03 January 2024 , 23:35
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A woman who weighed just eight stone was almost killed after buying a skinny jab online to get rid of her belly fat, which "triggered organ failure".
Lynsay McAvoy, from Edinburgh, was left scared for her life, after experiencing a severe allergic reaction from a "weight-loss jab" bought on the internet in April 2022.
The mother-of-three has been using the injectable, which supposedly suppresses appetite, for two months to try and lose a few pounds from her stomach. The family of drugs were known as GLP-1RAs and were first developed to treat diabetes.
Now they are used for weight loss because they can suppress a patient's appetite. The 42-year-old beautician weighed just eight stone at the time and says it enabled her to lose half a stone in a few weeks.
Yet she was scared to discover that after losing consciousness four times, she experienced a dislocated jaw from bashing her head against the wall. Lynsay's mum found her passed out on the floor before she was blue-lighted to the hospital after randomly suffering an adverse reaction.
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Medics said she had experienced an anaphylactic shock to the jab, and that her organs had started shutting down. Despite undergoing tests, Lynsay said doctors told her they were unable to discover what ingredients were contained in the 'skinny jab' and that she was fortunate to still be alive.
In retrospect, Lynsay said she feels "ashamed" and now warns others to avoid the viral drug, in her new career within beauty and aesthetics. Lynsay told Edinburgh Live.: "At the time I was looking to lose a bit of weight on my stomach, which is ridiculous because I didn't have weight to lose.
"I was eight stone at the time but I was unhappy with how my body looked. I bought them through someone online, I didn't look into it, I just trusted this person.
"They were about £50 for two weeks worth and you would jab yourself every day. If I had been working well. I'd done it for two months and it worked in suppressing my appetite, I wasn't eating as much, and I lost about half a stone.
"They were about £50 for two weeks worth and you would jab yourself every day. It had been working well. I'd done it for two months and it worked in suppressing my appetite, I wasn't eating as much, and I lost about half a stone.
"There was one time I did it where the palms of my hands were very itchy but it passed with an antihistamine." After seeing fast results from the first batch, Lynsay decided to place another order."
The injectables said they appeared the same as usual and the single mum jabbed herself in the stomach before setting off for work. However, within a matter of seconds, Lynsay began suffering an adverse reaction to the jab.
Lynsay said: "I was in the house by myself and was getting ready to go to work, it was very early in the morning. I was rushing about and jabbed myself in the stomach. Within seconds my tongue was really itchy - it was swelling up. Then my eyeballs began to burn. I could hardly open my eyes, they hurt so much.
"I looked in the mirror and you couldn't see any white in my eyes, they were completely bloodshot. I started to get itchy all over my body again, the palms of my hands were so itchy.
"I knew I was having some kind of reaction so I took an antihistamine. Then my heart started beating really fast and sweat was just pouring off me. I remember being on all fours and my heart felt like it was about to explode, I knew something wasn't right. I thought I was dying."
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After falling unconscious, Lynsay then woke up on the bathroom floor, with no memory of moving rooms. The mum had unknowingly hit her head against a wall, leaving her unconscious and with a dislocated jaw.
Lynsay said: "I had no idea where I was. I couldn't remember lying down, I didn't know what was going on. The next thing I remember waking up on the living room floor then the dining room floor and have no memory getting between the rooms.
"The last time I woke up I managed to get my phone and ring the ambulance and my mum who lives on the next street. There was a big dent in the hallway which was covered in makeup and handprints.
"I had face-planted into the wall and knocked myself out but have no memory of it. As a result of that, I had a really bad concussion and actually dislocated my jaw as well. I went in and out of consciousness about four times. I really thought I was on my way out."
After being rushed to hospital, medics told Lynsay she was in the latter stages of an anaphylactic shock and the next stage would be death. Lynsay said: "I was terrified, I felt ashamed. I'm a single mum with three kids, I should've known better. I wasn't setting an example I wanted to set for my kids.
"I don't touch anything now. I took the jab with me to the hospital and they ran tests on it and they couldn't identify anything that was in it. I was led to believe that it was for diabetics but we have no idea what was in this. The doctors said the antihistamine I took at the very start could've saved my life, I feel lucky to be alive."
Now, Lynsay is warning others to steer clear of the 'dangerous' jabs that nearly killed her. Lynsay said: "It makes me angry when I see people taking them or talking about them.
"Everybody is so obsessed with their body appearance and I definitely fell into that category, and they're completely taken advantage of. Absolutely do not do it, there's nothing positive that can come out of it. It's a quick fix but it's dangerous - the injection is meant to be used for diabetes and it's being used for the wrong thing."