A mum almost died after using ‘fake’ weight loss jabs she purchased for £20 on Facebook. Jodie Jones, from Eryrys in Wales, had to be rushed to hospital after one of her children called an ambulance.
The 37-year-old was left delirious, unconscious and vomiting blood after taking the jabs. The mum of three says doctors have no idea what was actually in them, although she is hoping tests will reveal more.
Jodi had put on weight after taking pregabalin, which is a medication used to treat nerve pain. She struggles to exercise due to degenerative discs in her spinal cord and was a size 14 but wanted to be a size 10.
But after seeing other people losing weight through injections, Jodi decided to act. She reached out to a beautician, recommended to her by a friend, over Facebook, and ordered four injections to be taken over the course of a month, paying £20 for each injection.
She picked them up from a beauty salon in Liverpool and was initially impressed with the results. Speaking on Good Morning Britain, she said: “I’d gained a fair bit of weight due to being on pregabalin, which is a nerve pain drug and unfortunately one of the biggest side-effects is the weight gain. So I’ve gained this weight, which causes more pain for me, so I really wanted to do something. I physically can’t go to the gym, I tried swimming, I tried gentle walking – the more I do, the more I’m in pain.
“I’d heard about this weight loss jab through a friend, and got in contact with the lady about it and went from there. I thought ‘why not give it a go? It sounds really good and everyone is losing weight on it’. I have no idea what was in them. The doctors don’t know either. I’m hoping to get them tested.
“After the first injection, I actually lost half a stone that week. I just felt full all the time, my stomach felt very full, I couldn’t eat and I’d have a few bites of food and then be done. I was struggling to keep up with my fluids because I felt so full, I was just overdone.
“It was the second injection a week later that made me very poorly – only about 5-6 hours after taking it. I was vomiting all night and couldn’t keep anything down, not even a sip of water.
“It continued throughout the day. My children had to look after my older two. I started vomiting blood, I was in and out of consciousness, I was delirious and not making much sense. My daughter had to call the ambulance in the early hours of the morning and they took me straight to the hospital where I was given fluids, anti-sickness drugs, fluids – I was just a mess.”
Jodi was treated at Wrexham Maelor Hospital and discharged the following day. She has vowed never to touch the jabs again and believes she had a ‘fake’ one. She is also urging people to think carefully before touching the jabs and go through the NHS first.
“Go to a GP and do it properly through a dietician. If it’s something you’re really interested in, do not do it through a beautician,” she said. “After my experience, I couldn’t even risk it. Why pay for it when you can go through the NHS if you need it that badly? There are some women out there using it who don’t even look like they need it. Don’t. It’s just really not worth it.”