Mother-of-three trying to banish belly fat almost died after ‘skinny jab’ she bought online ‘triggered organ failure’

A mother-of-three has told how she almost died after injecting herself with a 'skinny shot' she bought online.

Lynsay McAvoy, from Edinburgh, bought the jabs on the internet in the hope of losing belly fat – despite weighing just 8st (51kg).

After losing about 3kg in just a few weeks, the mother of three ordered another batch of injections.

However, the 42-year-old beautician then suffered a severe allergic reaction, causing her tongue to swell and her eyes to burn, causing her to pass out.

After she was rushed to hospital, doctors told her she had suffered a severe allergic reaction to the injections, which in severe cases could lead to organ failure.

She said she felt “embarrassed” and warned that the pens, despite seeming like a “quick fix”, are “dangerous”.

Ms McAvoy bought a 'skinny jab' online in April 2022, which was advertised as a diabetes drug that would cause weight loss.

Although it is unclear which drug Ms McAvoy thought she was taking, Ozempic has been available in Britain for diabetes patients since 2019, but can be prescribed off-label for weight loss.

However, fake versions are being promoted online due to rising demand after a slew of celebrities credited Ozempic with shifting the scales and Wegovy, which contains the same ingredient but was made for weight loss, was difficult to access due to shortages.

Ms McAvoy was hoping to lose a few kilos from her stomach, which she said was 'ridiculous' as she weighed only an eighth and 'had no weight to lose'. However, she was 'dissatisfied with the way her body looked.

Ms McAvoy said: 'I bought them through someone online, I didn't look at them, I just trusted this person.

They were worth about £50 for two weeks and you pricked yourself every day.

'It worked well. I did it for two months and it suppressed my appetite. I didn't eat that much, I lost about half a kilo.'

But once in the two-week period her hands started to itch. She said the side effect decreased by one antihistamine.

Ms McAvoy then ordered another batch in the hope of losing more weight.

She said the injections looked exactly the same as the first lot she bought and she stabbed herself in the stomach before going to work.

However, within seconds her tongue was swollen, her skin felt itchy and her eyes began to 'burn' to the point that she had difficulty opening them.

Mrs McAvoy said: 'I knew I was having some sort of reaction so I took an antihistamine.

'Then my heart started beating very fast and the sweat poured off me.

'I remember being on my hands and knees and my heart felt like it was about to explode, I knew something was wrong. I thought I was dying.'

Ms McAvoy said she fainted and hit her head on the wall in her hallway, leaving her with a concussion and a dislocated jaw.

'I went in and out of consciousness about four times. I honestly thought I was on my way out,” she said.

She managed to call her mother, who lives in the next street, and an ambulance.

After being rushed to hospital, Ms McAvoy said doctors told her she had suffered anaphylactic shock, her organs were starting to shut down and she had almost died.

The life-threatening allergic reaction can be caused by medications, food or insect stings and causes swelling of the throat and tongue, difficulty breathing and fainting.

It should be treated immediately in hospital, where patients may receive an adrenaline injection or drip, oxygen and fluids.

Ms McAvoy said: “I was terrified and ashamed. I'm a single mother with three children, I should have known better. I wasn't setting the example I wanted to set for my children.”

Despite tests, doctors were unable to discover what ingredients were in the 'lean shot' and said she was lucky to be alive.

British health chiefs warned in October that fake versions of weight-loss jabs were causing dangerous side effects.

Ozempic and Wegovy are prescribed by the NHS for type 2 diabetes and weight loss respectively. However, Ozempic can be prescribed off-label for weight loss.

The treatments stimulate weight loss by mimicking the action of a hormone released in the intestines after eating, called GLP-1.

The GLP-1 hormone not only tells the pancreas to produce more insulin, but it also returns to the brain and makes users feel full.

But such drugs are not without side effects. Users often complain of nausea, constipation and diarrhea after taking the medication.

Due to the enormous global demand, counterfeit versions have flooded the market.

Officials said they seized almost 400 possibly counterfeit Ozempic pens in 2023 and up to five Britons were hospitalized with life-threatening side effects.

Ms McAvoy said: 'I thought it was for diabetics but we have no idea what was in this.

'The doctors said the antihistamines I took at the beginning could have saved my life, I feel lucky to be alive.'

She is now warning others to avoid the 'dangerous' jabs that almost killed her.

She said: 'It makes me angry when I see people taking them or talking about them.

“Everyone is so obsessed with their body appearance and I definitely fell into that category, and it's completely taken advantage of.

'Absolutely don't do it, nothing positive can come from it.

'It's a quick solution, but it's dangerous: the injection is intended for diabetes and is used for the wrong things.'