I have to tuck my belly into my pants after fat jabs made me tiny but other crazy side effects will cost me £9K to fix
Tracy Hughes says no one warned her about the shocking side effects of fat jabs - including unexpected body parts which shrank dramatically
JAB SNAG I have to tuck my belly into my pants after fat jabs made me tiny but other crazy side effects will cost me £9K to fix
FINISHING an eight-mile run, Tracy Hughes walks into her bathroom and turns on the shower.
Wearing her form-fitting exercise kit, the mum-of-four has a svelte size 10 body that women half her age would be envious of.
Advertisement
8
Tracy Hughes was desperate to lose weight having ballooned to over 20st
8
She used Mounjaro to drop seven stone and is now a svelte size ten
8
However, Tracy says she's been left with a 'jelly belly' which she has to tuck into her pants
But as Tracy, 47, peels off her leggings, she reveals a secret - her jelly belly - five pounds of loose and wobbly skin.
'I have lost seven stone in just eight months using fat jabs,' she says.
'I used to weigh 20st and now I tip the scales at just 13st.'
However, while Tracy is thrilled with her new physique, she admits her weight loss has come with plenty of unwanted side effects.
Advertisement
'Topping the list is my jelly belly and it has to be packed into my knickers and trousers every day,' she says.
'I have learnt no amount of exercise will make your body's skin shrink and ping back to normal.
'Now I have five pounds of loose skin on my stomach. The top of my thighs is also covered in flabby folds despite running eight miles a day, three days a week and working out at the gym.'
But it isn't just her loose skin that is causing an issue for Tracy.
Advertisement
'I've also seen my feet and hands shrink dramatically and I now have a turkey neck,' she adds.
'To fix these side effects, I'm planning on forking out more than £9,000 on plastic surgery, including a tummy tuck, face lift, liposuction, as well as filler and Botox.
I wanted to lose a few pounds so hopped on the fat jab trend - 4 days in it's not worth it, the side effects are awful
'No one tells you about these side effects.'
Regional childcare manager Tracy is married to Ian, 50, a postman and lives in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex. The pair have four daughters aged 30, 25, 21 and 14 and three grandchildren aged between three and five months old.
Advertisement
Growing up, Tracy was slim but after she had her first child in 1995 she saw her weight creep up.
'I went from a svelte size 12 to an uncomfortable size 20,' she admits.
'I ballooned during pregnancy and couldn't shift the weight.
'After each child, I'd diet and exercise, but the weight never seemed to shift.
Advertisement
'If I did lose a few pounds, I'd pile it back on again.
'The food noise in my head was overwhelming, and I couldn't find an eating plan that worked for me,' she says.
8
Tracy, pictured with husband Ian, ballooned during her first pregnancy and couldn't shift the weight
8
The 'food noise' stopped for Tracy when she began using fat jabs
Advertisement
Over the past 25 years, Tracy tried milkshake diets, low-fat eating, calorie counting, soup diets, juicing, even the Atkins eating plan and Keto diets to lose weight.
'I managed to lose five stone on the Cambridge Diet, but I couldn't control the food noise long enough and the weight piled back on again,' she says.
'I have been on a diet, or thinking about what diet to try next, for the past 25 years. It's been overwhelming.'
At her biggest, Tracy was a size 20, tipping the scales at 20st and had a BMI of 45.4, making her obese and at risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Advertisement
'My family and I would spend £350 a month on greasy takeaways, I loved kebabs, burgers and curries,' she says.
'But I was covered in stretch marks and hated myself and my body.'
Tracy admits her weight gain was also worsening her menopause symptoms.
'I couldn't sleep properly or get comfortable. I was constantly turning in bed.
Advertisement
'My husband made me sleep in another room, complaining that I was so hot it was like sleeping next to a radiator.
'Whenever I felt down, I was stuffing my face with McDonald's takeaways, Chinese and kebabs.'
However, last September when the couple celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary with a vow renewal and a second honeymoon in Cyprus, it was breaking point.
'I looked back at the vow renewal photos and burst into tears.
Advertisement
'I just sobbed. I thought I looked like a whale.
I can't wear a bikini until I have my 'Mounjaro plastic surgery makeover'
Tracy Hughes
'It was what I needed to make me determined to lose weight.'
