The rise in popularity of expensive weight loss injections has unfortunately attracted some unethical groups looking to exploit those desperate to manage their appetite by selling hazardous counterfeit products.
One woman experienced this firsthand, almost losing her life after buying a month’s supply of fake ‘Ozempic’ that was nearly indistinguishable from the authentic product, except for one concerning detail.
Michelle Sword, 47, sought to regain her self-esteem following the end of her 20-year marriage by taking the widely-used weight loss medication, Ozempic, which contains semaglutide, to help her shed a few dress sizes.
Initially developed to treat Type-2 diabetes by mimicking the hunger-regulating hormone GLP-1, semaglutide has gained significant popularity in the realm of weight loss.
“They came at a time when I really needed them,” the mom-of-two shared. “I’d always been a size eight to 10, but the weight had been slowly creeping on as I turned to comfort eating.
“I no longer recognised myself in the mirror.”
In 2020, the 47-year-old from the UK began her initial course of Ozempic, which she self-funded, losing two stone and returning to her pre-marriage dress size.
She was overjoyed after achieving her weight target with ease, thanks to the Novo Nordisk-manufactured drug, branded as Wegovy when used for weight loss rather than diabetes treatment.
As is common among users of these revolutionary appetite-regulating medications, Sword initially maintained her new physique through exercise. However, by the summer of 2023, she noticed the weight returning due to ‘bad eating habits’.
Being shorter than most, Sword felt the weight gain was especially noticeable and decided to try Ozempic again.
With increasing demand making GLP-1 drugs both costly and difficult to obtain, Sword made an almost deadly decision.
Upon seeing a social media advertisement offering a month’s supply of ‘Ozempic’ at about a third of the usual price, Sword quickly decided to buy it.
She confessed: “I panicked and wanted a quick fix. I paid £150 ($203) through PayPal, and two days later got a month’s supply.”
Residing in Oxfordshire, she noted that these cheaper injections were visually identical to the legitimate ones she had purchased previously, complete with the same blue plastic cover and Ozempic label. However, while administering the injection, something felt off.
“It just kept clicking. I didn’t really know what the dose was, so I just decided to stop after a few clicks,” she explained. “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.”
Instead of taking additional doses, just 20 minutes later, ‘everything went black’ as she collapsed and could not be revived.
Luckily, her 15-year-old daughter arrived home in time to call for an ambulance. Paramedics spent over an hour attempting to revive her before rushing her to the hospital, where tests showed her blood sugar levels at 0.2 millimoles per liter.
“It should have been between four and seven,” Sword explained. “I was virtually on the brink of death.”
Sword later discovered that the fake ‘Ozempic’ she used was actually insulin, which caused a dangerous diabetic coma that could have been fatal if her daughter had not found her and called for help.
Sword is now sharing her experience to prevent others from making similar errors, stating: “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.”
She emphasized that ‘regulated weight loss medication always requires a prescription and if there are no eligibility checks, it’s probably a scam,’ cautioning others that ‘being skinny is not worth dying for.’
Novo Nordisk states on its website: “Patient safety is a top priority for Novo Nordisk and as counterfeits pose a real threat to safety, we are working in close collaboration with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to identify and eliminate counterfeit drugs from the UK market.”
“Every counterfeit case we are made aware of is looked into and reported to the authorities according to the applicable regulations. We also work with a third party specialised in monitoring and taking down of illegal online offers to specifically address this.
“Prescription-only medicines should only be obtained through legitimate sources and after consultation with a healthcare professional.”