Influencer who bought ‘King Kong’ weight loss drug online warns of dangers: ‘I wish I never did’

A man who ‘thought he was going to die’ after using the ‘King Kong’ of weight loss injections is warning others about the dangers.

Georgie Aldous, 26, is calling on online pharmacies to use stricter checks when issuing prescriptions for weight loss drugs – despite losing 49kg.

Georgie, from Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England said his concerns followed his experience of buying Mounjaro online.

It was announced earlier this month that the drug – which is also known as Tirzepatide – will soon be available on the NHS in England.

The beauty influencer has struggled in the past with overeating and yo-yoing between diets, but decided to try the drug in March this year.

He paid almost $1.26 per pack of the drug at Lloyds Online Pharmacy over five months and suffered from tachycardia and panic attacks.

Tachycardia is a rapid heartbeat that is out of proportion to age and activity level.

Georgie said: “I would rather have the weight than feel the way the injections made me feel.

“I’ve never experienced such a sense of emptiness since I was in it.

“I’ve always had issues with food and everyone knows what Ozempic is because it’s everywhere – on social media and with celebrities.

“I wish I never did.”

In March this year, Georgie ordered Mounjaro where the screening process required him to show his ID and submit a video of himself standing on the scale.

He chose not to inform the provider about his binge eating – and five hours after starting the application, his application was approved.

For the next five months, Georgie received weekly injections of the drug with his first dose of 0.07 oz on March 5 – costing him $239.08.

Georgie said: “It’s something I looked at because when you look at weight loss online, it shows injections.

“The health risk initially put me off because my mother died of cancer a few years ago.

“I decided that I would give it a go since I was lucky enough to afford it. I was at a loss as to what to do as I was skinny, I gained weight, but it’s the mental aspect.

“It’s an addiction in a way and I’m not going to say it didn’t work because it did. But there are side effects.

“I wasn’t hungry at all. My sugar cravings were gone. “I didn’t need it medically, but I was still able to buy it and that’s what I don’t think is fair.”

Georgie, who weighed around 238 pounds, continued taking the drug until August, losing 50 pounds and dropping to 188 pounds.

The injection price fluctuated with Georgie paying $251.69 in April for 0.17 oz, $289.63 in May for 0.33 oz and $277 for 0.42 oz in July.

However, Georgie began to feel weak and said she would regularly skip breakfast, have a flat white and banana for lunch – then eat just 600 calories for dinner.

He explained: “I’ve had anxiety in the past but never experienced a panic attack until this drug.

“I was sweating, I looked white and I couldn’t concentrate.”

Georgie had a massive panic attack in August and sought emergency help – and said she thought she was going to die. His heart rate was more than 140 beats per minute.

The next day he went to A&E at the James Paget hospital and they said it was tachycardia.

Georgie said she was shaking, crying and had palpitations – and visited A&E several times over the next few days.

Georgie said: “I think it should be an extremely last resort to get to Mounjaro and people should treat it as such.

“It has left me with panic disorders and health anxiety.

“You have to go through the NHS or speak to your doctor. I would never have done it if I had known.

“People shouldn’t hate themselves too much about weight as we’re only in a small chapter of our lives.

“Try calorie deficit or therapy before injecting anything. You don’t want to end up in A&E or leave feeling the way I do.”

A spokesperson for Eli Lilly, the pharmaceutical company that makes Mounjaro, said: “Mounjaro should only be used when prescribed by a licensed healthcare professional and prescriptions should be filled and filled by reputable pharmacies and providers.

“Regulatory agencies conduct extensive independent evaluations of the benefits and risks of each new drug.

“Lilly is committed to continuously monitoring, evaluating and reporting safety data to ensure the most up-to-date information is available to regulators and prescribers.”