A LOVED-UP mum's bid to shine in her wedding dress went wrong after using a pharmacy-bought 'fat jab'.
Stephanie Hill decided to purchase a weight-loss injectable from an online pharmacy in October 2024 ahead of her vow renewal with husband Mark Hill.
After using the first appetite-suppressant, the 40-year-old noticed a change in her hunger levels - shedding a whopping two stone by the time she was due to say 'I do' again in December.
But in January this year the mum-of-two was rushed to hospital after waking up in extreme pain down her right side.
Fearing she was having a heart attack, Stephanie underwent a number of tests, which found five stones present in her gallbladder.
Doctors told the stay-at-home mum that her inflamed gallbladder was a direct result of her weight-loss injection use and told her to bin the jabs immediately.
Read more on fat jabs
Appetite-suppressing injections can cause gallbladder problems because they can reduce the amount of a hormone called cholecystokinin, which is important for healthy gallbladder function.
Stephanie underwent emergency surgery to have her gallbladder removed in February due to the extent of damage apparently caused by the injection.
Now, the 40-year-old mum is urging others to steer clear of weight-loss jabs.
Stephanie, from Paisley, Renfrewshire, said: "I started taking the injectable in October thinking I wanted to look my best in my wedding dress.
"My main priority was to lose weight, I just didn't realise how quickly I would.
"Especially having young kids I wanted to catch up with them while out playing and not sit on the sidelines.
"I was 16st 8lbs so I was the heaviest I've ever been. I got chatting to a friend of mine who was using weight-loss injections and recommended it to me.
"It got to the point where I was struggling to get up the stairs to our top floor flat. I'd tried Slimming World, Weight Watchers and nothing had ever worked.
"We went to Majorca in 2023 and that was the last straw.
"I didn't get any pictures of myself, it led me to make the drastic decision of taking the jab.
"I researched it, joined online groups and everything was really positive."
'I lost three stone in three months'
Stephanie ordered a four-week course of weight-loss jabs from an online pharmacy - paying £110 for the medication after providing details about her weight and GP.
GLP-1 RAs, found in weight-loss jabs, are a class of medication originally developed to treat diabetes, but are now used for weight loss for their ability to suppress a patient's appetite.
Mounjaro, Wegovy, and liraglutide are the available weight loss injections in the UK.
Within weeks of taking the jab, Stephanie noticed the weight was "dropping off" after drastically reducing her food intake.
Stephanie said: "Looking back, I realise you could've made up anything [to get the jab]. I don't think they actually care who it goes to as long as they keep selling the product.
"The first few days after each injection I would feel incredibly sick, but I'd read about that already.
"As the week went on, I would feel incredibly full after just two mouthfuls and the weight literally dropped off me. I thought this was great.
The doctor said there was definitely a link between the gallbladder and weight-loss injections. He told me to immediately stop taking it
Stephanie Hill
"As the weeks went on I was feeling more and more lethargic, I was constantly sleeping.
"In the first week I lost seven pounds. All in all I lost three stone in three months."
In January, Stephanie was rushed to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley after waking up with extreme pain on the right side of her body.
There, tests revealed that five stones had formed in Stephanie's gallbladder - and the organ needed to be removed urgently.
Stephanie said: "[The doctor] said there was definitely a link between the gallbladder and weight-loss injections. He told me to immediately stop taking it.
"The consultant was concerned it was my pancreas and that would've been life threatening.
"Because I went from a very unhealthy diet to an extremely strict diet, all the bile in my bladder crystalised into stones then they were being released into my system and that was what was causing the issues.
"There's no words to describe the pain I would feel through these flare-ups.
"I went to hospital three times in one week with flare-ups. The worst one I had was when I was driving and luckily my husband was in the car, otherwise I would've crashed.
"He [the surgeon] removed the gallbladder and told me it was full of lesions and inflamed. That was the only way to stop the flare-ups."
After having her gallbladder removed last month, Stephanie is on the road to recovery - but is now warning others to steer clear of the injectables.
Stephanie said: "I didn't realise how traumatic this was going to be, my life has been put on hold.
"Looking back if I knew this, I would never have taken this. I would rather have just been fat.
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"It's just not worth it, do a lifestyle change, it's a safer option for your life.
"I've spent a lot of time feeling guilty putting my kids through the trauma as they also witnessed me in pain. I wish I hadn't put my family through this."
Everything you need to know about fat jabs
Weight loss jabs are a hot media topic at the moment, with hundreds of success stories from people who shed the pounds.
In March 2023, 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 X boss Elon Musk lose weight.
Wegovy, which helped a third of people reduce their weight by 20 per cent in trials, is now available from pharmacies like Boots.
How do they work?
The jabs work by suppressing your appetite, making you eat less and therefore lose weight.
To do this, 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?
Semaglutide, the active drug in Wegovy, was originally sold under the name Ozempic specifically for diabetes patients.
But people started noticing it helped suppress their appetites, stopping them eating as much and helping them shed the pounds.
Novo Nordisk then developed Wegovy, which contains the same chemical but at higher doses specifically to aid weight loss.
Wegovy is not prescribed for diabetes patients.
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 throught specialist weight management services, which means you have to be referred to clinics led by experts.
GPs can’t prescribe them on their own, 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.
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, gallbladder problems and hypoglycemia.
What other options are there?
Mounjaro (brand name for tirzepatide) also came onto the market in early 2024.
Like Wegovy, tirzepatide stems from a drug originally designed to treat diabetes.
The weekly injection helped overweight people drop more than two stone in 18 months.
It is available to order with a prescription online from pharmacies including Superdrug and LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor.
It works in a similar way to Wegovy and Saxenda, but is more effective.
Dr Mitra Dutt from LloydsPharmacy says: “Based on clinical trials, 96 per cent of people were able to lose more than five per cent of their body fat using Mounjaro. In similar trials, 84 per cent of people lost more than five per cent of their body weight on Wegovy, and 60 per cent on Saxenda.
“Mounjaro works by activating two hormonal receptors (GIP and GLP-1), which enhance insulin production, improve insulin sensitivity, and work to decrease food intake."