A 47-year-old woman, Michelle Sword, reportedly collapsed and almost died after unknowingly injecting herself with “fake Ozempic”, a weight loss jab she bought on Facebook in the UK.
It was gathered that Michelle paid £150 for one pen through PayPal, which arrived two days later, but 20 minutes after injecting she fell unconscious.
She was said to have been saved by her 15-year-old daughter who had unexpectedly come home early and called a family-friend who dialled 999 and Michelle was rushed to hospital.
It was learnt that after her blood sugar levels dropped to a deadly 0.2, doctors revealed the pen hadn’t contained semaglutide and was actually fast-acting insulin – used to treat people with diabetes.
Michelle, who was in a diabetic coma, remained in hospital over night until her blood sugar levels stabilised and swore to “never touch jabs again.”
It was gathered that she first started taking weight loss jabs in 2020 after she put on two stone following the breakdown of her 20-year marriage.
She bought her first pen containing semaglutide – which mimics a hormone in the gut that suppresses appetite and helps with weight loss – from a legitimate online pharmacy and within three months lost two stone, going down to her regular weight of eight stone and dress size 8.
Coming off the jabs, the school receptionist maintained her weight loss by “exercising and eating healthier” until the summer 2023.
By that time, Michelle, soon slipped into “bad eating habits” – which she pinned down to menopause – often accompanying “every meal with a glass of wine” until her small 5ft 2ins frame put the weight back on.
In September 2023, a panicked Michelle – who then weighed 10 and a half stone and had gone back up to a size 10-12 – began to search for the same pen and came across a company selling them on Facebook which quickly came up on her feed.
The mum-of-two from Carterton, Oxfordshire while narrating her ordeal, said: “It’s absolutely disgusting there are people out there who prey on people’s insecurities.
“And it’s also not helpful that social media platforms endorse these fakes either – with pop up advertisements and links to websites. There should definitely be some regulation for that. If you are looking to buy weight loss jabs, please speak with professionals or visit your GP.
She further said, “The pens appeared to be identical to the previous ones – a blue pen with an ‘Ozempic’ sticker on it.
“After injecting myself, the dose on the pen did not stop after one click. It just kept clicking. I didn’t really know what the dose was, so I just decided to stop after a few clicks.
“When I looked at the inside of the vial, the liquid didn’t seem to have gone down that far, so I remember thinking I might have to take some more later.
“But after 20 minutes of taking the drug, I collapsed on the floor.
“I remember becoming really unwell and sweaty before everything went black,”
“Luckily, my daughter returned home before heading to her dad’s for dinner and spotted me on the floor.
“She wasn’t even meant to come back – it was a complete one off chance. She called my friend, Vicky, who dialled 999.
“Paramedics came within 12 minutes and battled for over an hour and a half to save my life, eventually reviving me in hospital.
“My blood sugar level was 0.2 millimoles per litre – when it should have been between four and seven – and I was virtually on the brink of death.”
“Doctors tested the pen which revealed it was full of insulin.
“I was essentially in a diabetic coma and could have died,” she said.
Michelle who has “not touched a single jab since,” weighs roughly 10st and slips into a size 10 wants to prevent others from making the same mistake.
“Regulated weight loss medication always requires a prescription and if there are no eligibility checks, it’s probably a scam. I want to make sure that no one makes the same mistake I did. Being skinny isn’t worth dying for”, she said.