That was when Tracy decided to take the advice of a friend who'd attended her vow renewal.
She recalls: 'When she arrived, I almost didn't recognise her. My pal had lost a huge amount of weight and was glowing.
Advertisement
'When I asked her what her secret was, she told me it was Mounjaro.
'So instead of relaxing on break in Cyprus, I ordered the weight loss jabs with a private prescription.
'The injections cost £170 a month and the month's supply arrived before we got home from our second honeymoon.'
Tracy started taking Mounjaro in September last year and says within 24 hours she felt the food noise in her head stop for the first time in almost three decades.
Advertisement
'I woke up and wasn't wanting to eat or obsessing about food,' she says.
'I went for a walk that day and signed up to a gym.'
'I was thriving'
Tracy lost a stone in the first month on Mounjaro and then each month after that the weight continued to drop off.
'Within a month, I was back running, slowly building up the distance day by day,' she says.
Advertisement
'I started going to the gym and training for a half marathon, my energy levels were through the roof.
'I was thriving, exercising. I was eating smaller portions. I no longer wanted a glass of wine, and I was only craving healthy foods like lean protein and vegetables.'
However, in the last two months, Tracy admits she started noticing the unusual side effects while using the jab.
'As I lost the weight and was rapidly dropping dress sizes, I noticed my stomach was still flabby and floppy,' she says.
Advertisement
'It's when I hit the five-stone weight loss mark, I realised the skin wasn't going to ping back into shape even though I was running 24 miles a week and working out.
'Since then, the more I shrink, the more flab folds develop on my so-called 'Ozempic jelly belly'.
'It has to be packed into my tummy control knickers.'
Tracy admits that her loose skin has put a stop to her wearing certain items of clothing.
Advertisement
'I can't wear a bikini until I have my 'Mounjaro plastic surgery makeover',' she says.
'I will have to wear a full swimsuit with tummy control pants to keep my belly folded into place.'
Tracy is now planning on spending more than £9,000 on plastic surgery to iron out the side effects of her fat jabs.
'I know I need a tummy tuck liposuction, a breast uplift, and a thigh lift to deal with the loose skin left from the jabs,' she says.
Advertisement
'I tell people losing weight is only half the journey you have to start saving now for plastic surgery.'
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.
One side effect which shocked Tracy was just how much her feet changed on the fat jabs.
'I went to put on my work sandals a month ago and they are too big,' she explains.
Advertisement
'I thought I was seeing things, so I pulled out a similar pair and my feet were too small for them as well.
'The weight loss jabs caused my feet to shrink and go down a shoe size.
'In the past my old shoes were tight due to my feet swelling but to realise my feet have actually shrunk from size nine to a size seven-and-a-half is jaw dropping.'
Tracy says she has had to spend hundreds replacing all of her old shoes.
Advertisement
'I knew I'd be buying new clothes because I was losing weight but buying new shoes because you have gone down a shoe size is unheard of,' she says.
'I sold my old plus-size clothes on Vinted and have made £800. I was going to use that for a weekend away. Now I have had to use it for new shoes.'
Tracy has had to have all her rings resized due to her shrinking fingers too.
'My engagement ring pinged off in the shower and I thought I'd lost it,' she says.
Advertisement
'Now after a seven-stone weight loss my husband has bought me a new wedding ring and engagement ring, and they are an entire size smaller.
I'd rather experience the odd shrinking foot and jelly belly to be half the woman I was
Tracy Hughes
'I didn't think the jab would mean I'd have to get new wedding rings, but it happened.'
Tracy is now experiencing turkey neck – another side effect of the jabs.
'I noticed a month ago my neck skin stretches out and my under-chin skin is floppier,' she says.
Advertisement
'I have added that to my list of cosmetic surgery makeovers.'
But even with the various side effects, Tracy says it was all worth it.
"I feel amazing as thin Tracy,' she says.
"I am more in control. I am addicted to Mounjaro. I don't want to stop the jabs as I know they are helping me so much," she says.
Advertisement
"I know many people would complain about these weird effects.
"For me it was a shock initially.
"But I'd rather experience the odd shrinking foot and jelly belly to be half the woman I was.'
