{"id":789136,"date":"2026-10-02T01:28:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T01:28:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/789136\/"},"modified":"2026-10-02T01:28:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T01:28:16","slug":"i-lost-nine-stone-with-mounjaro-but-no-one-warned-me-of-this-side-effect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/789136\/","title":{"rendered":"I lost nine stone with Mounjaro, but no one warned me of this side effect"},"content":{"rendered":"

Samantha Middleton was over 19 and a half stone when she started taking GLP-1s<\/a>. \u201cWith any sort of exertion, I was getting breathless, and I had excruciating back pain<\/a>,\u201d she says. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t vain \u2013 I just wanted to feel better\u201d.<\/p>\n

At the age of 38, her weight had become life-limiting: \u201cI stopped going to places. I went to Edinburgh and the walk to the castle almost killed me \u2013 I was in so much pain.\u201d Her work as a carer<\/a> was affected, too. \u201cIt was a lot of walking, lifting and physical exertion. It was so painful I was having to take sick leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

GLP-1 medications turned Samantha\u2019s life around \u2013 after a brief stint on Wegovy<\/a>, which she says gave her \u201cextreme stomach pains\u201d (the manufacturers say side effects can include stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, and constipation) she started Mounjaro<\/a> in July 2024 and by this January, had hit her \u201cmaintenance weight\u201d of 10 stone.<\/p>\n

However, she began to notice one particular, persistent side effect<\/a>. \u201cEvery time I raised my arms, like when I was driving, or when I went to a concert and I was trying to dance, all I could see was my arms swinging out of the corner of my eye\u201d. She felt limited again. \u201cI like to expose my arms, because I\u2019m covered in tattoos, but I was very self-conscious and stopped wearing sleeveless tops.\u201d<\/p>\n

One huge side effect of the seismic weight loss<\/a> that millions of Britons are experiencing on GLP-1s is the loose skin that\u2019s left behind. According to clinical research company IQVIA, an estimated<\/a> 2.4 million Britons have been prescribed GLP-1s, but just 200,000 people<\/a> are receiving it through the NHS over three years.<\/p>\n

Samantha knew that despite a BMI in the \u201chigh 40s and low 50s\u201d, she had none of the comorbidities \u2013 such as diabetes, high blood pressure or sleep apnoea \u2013 that would get her an NHS prescription. So she turned to an online pharmacy.<\/p>\n

The rise of online arms-length pharmacies selling this medication means that many GLP-1 patients<\/a> are not getting the correct support. A recent study<\/a> from the University of Cambridge has found that many users experience a lack of medical support while taking the medication, and suffer deficiencies as a result.<\/p>\n

\"SamanthaSamantha was, at her heaviest, nearly 20 stone, and at 5ft 2in this meant she had a BMI in the high 40s and low 50s.<\/p>\n

Simon Mackey, consultant plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgeon at Benenden Hospital in Kent, has seen an uptick in patients seeking out skin removal. \u201cMy business personally has increased by about 60 per cent over the last 12 months,\u201d says Mackey. \u201cAnd I\u2019d say that\u2019s largely as a result of the incredible weight loss people are having with these medications.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the distribution of GLP-1s should be more carefully managed than it is. People are essentially going to drug dealers and getting these things\u201d.<\/p>\n

Samantha got her Wegovy through a regulated online chemist, but still \u201cI felt like they didn\u2019t give me all the information. Even when I got Mounjaro in-person, the only warnings were that it could potentially cause pancreatitis, or you may have issues with your gall bladder<\/a>. But nothing really cosmetic [was mentioned], like loose skin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although weight loss can bring important health benefits and may improve longevity, loose skin in areas such as the abdomen, arms, thighs and breasts can cause discomfort, inflammation or infection, as well as significant distress<\/a> about appearance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is generally no NHS funding to remove excess skin, even when the surgery or medication that led to the weight loss was NHS-funded, which can leave patients in a difficult position,\u201d says Mackey. \u201cPrescribers, whether private or NHS, should therefore make sure patients understand these possible consequences and are psychologically prepared for them before starting treatment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith my patients, I use the analogy of a plastic bag. So if you stretch a plastic bag a little bit and let go it will ping back, but if it goes beyond its elastic limit, it can\u2019t. You get stretch marks, and whatever you do, it\u2019s very difficult to shrink it back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Samantha attempted to tighten her skin: \u201cI tried to increase my protein intake. I was trying weights<\/a>. I bought all these creams that claimed to help with loose skin, and obviously they didn\u2019t help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Working as a GP\u2019s receptionist, she knew that getting cosmetic surgery<\/a> on the NHS was unlikely. So she booked a \u00a350 consultation with a local surgeon. The operation to reduce the skin on her arms cost \u00a35,865. \u201cI don\u2019t have savings, and I don\u2019t like taking bank loans. I was looking at credit cards, but luckily, my mum lent me money, and I\u2019m paying her back\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"SamanthaSamantha before the \u00a35,865 surgery to remove excess skin from her arms<\/p>\n

So what does the skin removal operation look like? Essentially it involves pulling skin taut, then cutting the excess off, before sewing it back together along a tighter line. The skin is always weighed after removal. \u201cThe maximum we\u2019ve removed is close to 11kg, but for most people it\u2019s about 2-4kg,\u201d says Mackey.<\/p>\n

Samantha found the process very simple: \u201cI\u2019ve got a scar that runs from my elbow to just into my armpit and it\u2019s slightly red. I\u2019m using silicone scar tape and factor-50 SPF, but I\u2019ve been told it\u2019ll take 18 months to heal fully.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SamanthaSamantha Middleton after skin reduction surgery that cost her almost \u00a36,000<\/p>\n

However, like all operations, it isn\u2019t without risk. Paradoxically, those who may have lost the most weight could carry the most risk during operations like this. \u201cWhen people have gained a significant amount of weight, their vessel size increases, so\u2026 the risks and complications of these procedures seem to increase significantly,\u201d says Mackey.<\/p>\n

In addition, studies have found<\/a> that GLP-1 patients will often gain weight after stopping the medication, and if they have already had skin reduction surgery, they will be doing so over skin that is \u201cpoorer quality\u201d, Mackey adds. \u201cIn an ideal world with any of these procedures you need to have achieved your target weight, plateaued for six months,\u201d Mackey argues.<\/p>\n

Samantha\u2019s own weight had levelled out for just five months before her operation in May. She says she \u201cwould do it all again in a heartbeat. My confidence has shot through the roof\u201d.<\/p>\n

She wants other people on GLP-1s to not have to go through so much hassle. \u201cI think it\u2019s unfair that people cannot source GLP-1s and get skin removal surgery [on the NHS] if it\u2019s causing enough of an impact. The NHS purports to say mental health<\/a> is such an important part of people\u2019s healthcare but doesn\u2019t take cosmetic things seriously. Even though losing a lot of weight means I\u2019m saving the NHS money in the long run.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Samantha Middleton was over 19 and a half stone when she started taking GLP-1s. \u201cWith any sort of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":789137,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[13440,242,59,102,16839,56,54,55,4405,10029],"class_list":["post-789136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-cosmetic-surgery","tag-features","tag-gb","tag-health","tag-semaglutide","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-weight-loss","tag-weight-loss-jabs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/789136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=789136"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/789136\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/789137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=789136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=789136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=789136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}