Fake Ozempic: Mom Almost Dies After Taking Fake Weight Loss Pill

A mother-of-two who almost died after taking a bogus diet shot is urging others to be careful what they buy online.

Michelle Sword, 46, from Carterton, Oxfordshire, ordered the diet pill from an online beauty salon last year.

She thought she had bought an Ozempic injection, but instead it was rapid-acting insulin, which sent her into a diabetic coma.

“I can’t believe I let my insecurities kill me,” Ms Sword said.

She first purchased an Ozempic injection in 2020 from a legitimate online pharmacy, which helped her lose nearly 26 pounds (12 kg) in six months.

“I was eating a lot less, the weight was coming off and I felt good at that point,” she said.

But in the fall of 2023, her weight crept up again, so she decided to buy another bar.

“Ozempic was much harder to come by, so I didn’t go the traditional route of doing it,” she said.

“The beauty and aesthetic companies online all seemed to have it.”

She managed to get hold of one of them and they said they could deliver it right away.

Ms Sword said that, unlike the previous provider, there had been no medical examination.

“Because I had done it, I thought it would be OK,” she said.

Soon after the injection, she collapsed and had a seizure.

Her blood sugar had dropped to about 0.2 millimoles per liter, with a normal range of four to seven, sending her into a diabetic coma.

“I was rushed into hospital and a team rushed in, got around me and tried everything they could at that point to work against what was in my body,” she said.

Weight loss pills have become popular because of social media and celebrities who use them to get rid of the extra kilos quickly.

Although prescribed on the NHS for those who are overweight or have Type 2 diabetesthey can be purchased privately, with not all providers are legitimate.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said a total of 869 counterfeit pens had been seized in the UK.

They all contained insulin but were rebranded as the diet pill.

The legitimate drug contains a substance called semaglutide, which mimics a hormone in the gut that suppresses appetite and aids in weight loss.

The BBC has tried to contact the company that sold the Sword counterfeit drug, but it appears to have gone out of business.

Novo Nordisk is the only company in the UK with MHRA approved products containing semaglutide.

A spokesman said the company was “in close discussions with the MHRA to support patients against counterfeit products”.

Obesity expert Professor Barbara Mcgowan said the case was “unfortunately not isolated”.

“A lot of people are really desperate to get these drugs because it’s quite difficult to get them from the NHS,” she said.

“So they go to other parties, and unfortunately some of these parties do not give drugs that have gone through the right channels.

“They have not gone through strict quality control and may contain insulin, which is of course very dangerous.”

Ms Sword said she regretted taking the slimming pill “every single day”.

“I want to remind people to put the same value on themselves,” she said.

“If you’re going to do this, do it properly.”