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A mum's bid to shed a few pounds almost killed her when she was rushed to hospital bleeding - after using a 'skinny jab' she bought on Instagram.
Shannon Flannery was left vomiting continuously and urinating blood after using the £120 injectable, leading to her hospitalisation.
The 27-year-old said she bought the drug from an Instagram seller who marketed it as 'celebs' best kept secret', proclaiming they were a 'safe seller' with 'no dangerous pre-mixes'.
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The mum-of-two had been using the injectable, which purportedly suppresses appetite, for a week in a bid to shed a few pounds before a wedding this summer.
The family of drugs known as GLP-1 RAs, originally developed to treat diabetes, are now often being used for weight loss as they were found to suppress a patient's appetite.
Shannon paid £120 for ten-weeks worth of injections which arrived in the post with instructions on how to mix the ingredients.
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The stay-at-home mum, who lives in Medway, Kent, administered the first injectable into her tummy on February 14th and began feeling sick that day.
A week later, however, Shannon's symptoms became considerably worse after injecting the second jab - prompting the mum to visit A&E with sickness and blood in her urine.
There, doctors told Shannon that one more 'skinny jab' could have been 'fatal' due to the severity of her condition.
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After reporting the seller to police, Shannon now wants to warn others against using the products which nearly cost her her life.
Kent Police said they were unable to do anything as they couldn't locate the 'address of the seller' - despite Shannon having paid the company.
Shannon said: "I followed all the instructions and injected my first jab on February 14th into my tummy. For the rest of the day, I felt okay. I felt a bit sick, I had no appetite that day, I didn't eat.
"But seven days later I took the second jab and then that evening I felt very sick. I was vomiting that night and feeling really unwell. I just felt wiped out, I was constantly retching and nothing came out.
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"The sickness feeling just never went away. I was vomiting for four days. I was urinating blood too throughout the whole time.
"By the end of that week, my mum said to me 'you need to go to hospital'. At the time, I wasn't 100 per cent sure it was the injection, I thought it could just be a bug."
Upon going to Medway Maritime Hospital in Kent, Shannon was admitted onto the ward for two days where she was treated for sickness and dehydration.
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Shannon said: "I was so poorly in A&E, I was laid across the chairs. I was given the strongest anti-sickness tablets but they didn't work.
"One of the doctors said to my mum that because of how sick I was and how low my observations were, another injection could've been fatal.
"I was still poorly when I came out of hospital and didn't eat anything for minimum a week. I didn't have any appetite, I was still in a lot of pain and feeling unwell."
After her hospital admission, Shannon said she contacted the seller on social media demanding a refund - which was refused - and also reported the product to Kent Police.
The aesthetician apologised for Shannon's 'bad experience' but defended the product by stating she has 'hundreds of happy customers with no side effects'.
Shannon said: "I've definitely learnt my lesson. I won't be doing anything like that again. I blamed myself afterwards for even buying it. I thought it must be okay because so many people were using it.
"I feel lucky to be alive. My kids could've lost their mum. I wasn't able to be mum to them for a while, it was horrible for everybody.
"I'd never do anything like this again. I'd say to other women considering it, lose weight the right way: exercise, healthy eating. Don't take the easy way out. It's a lesson learnt.
"You don't know what's in these products. I've never felt so poorly in my life. I feel really really lucky."
A Kent Police spokesperson said: "On 1 March 2024 Kent Police received a report of an alleged fraud relating to the online sale of a weight loss product. As the address of the seller was not known, the incident was referred to Action Fraud for further enquiries.
"An officer also spoke to the woman who reported the incident to check on her welfare and advise her of the investigation process."
Instagram were contacted for comment.
Ben Thompson