WEIGHTY ISSUE
I lost over 5st on Mounjaro but still avoid mirrors – I look like a melted welly with saggy skin down to my knees
And scroll down for everything you need to know about the weight loss jabs
A GRAN who shed more than five stone on Mounjaro is now fundraising to have surgery abroad - as she compares her saggy skin to a "melted welly".
Angela Brown weighed 24st when she was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and knew she had to lose weight for her health.
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The 52-year-old managed to lose 6st naturally through a combination of dieting and exercise before her progress stalled.
It was at this point she turned to the weight loss jabs to help her journey.
Mounjaro is the brand name for Tirzepatide - a drug that lowers blood sugar levels.
It produces more insulin and slows down how quickly food is digested.
Originally prescribed for people with type-2 diabetes, it is now available to those struggling with obesity with BMIs over 35.
With the help of the jabs, Angela - from Cumbernauld, Lanarkshire - has now gone from a size 26 to a 12/14.
She has more energy to run around after her grandkids and has reversed her diabetes.
But despite her trimmer figure, she admits she hates looking in the mirror because she has been left with so much loose skin.
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She told the : "The weight just melted away. It [Mounjaro] helped my metabolism to kick in and I lost five and a half stone.
“I’ve lost so much weight and my heath has vastly improved, but instead of feeling confident I hate looking in the mirror.
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"My stomach stretches down to my knees and the amount of saggy skin on my legs has left me feeling like my body looks like a melted welly.
“I feel so embarrassed, and I have to go up a clothes size just to fit the skin hanging down into my trousers.
"I was so heavy there was no possible way of losing weight without this happening and exercise won’t help.
"I’ve now hit my target weight and I’m off Mounjaro, I just want to get rid of the droopy skin and rebuild my confidence.”
Unable to get the cosmetic provedure on the NHS, Angela says she is having to fork out £12,000 to have the three surgeries abroad.
She has managed to save £5,000 towards the ops by herself so she can "live life to the full without feeling embarrassed" by how she looks.
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But she has also launched a GoFundMe appeal to help reach her overall goal.
To donate to Angela's surgery fund, click .
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
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