I was left with a bag of loose skin and saggy breasts after losing 30 kilos with Ozempic and Mounjaro – but I’m not ashamed of my body: mum-of-three gets breast lift after dramatic weight loss

A mum left with sagging breasts after losing 30kg with slimming shots and claims she is not ‘ashamed’ of having a tummy tuck and breast lift.

Courtney Kleinebreil, from Arkansas, was “fed up” with weighing over 300 pounds and vowed to give herself six months in 2021 to “get healthy.”

After switching to a low-carb diet, her doctor advised the 28-year-old to start taking Wegovy to speed up her weight loss and later switched to Mounjaro.

In June 2023, when she came off the injections, she had almost 2.7kg of excess skin on her stomach, which she described as a ‘pouch’.

Last July, Ms Kleinebreil, who has three children, took the plunge and underwent cosmetic surgery to tighten her abdominal muscles.

Earlier this year she underwent a breast lift with fat transfer to restore her ‘deflated’ triple D breasts, detailing her journey on social media.

She told her 527,000 TikTok followers that they were also “very low-slung” and “lopsided” after her dramatic weight loss.

After her surgery, she added that she was “so happy” and “already loving” the results.

Semaglutide (sold as Ozempic and Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro) are being hailed as a monumental breakthrough in the war on obesity.

The pens, taken once a day, trick the brain into thinking it is full, curbing appetite.

Research shows that semaglutide, manufactured by the Danish company Novo Nordisk, helps users lose an average of up to 15.3 kg in about a year.

Studies of Mounjaro, conducted by US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, suggest the drug can help obese people lose up to 22.5 percent of their body weight in 72 weeks.

Yet top plastic surgeons are reporting an increase in the number of patients seeking nip-and-tuck surgery after losing weight quickly on drugs – and they warn that without these operations, many would be left disfigured or even disabled.

Sudden fat loss also leads to a range of body problems, with middle-aged and older users being the most affected.

More and more Ozempic users on social media are complaining that it is leaving them with gaunt facial features, sagging ‘melted candle’ skin, ’empty’ breasts and hair loss – which are not thought to be a direct side effect of the medication, but a consequence of dramatic side effects. slimming.

Analysis shows the cost of tackling the knock-on effects of the jabs on the NHS could be more than £100 million a year.

Ms Kleinebreil told her 527,000 TikTok followers: ‘I started taking Wegovy, and it restarted my weight loss. I have had very good experiences with the medication.

‘I haven’t had any bad side effects; I just felt like it could help me with cravings and food noise.

‘But three months after I took the medication, my husband changed jobs and with it his insurance. Suddenly, Wegovy was no longer covered by my new insurance plan. Then I started taking Mounjaro.

“In total, I lost 130 pounds during my weight-loss journey, while I lost about 70 pounds when I was on the meds.”

After her surgery in July, she took to TikTok with before-and-after videos showing off her incredible transformation.

She said: ‘I will never be ashamed of this body again with a belly full of loose skin’, adding that she was now ‘so happy with my post-tummy tuck body’.

Then, in April, days after her second surgery, a breast lift, she said the breast was still “very swollen” but the pain was “super manageable.”

Speak with Women’s healthMs Kleinebreil, who is no longer taking the jabs, said: ‘I’m trying to focus on putting healthy things into my body and making sure I get enough protein in my diet. I eat consciously, but I don’t keep track of everything.

‘I also continue to exercise. I really enjoy taking fitness classes and I started playing tennis again. I have learned to fall in love with moving my body.

‘That doesn’t mean I was happy to stop taking Mounjaro – it’s hard to get off something that has been helpful – but I’ve learned to make the best of my situation.’

Figures show that around a third of patients with excess skin folds develop infections or other serious skin conditions, such as ulcers.

A recent study found that the cost of treating a non-healing wound – including medication, nursing time and hospital treatment – ​​could be up to £7,886 per patient.

Meanwhile, one in ten patients are likely to develop depression or anxiety, while one in twenty will be severely affected.

Surgeons estimate that the price of treating serious mental illness is almost £5,000 per patient per year.

The latest NHS data shows that 26 percent of adults in England are obese and a further 38 percent are overweight but not obese.

Experts have pointed to a lack of exercise and poor diets high in ultra-processed foods as major drivers of Britain’s obesity epidemic.

Wegovy was approved by the NHS last year specifically for weight loss.

But the eligibility criteria for people wanting to get the drug on the NHS – at the standard prescription rate of £9.90 in England – is strict.

Mounjaro was given the green light by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice). NHS use in September for patients with type 2 diabetes who cannot control the condition.

It is not yet used by the healthcare system for obesity.

But in February it was made available privately in Britain, with clinics charging around £40 for a week’s supply.