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.
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"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.
"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.
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She claimed the advertisement for the injectable said they would help to suppress her appetite and thus allow her to lose weight.
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.
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"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’.
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She later discovered that she was ‘severely dehydrated’ and that injecting the jabs had damaged her kidneys.
“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