I blew £500k on cocaine, gambling & food and weighed 19st – but surprising side effect of fat jabs cured my addictions

The Sun

14 hours ago

RUMMAGING through her packed wardrobe Vivienne Joy struggles to find something that still fits.
Since starting Mounjaro three and a half months ago she has so far lost almost 2st and dropped two dress sizes - going from size 24 to 20 - which means she desperately needs new clothes, but she has no urge to buy a single item.
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It's hard to believe that for the last five years she has been in the grip of a full-blown shopping addiction splurging £500 a month on impulsive purchases.
And Vivienne's addictive tendencies didn't end there - across 22 years, from the age of 18, she blew a six-figure sum on gambling and takeaways, as well as clothes and cocaine combined, and at one point she was in £250,000 worth of debt.
Vivienne, 53, replaced one addiction with another, yet within days of starting fat jabs in February, the need to spend recklessly to feel a 'high' totally stopped.
Now, she dares to hope that her addictive personality is finally 'cured' thanks to the jabs which adjust the levels of dopamine - the pleasure chemical - in the brain.
Vivienne estimates she's even saved £1,500 a month since she started the injections.
She says: 'For 34 years I moved from one addiction to another because I was always looking for that high, but I feel calm and in control since starting Mounjaro.
'I started gambling when I was 18 and must have got through around £500,000 in the 22 years that I was hooked – on several occasions I spent £1,000 a night on slot machines.
'I earned a lot, six figures at times, but I spent a lot and ended up with £250,000 of debt.
'And I was addicted to food throughout too, gorging on whole cakes, boxes of doughnuts and Sausage and Egg McMuffins from McDonalds.
'I used to party hard, taking cocaine regularly between the ages of 28 to 35 and although it wasn't daily, I couldn't find the off switch.
Weight Loss Jabs - Pros vs Cons
'My life was filled with compulsions. But now, finally, those cravings have stopped.'
The number of weight loss jab NHS prescriptions has surged in the UK, doubling to almost three million in the past year.
Demand for Ozempic (semaglutide) and Mounjaro (tirzepatide) - Vivienne sourced the latter through a private clinic spending £179 a month because of obesity, high BMI and felt out of control around food - shows no signs of slowing, with the total bill costing the NHS £269million in 2024/2025.
It follows The Sun's recent survey which revealed how 73 per cent of readers are considering using jabs to lose weight.
Scientists are already exploring the link between the injections and addiction.
Dr Daniel Gordon, from Olive Health, who prescribes the jabs privately to patients at his clinic in London, says: 'Scientists think the drugs work by blunting our reward responses.
'Weight-loss jabs like Ozempic and Mounjaro seem to quieten the brain's 'pleasure circuits' that drive cravings and addictions.
'For example, in scientific studies, people with alcohol use disorder who took low-dose semaglutide drank significantly fewer units of alcohol per day and felt less of an urge to smoke.
'The early signs suggest these jabs could become a game-changer for tackling addictive behaviour as well as obesity.'
'Game-changer'
Vivienne, who lives in Retford, Notts, with wife Emma, 43, a dog behaviourist, turned to weight loss jabs after a stint on Slimming World in May 2024.
She was a size 26 (having dropped to a size 24 by the time she started Mounjaro) and weighed 19st 10lbs but had battled with her weight her whole life.
'We'd been on an all-inclusive holiday to Greece and over indulged and decided we had to get a grip on our weight,' Vivienne recalls.
'Although I lost 1st 7lbs in nine months, it was torturous.
'I was fighting every step of the way not to indulge in my junk foods, like McDonalds and doughnuts.
'Emma started at 14st 2lbs and lost the same amount but she wasn't having to battle temptation.
'All her lapses were down to me constantly suggesting takeaways, eating out and junk food – I unwittingly sabotaged her weight loss.
'She's not an addictive person, she can take or leave most things – I can't.'
Vivienne struggled with her weight from the age of 13 and while food was her most visible addiction, others soon began to develop and at 18 she started gambling.
She explains: 'My parents loved bingo and slot machines and would go three or four times a week. On my 18th birthday I joined them and spent all day and night gambling.
'It didn't seem problematic to start with, I was going socially with them. But then they died within eight months of each other when I was 30 and I started going alone, mindlessly feeding pound coins into the slot machine.
'I've always earned good money so it wasn't a problem financially. I did have debts on credit cards and loans but I was able to service them from my wages'
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It was when I was 37 and working as a regional company director for a beauty company that Vivienne was made redundant and she struggled to find a new job.
Within five months her debts became impossible to service and owing £200,000 in credit cards and loans she had to file an IVA which meant agreeing to pay off a portion of the debts whilst the rest were written off.
'Dark time'
'It was a very low and dark time,' Vivienne recalls.
'But once I found a new job I was so addicted that I went back to gambling. Because of the IVA I couldn't get into debt again because I couldn't physically get credit. But the fact I even gambled shows how strong my addiction was. When I was 40 there was a week when I spent £1,000 a night for three days in a row. I knew then it had to stop and I managed with the help of hypnotherapy.
'But it didn't help with my root problem of always searching for that dopamine hit.'
Vivienne met her ex husband in a nightclub in 2002 when she was 29, and they married four years later.
