I lost a life-changing 11st on Mounjaro after secret bingeing habit but I didn't expect painful outcome
Now a svelte 10st 10lbs and wearing a size eight, the 35-year-old barely recognises herself in the mirror.
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Mostly, her incredible slimming success has been positive - she is fitter, her "food noise" has disappeared, and can finally shop in Zara.
But there have been several negatives to shedding half her body weight.
People often comment on Emilly's weight, and she finds shaving her "hollow" armpits almost impossible.
The stay-at-home mum-of-three can also barely take a bath without screaming in agony, and even rolling over in bed causes her pain.
Emilly, from Liverpool, says: "It feels amazing but it's very surreal.
"I look in the mirror and I still don't see what other people see.
"It's really hard to not feel like the old me. Your brain just doesn't catch up.
"Lying in the bath is not comfy. Obviously I'm not used to feeling all these bones.
"When I was on holiday I was so uncomfortable on the chairs and the sunbed. My coccyx hurt the most.
"I was obviously that fat before that my bones didn't touch much.
I lost 6st on Mounjaro but hate my body even more - I feel disgusting
"I didn't roll over in bed and feel hip bones and now I do and I'm like, 'Oh'. It really is uncomfortable."
She adds: "I've never had a gap on my armpits before - it's always been flat - and now there's a big gaping hole.
"I've constantly got cuts because I'm not used to being able to shave my armpits now they are hollow.
"It's strange, I think I might have to get laser hair removal."
Emilly began her weight loss journey in 2023 when she decided to eat in a calorie deficit (consuming fewer calories than she was burning) and start exercising.
She lost more than 6st in a year then hit the dreaded plateau, struggling to slim down any more.
"I've got disordered eating; I'm a bit of a binge eater," Emilly says.
"I was binge eating over the weekend and restricting my calories during the week.
"I wasn't addressing the issues I had with food."
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Usually only eating one 2,000-calorie meal a day, she would go to the shop in the evening to buy Doritos, a sharing-sized bar of chocolate and a bag of sweets and "eat them all".
But everything changed when she bought her first Mounjaro weight loss jab for £105 from a private pharmacy in December 2024.
"I've never looked back; it's the best thing I've ever done," Emilly says.
"I've never not struggled so much because I've not got that constant obsession of thinking about food every minute of every day.
"People talk about 'food noise'. And when you take Mounjaro and that stops, it's like mental clarity.
"I've got friends who are like, 'Oh I forgot to eat today'.
"You literally just eat for fuel and I hate to say 'normal people', but that's what normal people do."
I was able to go to Zara and buy clothes. I actually stood in the changing room and cried
Emilly Murray
With her goal weight of 9st 7lbs fast approaching, Emilly's next step will be loose skin removal.
"Because my brain has not caught up, it's hard to be like, 'This is enough now' because I've got loose skin," she says.
"I've got it everywhere and it's quite bad."
Elaborating on the negative side effects of the injections, she Emilly adds: "The top one, I would say, is other people's opinions.
"I must get hundreds of comments throughout the week saying, 'Just eat less and move more'. People don't see obesity as a disease.
"I haven't lived my life, I've always hid away and been miserable.
"When you've got people who don't struggle with their weight giving their opinions, saying you're 'cheating' using medication, is one of the most negative things.
"The risks of obesity are far worse to me than the risk of Mounjaro but when you start Mounjaro everyone wants to say how dangerous it is.
"Now as I've lost weight people are telling me I need to stop, or I've gone too far.
"Where were these people when I was 22st?"
'SECRET EATER'
As well as having to "acclimatise" to being able to feel her bones now she has lost weight, Emilly still finds buying new clothes "weird" and will often pick out a bigger size.
"I was able to go to Zara and buy clothes," she says.
"I always remember every winter trying to find a coat that fit me and it was so difficult, there were no options.
"It's always been such a negative experience, and it's so nice now that it can be a nice experience.
"I actually stood in the changing room and cried."
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Putting her previous diet down to emotional eating, Emilly says "things got worse" when her daughter was in hospital after being born prematurely and with a rare birth defect.
"It would trigger me to binge; I'd secretly eat," she says.
"I own my own house but I'd still hide wrappers in the bin.
"I wouldn't have breakfast and sometimes skip dinner.
"At around 3pm I'd just grab a chocolate bar and a coffee on the way to do the school run.
"When the kids had gone to bed I'd go to the Tesco at the end of my road and buy a big massive packet of Doritos, a big bar of chocolate and a bag of sweets and eat them all. I was a secret eater.
"The one meal I had would be 2,000 calories - even though I was full, I had to have something afterwards.
"Now I'll have a clear whey protein drink, yoghurt and fruit for breakfast, and chicken thighs for dinner.
"I'll make, for example, a chicken tikka for dinner and have that but it's all calorie counted and portion controlled."
Emilly plans to cut back on her Mounjaro doses and eventually stop taking the jab in the next six to twelve months.
"It's literally changed my life," she adds. "I wish I'd started it earlier.
"It's not even about losing weight; the most important thing about it is rebuilding your relationship with food."
The rising cost of Mounjaro
By Vanessa Chalmers, Assistant Head of Health
THE price of Mounjaro is set to soar - leaving slimmers desperate and worried at how they will afford the 'life-changing' drug.
The NHS has been giving Mounjaro prescriptions within GP practices since June.
Private pharmacies boast 'no GP referral needed', with tantalising prices drawing in an estimated one million paying customers.
Costs vary depending on the provider, jab and dosage, but are currently between around £120 to £220 per month.
But that's all set to change, as the US-based maker of Mounjaro, Eli Lilly, told The Sun it will be increasing charges in Britain to 'address inconsistencies' with prices it commands from other western countries.
The price the pharma giant charges pharmacies for a mid-range 5mg dose will nearly double from £92 to £180 from September 1. The maximum available dose, 15mg, will rise from £122 to £330.
Eli Lilly claimed to have negotiated with big private suppliers to ensure the whole price increase is not passed on to patients - but with pharmacies already marking up jab prices, the public can expect to see the cost increase.
It marks a huge blow for those for whom the jab offers a life-saving way out of obesity.
The hefty price would affect those currently on the jabs, as well as those who had hoped to pay for them long-term to avoid weight regain.
Toby Nicol, CEO at CheqUp, which has around 50,000 customers on weight loss jabs, said: 'This news will be disappointing for those who have achieved life-changing results with Mounjaro.
'This is particularly the case for those on higher doses who will likely see substantial rises in price."
Mounjaro has been dubbed the 'King Kong' of fat jabs because its success tops other brands, including Wegovy (also called Ozempic for type 2 diabetes), and Saxenda.
Now, with people considering switching to Wegvoy, some providers appear to have hiked prices of the alternative jab that's similar to Ozempic, in response to the update.
Mr Nicol, who says they have reduced the price of Wegovy on CheqUp, says: "Wegovy is a brilliant drug and that's why we don't want anyone to be priced out and think they have to take something which is unsafe.
"Do not buy from the cowboys. If the price is too good to be true, it probably is."
Dr Ralph Abraham, a diabetes and endocrinology specialist verified on Doctify, a healthcare review platform, says: 'There is no problem in switching from one drug to another.
'But in a world where the drugs are often not prescribed by experienced doctors, it then becomes difficult to know where side effects might lie.'
Danish firm Novo Nordisk confirmed it will not increase the price of Wegovy when its rival Mounjaro doubles next month.
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