A 21-year-old developed a lethal toxic blood condition after using a popular fat jab for three weeks.
The unnamed patient had been injecting herself with the Mounjaro – a jab recently approved for weight loss in the UK.
The unnamed woman fell into ketoacidosis after taking tirzepatideGetty
The woman was admitted to an intensive care unit after experiencing stomach pains, sickness and diarrhoea for two days straight.
Blood tests revealed she was suffering from a potentially fatal condition called ketoacidosis, which happens when substances called ketones build up in the blood.
In small doses, these proteins are normal and relatively harmless.
But in large quantities, they can make the blood too acidic and toxic, which can lead to swelling of the brain.
Doctors writing in the European Journal of Case Reports in Internal Medicine, said the patient had 26 times the normal level of ketones in her blood.
Just three weeks earlier, she started taking tirzepatide, the active ingredient in ‘king kong’ weight loss drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound, once a week.
Since starting the medicine, she has shed 11 pounds, according to the report.
The complication is one of the many side effects linked to the GLP-1 weight loss jabs, which have also been connected to 20 deaths in the UK.
What went wrong?
Usually, the body gets most of the energy it needs from glucose, the sugar in carbohydrates in the diet.
But if you don’t eat enough glucose-containing food, the body begins to source its energy from fat stores.
This chemical reaction is called ketoacidosis and produces ketones as a by-product.
This is the first reported case of ketoacidosis in someone taking weight-loss jabs, the doctors said.
They suggested the condition might be triggered in people taking weight loss jabs like Ozempic or Mounjaro because the medications suppress appetite, meaning they are not getting enough energy from food.
Ketoacidosis is more commonly seen in diabetic patients when they run out of insulin, a hormone that turns glucose into energy.
Symptoms include excessive thirst, frequent urination, vomiting, stomach pain, weakness, shortness of breath, confusion, and fruity-scented breath.
If left unrelated, ketoacidosis can lead to loss of consciousness and, eventually, death.
In the hospital, the patient, from Kuwait, in West Africa, suffered severe trouble breathing, high heart rate, and elevated blood pressure.
She was given IV fluids to restore her sodium and potassium levels and stop the vomiting and diarrhoea.
At her four-week follow-up, doctors found her symptoms had resolved, but she had gained two pounds.
The patient was advised to stop taking tirzepatide.
Everything you need to know about fat jabs
HERE’S what you should know about Ozempic, Wegovy, Saxenda and Mounjaro.
In March 2023, the NHS announced it would make Wegovy, a drug made by Danish firm Novo Nordisk, available on prescription to thousands of obese Brits.
It contains the drug semaglutide, which is said to have helped reality star Kim Kardashian and Twitter boss Elon Musk lose weight.
Wegovy, which helped a third of people reduce their weight by 20 per cent in trials, is now available from pharmacies like Boots.
How do they work?
The jabs work by suppressing your appetite, making you eat less calories and therefore lose weight.
To do this, an ingredient found in the fat-busting drug, known as Semaglutide, mimics the role of a natural hormone, called GLP-1.
GLP-1 is part of the signalling pathway that tells your body you have eaten, and prepares it to use the energy that comes from your food.
London GP and founder of wellgoodwellbeing.com, Dr Zoe Watson, said: “Your body naturally produces an appetite regulating hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1.
“These jabs work by regulating your appetite, which can lead to eating fewer calories and losing weight.”
Aren’t they diabetes drugs?
Semaglutide, the active drug in Wegovy, was originally sold under the name Ozempic specifically for diabetes patients.
But they started noticing it helped suppress their appetites, stopping them eating as much and helping them shed the pounds.
So Novo Nordisk developed Wegovy, which contains the same chemical but at higher doses specifically to aid weight loss.
Wegovy is not prescribed for diabetes patients.
Can I get them?
Wegovy is offered on prescription to obese adults given specialist weight loss treatment.
The NHS currently also offers a similar drug called Saxenda, or liraglutide.
Both are only available on Tier 3 and Tier 4 weight management services, which means you have to be referred to weight management clinics led by experts.
GPs can’t prescribe them on their own either, Dr Watson said.
The jabs have to be taken as part of an overall programme to help with lifestyle changes and psychological support to get the best effect from the medication prescribed.
But despite being approved for use, supply of Wegovy on the NHS has been postponed indefinitely because of a surge in worldwide demand.
Supply was also halved in the US because of the skyrocketing demand.
Are there any risks?
Like all medicines, the jabs do not come without side effects.
Around half of people taking the drug experience gut issues, including sickness, bloating, acid reflux, constipation and diarrhoea.
Dr Sarah Jarvis, GP and clinical consultant at patient.info, said: “One of the more uncommon side effects is severe acute pancreatitis, which is extremely painful and happens to one in 500 people.”
Other uncommon side effects include altered taste, kidney problems, allergic reactions, thyroid tumours, gallbladder problems and hypoglycemia.
What other options are there?
Mounjaro (brand name for tirzepatide) also came onto the market in early 2024.
Like Wegovy, tirzepatide stems from a drug originally designed to treat diabetes.
The weekly injection helped overweight people drop more than two stone in 18 months.
It is available with to order with a prescription online from pharmacies including Superdrug and LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor.
It works in a similar way to Wegovy and Saxenda, but is more effective.
Dr Mitra Dutt from LloydsPharmacy says: “Based on clinical trials, 96 per cent of people were able to lose more than five per cent of their body fat using Mounjaro. In similar trials, 84 per cent of people lost more than five per cent of their body weight on Wegovy, and 60 per cent on Saxenda.
“Mounjaro works by activating two hormonal receptors (GIP and GLP-1), which enhance insulin production, improve insulin sensitivity, and work to decrease food intake.”
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