'At that stage of my life I was partying hard at the weekends,' she admits.
'I'd started taking cocaine a year before. I was always the last one to stop, wanting to keep that dopamine hit going. I quit aged 35, after I stayed up all night taking it on a Wednesday and went into work the next day. No one noticed but I knew and felt ashamed of myself – it wasn't the person I wanted to be."
It was in lockdown that Vivienne turned to online shopping online as well as continuing her food addiction.
It was 2020, seven years after her marriage ended and she was living with Emma when her addiction spiralled.
She explains: 'We couldn't go out for dinner or socialise and as usual I needed that dopamine hit from somewhere so I started online shopping. I didn't do half measures.
'I'd scroll on my phone for hours. There was rarely a day that went past without a delivery arriving.
'I loved getting clothes for Emma too alongside kitchen gadgets, candles, crystals and even toys for our four dogs. Emma would gently suggest it was getting out of hand and I didn't need more clothes, but I ignored her.
'But it was mindless, I bought two of the same jacket without even realising and I've got 20 pairs of similar shoes from Rocket Dog.
'It was the buying that gave me the buzz, often parcels would arrive and I'd have no idea what was in them. But back then I didn't think it was an issue.'
Food has been Vivienne's most constant addiction throughout her life and one she thought she'd never conquer.
She says: 'I'd buy a cake and devour it in a day and if I bought a box of six doughnuts I couldn't stop thinking about them until they were all gone.
'I once went to a Chinese restaurant in my dressing gown as I wanted it so much and immediately.
'Another time I went to three different McDonalds in one morning to get the sausage and egg McMuffin I craved.
I want to think I'm cured – I feel liberated, I can focus on my work completely
Vivienne
'That's why I decided to try the weight loss injections because I didn't feel in control.'
Vivienne says the jabs eliminated the ' food noise ' completely.
She also no longer felt the urge to search for the 'highs' which, until then, had blighted her life.
'I no longer think about food or the need to get that 'high' like I used to in the same way. I feel normal now,' Vivienne says.
'I've lost a further 1st 9lbs in three and half months - 2lbs more than I lost in nine months on Slimming World.
"And Emma has lost another 10lbs. I finally feel that losing weight isn't a battle – I don't really think about food. My goal is to lose eight stone leaving me at 11st 11lbs – that seems doable.'
Vivienne now saves the £500 she spent online shopping, plus £400 on takeaways and junk food and £100 on eating out. And a further £500 on other shopping, such as bulk buying things like deodorant and candles, as well as going out to theatre and then dinner.
'It's saved us a fortune. I want to think I'm cured – I feel liberated, I can focus on my work completely,' she adds.
Warning about using fat jabs to cure addictions, Dr Gordon adds: "People should never use these medications as a self-prescribed treatment for addictions or cravings.
"They are potent prescription-only medications, with complex effects and some significant risks. They are not a replacement for proper psychological or addiction support."
Vivienne, a mindset coach, knows addiction is deep rooted but believes the jabs have set her on the right path.
She feels hopeful for the future.
'I can't rely on Mounjaro for the rest of my life – the root causes of my addiction will still be there,' she adds.
'But what it's giving me is time to recalibrate my brain. I no longer have compulsive thoughts whirling around my head.'
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Everything you need to know about fat jabs
Weight loss jabs are all the rage as studies and patient stories reveal they help people shed flab at almost unbelievable rates, as well as appearing to reduce the risk of serious diseases.
Wegovy – a modified version of type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic – and Mounjaro are the leading weight loss injections used in the UK.
Wegovy, real name semaglutide, has been used on the NHS for years while Mounjaro (tirzepatide) is a newer and more powerful addition to the market.
Mounjaro accounts for most private prescriptions for weight loss and is set to join Wegovy as an NHS staple this year.
How do they work?
The jabs work by suppressing your appetite, making you eat less so your body burns fat for energy instead and you lose weight.
They do this my mimicking a hormone called GLP-1, which signals to the brain when the stomach is full, so the drugs are officially called GLP-1 receptor agonists.
They slow down digestion and increase insulin production, lowering blood sugar, which is why they were first developed to treat type 2 diabetes in which patients' sugar levels are too high.
Can I get them?
NHS prescriptions of weight loss drugs, mainly Wegovy and an older version called Saxenda (chemical name liraglutide), are controlled through specialist weight loss clinics.
Typically a patient will have to have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, classifying them as medically obese, and also have a weight-related health condition such as high blood pressure.
GPs generally do not prescribe the drugs for weight loss.
Private prescribers offer the jabs, most commonly Mounjaro, to anyone who is obese (BMI of 30+) or overweight (BMI 25-30) with a weight-related health risk.
Private pharmacies have been rapped for handing them out too easily and video calls or face-to-face appointments are now mandatory to check a patient is being truthful about their size and health.
Are there any risks?
Yes – side effects are common but most are relatively mild.
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.
Evidence has so far been inconclusive about whether the injections are damaging to patients' mental health.
Figures obtained by The Sun show that, up to January 2025, 85 patient deaths in the UK were suspected to be linked to the medicines.