Michelle Sword with her hands in her pockets, smiling at the camera
Michelle was ‘ecstatic’ at the results of legitimate Ozempic (Picture: Michelle Sword/SWNS)

Michelle Sword, 47, first started taking weight loss jabs in 2020 after she put on two stone following the breakdown of her 20-year marriage.

‘They came at a time when I really needed them,’ says the mum-of-two, from Carterton, Oxfordshire.

‘I’d always been a size 8 to 10, but the weight had been slowly creeping on as I turned to comfort eating… I no longer recognised myself in the mirror.

Within three months of buying her first pen of Ozempic — a medication containing semaglutide, which mimics a hormone in the gut that suppresses appetite — from a legitimate online pharmacy, Michelle had lost two stone.

‘Ecstatic’ to reach her goal of getting back to her previous weight and dress size, the school receptionist came off the drug.

But while she maintained the results through diet and exercise for a while, she soon slipped into the same ‘bad eating habits’ — and by 2023, the extra pounds ‘really showed’ on her petite 5ft 2in frame.

Michelle Sword before losing weight. // A woman who almost died after unknowingly injecting herself with
Her weight fluctuated, and she started looking for a ‘quick fix’ to get back on track (Picture: Michelle Sword/SWNS)

This time around, Michelle found legitimate Ozempic was ‘increasingly hard to come by’ online. So when she spotted a company selling the jabs on Facebook, it ‘seemed like a no-brainer’.

‘I panicked and wanted a quick fix,’ she admits. ‘I paid £150 through PayPal, and two days later got a month’s supply.’

Although she says the pen itself looked identical to the previous ones, with a blue plastic cover and Ozempic sticker, there was one warning sign that something wasn’t right.

The fake jabs. // A woman who almost died after unknowingly injecting herself with
She couldn’t tell the difference between the fake pens and the ones she’d tried previously (Picture: Michelle Sword/SWNS)

Michelle recalls: ‘It just kept clicking. I didn’t really know what the dose was, so I just decided to stop after a few clicks.

‘When I looked at the inside of the vial, the liquid didn’t seem to have gone down that far, so I remember thinking I might have to take some more later.’

Dismissing her concerns, she proceeded with the injection. But just 20 minutes later, ‘everything went black’ and Michelle collapsed on the floor.

Michelle, in a diabetic coma, in an ambulance. // A woman who almost died after unknowingly injecting herself with
The mum fell unconscious and had to be revived in hospital (Picture: Victoria Blissett/SWNS)

Luckily, her 15-year-old daughter had unexpectedly come home early and called 999 for help. Paramedics spent over an hour trying to revive the unconscious mum, before rushing her to hospital where she was revived.

‘My blood sugar level was 0.2 millimoles per litre, when it should have been between four and seven,’ she says. ‘I was virtually on the brink of death.’

Tests later revealed the pen was full of insulin, which had essentially caused a diabetic coma — and although Michelle’s condition eventually stabilised, this near miss led to her to swear she’d ‘never touch jabs again’.

Ozempic manufacturer Novo Nordisk says…

‘Patient safety is a top priority for Novo Nordisk and as counterfeits pose a real threat to safety, we are working in close collaboration with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to identify and eliminate counterfeit drugs from the UK market,’ the company says on its website.

‘Every counterfeit case we are made aware of is looked into and reported to the authorities according to the applicable regulations. We also work with a third party specialised in monitoring and taking down of illegal online offers to specifically address this…

‘Prescription-only medicines should only be obtained through legitimate sources and after consultation with a healthcare professional.’

She also hopes to ‘warn others’ about the dangers of fake weight loss drugs, following an MHRA report which revealed more than 6,500 counterfeit products claiming to contain Ozempic were seized in the UK in just over two years.

‘It’s absolutely disgusting there are people out there who prey on people’s insecurities,’ Michelle says. ‘And it’s also not helpful that social media platforms endorse these fakes either — with pop up advertisements and links to websites.’

Keen to make sure ‘no one makes the same mistake’, she warns that regulated medication always requires a prescription, so ‘if there are no eligibility checks, it’s probably a scam.’

Michelle Sword with her friend Vicky. // A woman who almost died after unknowingly injecting herself with
Michelle, left, hopes to warn others about counterfeit weight loss drugs (Picture: Michelle Sword/SWNS)

Similarly, Michelle urges people to heed the red flags she ignored, from the website asking her to pay via PayPal, to the spelling errors on the product and instructions.

‘I feel stupid and fooled looking back now,’ she adds.

‘But if I can stop one person from seeking black market jabs, then my story is definitely worth sharing.’

How to spot fake weight loss jabs

There are three main factors to consider here, according to Chemist4U head of pharmacy, Jason Murphy:

Price: ‘If the cost of the medication seems too good to be true, it most likely is,’ he tells Metro.

Source: These drugs are prescription-only, meaning they can only be issued by specialised medical professionals after a consultation.
Regulated providers are required to assess factors like your medical history and weight, but unlicensed sellers – typically operating on social media and in salons – often skip this step, risking patient safety.

Appearance: The third indicator to look out for is the appearance of the pen itself, which Jason says should ‘come in well-designed packaging with clear, high-quality printing and branding’ and ‘feel solid and well made’. On the contrary, fakes may have spelling mistakes, blurry printing, incorrect logos, and feel cheap and flimsy, with flaws like uneven colouring, rough edges or loose parts. 
A particularly important thing to look out for is a unique serial number, as counterfeits either won’t have one or what’s printed on the packaging won’t match the real manufacturer’s records.

Ahsan Bhatti, pharmacist and owner of UK online pharmacy Quick Meds, also comments: ‘These non-compliant injectables are a genuine risk to patient safety as we are unable to verify how they’ve been manufactured — whether they’ve been stored safely, let alone whether the dosage is even correct.

‘Ultimately, the only real way to ensure you’re in receipt of a safe and legitimate product is by ordering GLP-1 medication from registered, regulated pharmacy providers.

‘Under no circumstance should you trust weight-loss pens sold on apps such as TikTok, messaging apps or via unverified websites.

‘Anyone who suspects sellers of providing counterfeit goods, should report them immediately to the MHRA via its Yellow Card scheme.’

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Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.

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