I faced a huge backlash for taking Ozempic when I only weighed 60kg, I do regret it, says Lottie Moss
LOTTIE Moss has bravely opened up about her struggles with body image and her use of Ozempic.
The ”miracle” weight loss jab was originally created to help manage type 2 diabetes.
But the injections have skyrocketed in popularity as a solution for shedding pounds.
Numerous celebs, such as CBB star Sharon Osbourne and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, have admitted using the drug.
Amongst them is also model Lottie Moss, who was rushed to hospital and suffered a seizure after taking high doses of the jab.
The 26-year-old reality star, who injected the medication into her leg, decided to jump on the Ozempic trend despite weighing just nine stone – or 60kg.
The jab was intended for someone double her weight and, as a result left her with side effects so severe Lottie said she’d “rather die than take it again”.
Speaking on the Exhibit A podcast with fellow star Abbey Clancy, the blonde beauty admitted she knew she wasn’t ”overweight by any means”.
But she said she felt pressured from ”seeing all these celebrities” using the drug.
”I think I in myself just felt like I didn’t feel happy with my body,” said the model, who dubbed the jab ”a quick fix”.
”It’s just how I felt when I looked in the mirror.
”It was around the time when Kim Kardashian had been on it and I was seeing all these people getting skinny so quickly – and so skinny as well.
”I’m not super skinny by any means, but I think I just wanted to be like, you know, like I’d seen in the press.”
Critics are convinced that Ozempic is how Kim Kardashian shrunk her famous rear.
Despite the accusations, with Kim has rejected claims about using any unnatural means to lose weight.
During the premiere episode of The Kardashians season three, both Kim, 43, and Khloe, 40, insisted that their dramatic weight loss is a result of a strict diet and ”years of working out”, Geo News reported.
After slashing her weight by a staggering 16lbs in just two weeks to fit into the iconic Marylin Monroe dress for the 2022 Met Gala event, the SKIMS founder revealed she ”didn’t do anything unhealthy” to achieve her target.
THE FULL LIST OF CELEBRITIES WHO HAVE ADMITTED TO TAKING OZEMPIC
As weight-loss drugs gained popularity this year, the public has speculated about which celebrities are using Ozempic.
Here are the celebrities who’ve admitted to taking the drug:
- Lottie Moss
- Kelly Clarkson
- Tracy Morgan
- Stephen Fry
- Boris Johnson
- Jeremy Clarkson
- Rebel Wilson
- Amy Schumer
- Oprah Winfrey
- Elon Musk
- Sharon Osbourne
- Robbie Williams
- Remi Bader
- Heather Gay
- Chelsea Handler
- Claudia Oshry
- Patti Stanger
- Emily Simpson
- Dolores Catania
- Lauren Manzo
- Golnesa ‘GG’ Gharachedaghi
- Charles Barkley
- Billie Jean King
Lottie continued: ”I think so many people feel that, not even just like me who like is in that environment, you know?
”Like I go to all these fashion things and all these events and stuff and see these people in real life.
”I don’t think everyone’s on it, but I think it’s clear.
“I think we can look at the pictures and see who we think is, you know, you can take a wild guess and I think it’s probably accurate.”
Sharing her experience with the viral jab, the 26-year-old said she’d got her hands on Ozempic via a ”dodgy doctor” who ”was doing it under the table”.
”I can’t believe that he actually did it, how his conscience is okay with doing that,” said the model.
Lottie said she wasn’t aware of the negative side effects at the time, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WEIGHT LOSS JABS
What are they?
Weight loss jabs are a hot media topic at the moment, with hundreds of success stories sharing how they helped them shed the pounds.
In March, the NHS announced it would make Wegovy, a drug made by Danish firm Novo Nordisk, available on prescription to thousands of obese Brits.
It contains the drug semaglutide, which is said to have helped reality star Kim Kardashian and Twitter boss Elon Musk lose weight.
Wegovy, which helped a third of people reduce their weight by 20 per cent in trials, will also be available from pharmacies like Boots.
Meanwhile, pharma company Eli Lilly last month announced results for its own weight loss drug tirzepatide.
The weekly injection helped overweight people drop more than two stone in 18 months.
How do they work?
The jabs work by suppressing your appetite, making you eat less calories and therefore lose weight.
To do this, an ingredient found in the fat-busting drug, known as Semaglutide, mimics the role of a natural hormone, called GLP-1.
GLP-1 is part of the signalling pathway that tells your body you have eaten, and prepares it to use the energy that comes from your food.
London GP and founder of wellgoodwellbeing.com, Dr Zoe Watson, said: “Your body naturally produces an appetite regulating hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1.
“These jabs work by regulating your appetite, which can lead to eating fewer calories and losing weight.”
Aren’t they diabetes drugs?
Both Wegovy and tirzepatide stem from drugs originally designed to treat diabetes.
Semaglutide, the active drug in Wegovy, was originally sold under the name Ozempic specifically for diabetes patients.
But they started noticing it helped suppress their appetites, stopping them eating as much and helping them shed the pounds.
So Novo Nordisk developed Wegovy, which contains the same chemical but at higher doses specifically to aid weight loss.
Wegovy is not prescribed for diabetes patients.
Tirzepatide is sold under the name Mounjaro for diabetes.
Can I get them?
Wegovy is offered on prescription to obese adults given specialist weight loss treatment.
The NHS currently also offers a similar drug called Saxenda, or liraglutide.
Both are only available on Tier 3 and Tier 4 weight management services, which means you have to be referred to weight management clinics led by experts.
GPs can’t prescribe them on their own either, Dr Watson said.
The jabs have to be taken as part of an overall programme to help with lifestyle changes and psychological support to get the best effect from the medication prescribed.
But despite being approved for use, the supply of Wegovy on the NHS has been postponed indefinitely because of a surge in worldwide demand.
Supply was also halved in the US because of the skyrocketing demand.
Eli Lilly said it will apply for a UK licence for tirzepatide soon, which could make it available to the NHS.
Are there any risks?
Like all medicines, the jabs do not come without side effects.
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, thyroid tumours, gallbladder problems and hypoglycemia.
The young woman, who dubbed the experience ”crazy”, revealed she went from around 60kg to 52kg in four weeks.
Unable to ”keep any liquid down” or consume any food, Lottie began to feel unwell and contacted the doctor – who rushed her to the hospital in the early hours of the morning.
She said: ”When I got there, they were like ‘Take her straight to A&E‘. They literally put me in a wheelchair, wheeled me through the hospital, sent me straight there.”
The lack of water caused Lottie’s body to ”shut down”, sending her into shock, shaking uncontrollably with doctors and her friend next to her.
”And yeah, I mean, it was so terrifying. Like I really, it’s your whole body like cramps almost.
”It’s genuinely like scared me so badly.
”Like I would never, even if like, it was like you would be skinny forever now, take this potion.”
Despite raising awareness about the dangers of the controversial drug, the 26-year-old has also faced criticism for having taken Ozempic.
She continued: ”I mean, I understand the backlash because there is obviously a lack of Ozempic right now.
”And that is super dangerous and, you know, really unfair for the people that actually have diabetes and need this medication.
”And obviously, yeah, I completely regret taking it now. And I have learned my lesson.
”But I only came out and said about it because I know how many people are misusing it right now.
”I just think that no one has really spoken out about it – and I think it’s good that somebody does.
”So yeah, you know, I hugely regret it. And I think maybe me talking about my experience with it will stop someone else who is misusing it from using it.”