8
It was Tracy's vow renewal photos that pushed her to get the jabs
Advertisement
8
Alongside her weight loss, Tracy's feet shrunk two sizes
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Glasgow Times
39 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Weight-loss jabs may need to be taken for life, experts warn
The drugs are sold under brand names like Mounjaro and Wegovy and work by reducing food cravings. Obese patients can currently be prescribed the jabs on the NHS after being referred to specialist weight loss clinics, which are usually located in hospitals. Hundreds of thousands of people also access the medication privately at pharmacies. There have been warnings about buying potentially unsafe jabs online from unregulated retailers and potentially missing out on wraparound support. Experts said the jabs should not be seen as the first option in weight loss and should be used in conjunction with lifestyle changes, such as eating more healthily and increasing exercise. Professor Graham Easton, a GP who has been using weight loss jabs himself, said: 'I think it's a major issue about the proper funding and resourcing of not only the GPs in the surgeries but also the wraparound care we talked about. 'I think the other issue is that so far, to my knowledge, the NHS and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence have talked about this being something you take for two years, and that's probably related to data from research studies. 'But as we discussed, this is likely to be a lifelong commitment if it is going to be worthwhile to the NHS. 'There's no point in most people taking it for a couple of years and then have the weight bouncing back. 'You can argue possibly you're about to prepare for surgery or something, but in most cases it doesn't make any sense. 'Then I think there's a big issue around access. Most obesity occurs in poorer populations as wealthier populations tend to not be so affected. 'There's a massive sort of socio-economic inequality and there is a worry about this driving that inequality even further. 'Unless the NHS makes sure that these are available across the board equally, I think that's a major risk.' Prof Easton said recent studies had shown people who stopped taking the drugs had put the weight they lost back on within around a year. 'That's often true of any diet, people would say, and that's certainly my experience of having wrestled with my weight in diets over the years,' he said. 'All I would say that I found interesting from that review was that they were suggesting perhaps that weight returns even quicker after having been on GLP-1 drugs. 'Then speculating, because there was no way of knowing from that review, that perhaps it's because people are not changing the behaviours we've been talking about like exercise and other lifestyle changes, just relying on the drugs. 'When you stop them, of course, you're going to put weight back on. The switch is turned back off, or whatever it was. 'I mean very similar to, for example, statins or anti-hypertensive blood pressure medications, if you want lifelong effects, you have to keep on them lifelong.' Prof Easton was speaking at an event at the Cheltenham Science Festival discussing the growing use of weight loss drugs with neurophysiologist Dr Simon Cork and consultant endocrinologist and obesity expert Dr Tony Goldstone. Hundreds of thousands of people access weight-loss medication privately (PA) Dr Cork said the jabs have an important role to play in losing weight but are part of wider changes to diet and lifestyle. 'I think we have to understand that diet is always limited. People will tend to lose on average around 5% of their body weight on a diet,' he said. 'But you're hungry, you're miserable, you're tired, your wife hates you because you're so grumpy, you're not going to continue with that. 'But we should absolutely all be looking at our diet and all changing our diet, and doing something.' Dr Goldstone said weight loss drugs had been used in the treatment of diabetes for over a decade and had benefits of reducing the risk of developing other conditions. 'We're now in the third and fourth generation of these drugs, but the first generation of these drugs we've been using for 15 years for diabetes,' he said. 'There is nothing of concern that has emerged. In fact, all we're seeing are benefits. I'm not too worried about longer term side effects coming out. 'There is no real biological reason why there should be dangerous side-effects in the way that we know these drugs work. 'The benefits of the weight loss improvement in the diabetes are actually by themselves helping health and preventing other diseases, like cancer, heart attacks, renal failure, and potentially even reducing the risk of Alzheimer's disease. 'All those benefits, even if there was something that we hadn't really thought of that emerged down the line, I suspect that the harm of that is outweighed by the potential benefits of weight loss improvement in diabetes control.' Dr Cork said no drug is without side-effects and previous weight loss medications had failed because of them. 'There are side-effects, there are some concerning side-effects that tend to be very rare, but then you can monitor for those side-effects,' he said. 'As long as you're getting the correct care, as long as your GP is aware that you're taking them, then those should be identified. 'If you do find those side-effects, you can stop taking the drug.'
