A mum claimed she was on the ‘verge of death’ after injecting herself with a so-called ‘skinny jab’.
Victoria Boyd, 38, has admitted that being fat-shamed by an ex-boyfriend had left her suffering with serious self-esteem issues.
Despite no longer being in a relationship with the now-deceased man, the mum-of-four still felt ‘funny’ about her body and was determined to ‘lose a bit of weight’ before jetting off on holiday.
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Ahead of her trip to Turkey with her children and husband Pete Boyd, Victoria, from Walker, Newcastle Upon-Tyne, bought some ‘skinny jabs’ she saw advertised on Facebook.
However, the results saw her being rushed to hospital with a high heart rate and damaged kidneys.
"I saw it on Facebook on a tattoo parlour's page saying they had 'skinny jabs' for sale and saw all the results,” she recounted.
"I thought, maybe, this could be me. I just thought I wanted to be skinny. I had a holiday coming up and wanted to lose a bit of weight.
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"I was in an abusive relationship before I met my husband where I used to get called fat and ugly. My husband always says I look perfect but I went behind his back and bought it. I'm very funny about my body.”
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Victoria claimed that every time she looked in the mirror she felt ‘fat, ugly and disgusting’, so on April 10, she took the plunge and bought a pack of jabs for £75.
She claimed the advertisement for the injectable said they would help to suppress her appetite and thus allow her to lose weight.
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On April 10, she injected the first of 10 pre-mixed concoctions into her stomach.
Discussing the ordeal, which led her to fight for her life in hospital, she said: "I was alright at first but then I started feeling sleepy. I woke up at 2am the next morning and started being sick. I thought I was going to die. I couldn't stop being sick.
"I had to tell my husband what I'd done. He was so shocked. He said 'Why Vicky? You're perfect'. But I didn't feel perfect.
"I rang the hospital because I couldn't take it anymore. They rushed me straight in. My heart rate was 225bpm. I was thinking ‘What have I done?’ I knew it was to do with these jabs."
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After being continuously sick for 48 hours, the woman was admitted to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle.
Whilst serving as an in-patient, Victoria claimed that doctors told her she ‘was on the verge of dying’.
She later discovered that she was ‘severely dehydrated’ and that injecting the jabs had damaged her kidneys.
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“I felt so guilty I'd done this to myself,” Victoria explained. “I didn't start eating properly until two weeks later. I could only manage baby portions.”
Following her near-death experience, the Geordie has issued a warning to those who are looking to get a quick weight-loss fix.
"I'd tell anyone even thinking about buying one of these not to do it,” she detailed.
“I feel so ashamed. I was just thinking in my head this would fix how I look and I can be normal.
"It's not worth risking your life over. You could be unlucky and lose your life. My kids could've lost their mum over this stupid needle. I feel lucky to be alive.”
TYLA has contacted representatives of Facebook for further comment.
Ella Scott