Georgie could get his hands on the injections at a pharmacy after showing his ID and stepping on some scales
A man who ‘thought he was going to die’ after using the ‘King Kong’ of weight loss injections is warning others of the dangers.
Georgie Aldous, 26, is calling for online pharmacies to employ stricter checks when issuing prescriptions for weight-loss drugs – despite losing three-and-a-half stone. Georgie, from Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, said his concerns followed his own experience of buying Mounjaro over the internet.
It was announced earlier this month that the drug – which is also known as Tirzepatide – will soon be available on the NHS in England. The beauty influencer has struggled in the past with binge-eating and “yo-yoing” between diets but decided to try the medication in March this year.
He paid almost £1k for batches of the drug at Lloyds Online Pharmacy over the course of five months and was left suffering with tachycardia and panic attacks. Tachycardia is a rapid heartbeat that is out of proportion to age and level of activity.
Georgie said: “I’d rather have the weight than feel the way the injections made me feel. I’ve never experienced such a feel of such emptiness since being on that.
“I’ve always had issues with food and everyone knows what Ozempic is because it is everywhere – on social media and with celebrities. I wish I’d never done it.”
In March of this year, Georgie ordered Mounjaro where the screening process required him to show his ID and submit a video of himself standing on weighing scales. He chose not to inform the provider of his binge-eating – and five hours after starting the application, his request was approved.
For the next five months, Georgie took weekly injections of the drug with his first 2ml dose on March 5 – costing him £188.99.
Georgie said: “It’s something I looked into as when you look weight loss online the injections come up. The health risk did initially put me off because as my mum died of cancer a few years ago.
“I decided I was going to give it a go as I was lucky enough to afford it. I was at a loss of what to do as I’ve been skinny, I’ve put on weight but it is the mental aspect.
“It’s an addiction in a kind of way and I’m not going to say it didn’t work because it did. But there are side effects. I was not hungry at all. My sugar cravings were gone. I did not medically need it but I was still able to buy it and that’s what I don’t think is right.”
Georgie, who weighed around 17 stone, continued taking the drug until August, losing 50lbs and dropping to 13 stone. The price of the injection fluctuated with Georgie paying £198.99 in April for 5ml, £228.99 in May for 10ml and £219 for 12.5ml in July.
However Georgie began to feel frail and said he would regularly skip breakfast, get by on a flat white and banana for lunch – then eat just 600 calories for dinner. He explained: “I’ve had anxiety in the past but I’ve never experienced a panic attack until this drug. I was sweating, looking white, and not being able to concentrate.”
Georgie had a massive panic attack in August and called 111 – and said he thought he was going to die. His heart rate was more than 140 beats per minute.
The following day he went to A&E at James Paget Hospital and they said he was tachycardic. Georgie said he was shaking, crying and having heart palpitations – and visited A&E multiple times over the next few days.
Georgie said: “I think it should be an extremely last resort to go on Mounjaro and people should treat it like that. It has left me with panic disorder and health anxiety.
“You should have to go through the NHS or speak to your doctor. I never would have done it if I’d known. People shouldn’t hate on themselves too much about weight as we’re only in one little chapter of our lives.
“Try calorie deficit or therapy before you inject yourself with something. You don’t want to end up in A&E or left feeling the way I do.”
A spokespman for Eli Lilly, the pharmaceutical company which makes Mounjaro, said: “Mounjaro should only be used when prescribed by a licensed healthcare professional and prescriptions should be fulfilled and supplied by reputable pharmacies and providers. Regulatory agencies conduct extensive independent assessments of the benefits and risks of every new medicine.
“Lilly is committed to continually monitoring, evaluating, and reporting safety data to ensure the latest information is available for regulators and prescribers.”