South Wales Argus
an hour ago
- South Wales Argus
Weight-loss jabs may need to be taken for life, experts warn
The drugs are sold under brand names like Mounjaro and Wegovy and work by reducing food cravings. Obese patients can currently be prescribed the jabs on the NHS after being referred to specialist weight loss clinics, which are usually located in hospitals. Hundreds of thousands of people also access the medication privately at pharmacies. There have been warnings about buying potentially unsafe jabs online from unregulated retailers and potentially missing out on wraparound support. Experts said the jabs should not be seen as the first option in weight loss and should be used in conjunction with lifestyle changes, such as eating more healthily and increasing exercise. Professor Graham Easton, a GP who has been using weight loss jabs himself, said: 'I think it's a major issue about the proper funding and resourcing of not only the GPs in the surgeries but also the wraparound care we talked about. 'I think the other issue is that so far, to my knowledge, the NHS and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence have talked about this being something you take for two years, and that's probably related to data from research studies. 'But as we discussed, this is likely to be a lifelong commitment if it is going to be worthwhile to the NHS. 'There's no point in most people taking it for a couple of years and then have the weight bouncing back. 'You can argue possibly you're about to prepare for surgery or something, but in most cases it doesn't make any sense. 'Then I think there's a big issue around access. Most obesity occurs in poorer populations as wealthier populations tend to not be so affected. 'There's a massive sort of socio-economic inequality and there is a worry about this driving that inequality even further. 'Unless the NHS makes sure that these are available across the board equally, I think that's a major risk.' Prof Easton said recent studies had shown people who stopped taking the drugs had put the weight they lost back on within around a year. 'That's often true of any diet, people would say, and that's certainly my experience of having wrestled with my weight in diets over the years,' he said. 'All I would say that I found interesting from that review was that they were suggesting perhaps that weight returns even quicker after having been on GLP-1 drugs. 'Then speculating, because there was no way of knowing from that review, that perhaps it's because people are not changing the behaviours we've been talking about like exercise and other lifestyle changes, just relying on the drugs. 'When you stop them, of course, you're going to put weight back on. The switch is turned back off, or whatever it was. 'I mean very similar to, for example, statins or anti-hypertensive blood pressure medications, if you want lifelong effects, you have to keep on them lifelong.' Prof Easton was speaking at an event at the Cheltenham Science Festival discussing the growing use of weight loss drugs with neurophysiologist Dr Simon Cork and consultant endocrinologist and obesity expert Dr Tony Goldstone. Hundreds of thousands of people access weight-loss medication privately (PA) Dr Cork said the jabs have an important role to play in losing weight but are part of wider changes to diet and lifestyle. 'I think we have to understand that diet is always limited. People will tend to lose on average around 5% of their body weight on a diet,' he said. 'But you're hungry, you're miserable, you're tired, your wife hates you because you're so grumpy, you're not going to continue with that. 'But we should absolutely all be looking at our diet and all changing our diet, and doing something.' Dr Goldstone said weight loss drugs had been used in the treatment of diabetes for over a decade and had benefits of reducing the risk of developing other conditions. 'We're now in the third and fourth generation of these drugs, but the first generation of these drugs we've been using for 15 years for diabetes,' he said. 'There is nothing of concern that has emerged. In fact, all we're seeing are benefits. I'm not too worried about longer term side effects coming out. 'There is no real biological reason why there should be dangerous side-effects in the way that we know these drugs work. 'The benefits of the weight loss improvement in the diabetes are actually by themselves helping health and preventing other diseases, like cancer, heart attacks, renal failure, and potentially even reducing the risk of Alzheimer's disease. 'All those benefits, even if there was something that we hadn't really thought of that emerged down the line, I suspect that the harm of that is outweighed by the potential benefits of weight loss improvement in diabetes control.' Dr Cork said no drug is without side-effects and previous weight loss medications had failed because of them. 'There are side-effects, there are some concerning side-effects that tend to be very rare, but then you can monitor for those side-effects,' he said. 'As long as you're getting the correct care, as long as your GP is aware that you're taking them, then those should be identified. 'If you do find those side-effects, you can stop taking the drug.'
