug contains a substance called semaglutide, which mimics a hormone in the gut that suppresses appetite and helps with weight loss.

The BBC has tried to get in contact with the company that sold the counterfeit drug to Ms Sword but it appeared to have ceased trading.

Novo Nordisk is the only company in the UK with MHRA-approved products containing semaglutide.

A spokesperson said the company was "in close dialogue with the MHRA to support patients against falsified products".

Obesity specialist Prof Barbara Mcgowan said the case was "unfortunately not isolated".

"A lot of people are quite desperate to get these medications because they are quite difficult to access from the NHS," she said.

"So they go to other providers and some of these providers unfortunately do not provide medication that has gone through the right channels.

"They have not gone through strict quality controls and could contain insulin, which is, of course, very dangerous."

Ms Sword said she regretted taking the slimming drug "every single day".

"I'd like to remind people to place the same value on themselves," she said.

"If you are going to do this, do it properly."

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