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Experts warn that weight-loss jabs may need to be taken for life
Experts suggest that weight-loss jabs may require long-term use to achieve lasting benefits for both patients and the NHS. These drugs, marketed under names such as Mounjaro and Wegovy, function by curbing food cravings. Currently, obese patients can access these injections through NHS prescriptions, following referrals to specialist weight loss clinics typically based in hospitals. Additionally, hundreds of thousands of individuals are obtaining the medication privately through pharmacies. There have been warnings about buying potentially unsafe jabs online from unregulated retailers and potentially missing out on wraparound support. Experts said the jabs should not be seen as the first option in weight loss and should be used in conjunction with lifestyle changes, such as eating more healthily and increasing exercise. Professor Graham Easton, a GP who has been using weight loss jabs himself, said: 'I think it's a major issue about the proper funding and resourcing of not only the GPs in the surgeries but also the wraparound care we talked about. 'I think the other issue is that so far, to my knowledge, the NHS and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence have talked about this being something you take for two years, and that's probably related to data from research studies. 'But as we discussed, this is likely to be a lifelong commitment if it is going to be worthwhile to the NHS. 'There's no point in most people taking it for a couple of years and then have the weight bouncing back. 'You can argue possibly you're about to prepare for surgery or something, but in most cases it doesn't make any sense. 'Then I think there's a big issue around access. Most obesity occurs in poorer populations as wealthier populations tend to not be so affected. 'There's a massive sort of socio-economic inequality and there is a worry about this driving that inequality even further. 'Unless the NHS makes sure that these are available across the board equally, I think that's a major risk.' Prof Easton said recent studies had shown people who stopped taking the drugs had put the weight they lost back on within around a year. 'That's often true of any diet, people would say, and that's certainly my experience of having wrestled with my weight in diets over the years,' he said. 'All I would say that I found interesting from that review was that they were suggesting perhaps that weight returns even quicker after having been on GLP-1 drugs. 'Then speculating, because there was no way of knowing from that review, that perhaps it's because people are not changing the behaviours we've been talking about like exercise and other lifestyle changes, just relying on the drugs. 'When you stop them, of course, you're going to put weight back on. The switch is turned back off, or whatever it was. 'I mean very similar to, for example, statins or anti-hypertensive blood pressure medications, if you want lifelong effects, you have to keep on them lifelong.' Prof Easton was speaking at an event at the Cheltenham Science Festival discussing the growing use of weight loss drugs with neurophysiologist Dr Simon Cork and consultant endocrinologist and obesity expert Dr Tony Goldstone. Dr Cork said the jabs have an important role to play in losing weight but are part of wider changes to diet and lifestyle. 'I think we have to understand that diet is always limited. People will tend to lose on average around 5% of their body weight on a diet,' he said. 'But you're hungry, you're miserable, you're tired, your wife hates you because you're so grumpy, you're not going to continue with that. 'But we should absolutely all be looking at our diet and all changing our diet, and doing something.' Dr Goldstone said weight loss drugs had been used in the treatment of diabetes for over a decade and had benefits of reducing the risk of developing other conditions. 'We're now in the third and fourth generation of these drugs, but the first generation of these drugs we've been using for 15 years for diabetes,' he said. 'There is nothing of concern that has emerged. In fact, all we're seeing are benefits. I'm not too worried about longer term side effects coming out. 'There is no real biological reason why there should be dangerous side-effects in the way that we know these drugs work. 'The benefits of the weight loss improvement in the diabetes are actually by themselves helping health and preventing other diseases, like cancer, heart attacks, renal failure, and potentially even reducing the risk of Alzheimer 's disease. 'All those benefits, even if there was something that we hadn't really thought of that emerged down the line, I suspect that the harm of that is outweighed by the potential benefits of weight loss improvement in diabetes control.' Dr Cork said no drug is without side-effects and previous weight loss medications had failed because of them. 'There are side-effects, there are some concerning side-effects that tend to be very rare, but then you can monitor for those side-effects,' he said. 'As long as you're getting the correct care, as long as your GP is aware that you're taking them, then those should be identified. 'If you do find those side-effects, you can stop taking the drug.'
