A British woman has gone viral for being candid about the side effects of using an Ozempic-like type 2 diabetes medication to lose 84 pounds (38 kilograms) in 10 months.
Mounjaro, an antidiabetic medication also designed for weight loss, is sold over the counter to individuals who have a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or higher, according to Diabetes UK.
Highlights
- A British woman has gone viral on social media for being candid about the side effects of an Ozempic-like weight loss medication.
- Part of the process was a slowed digestion, reduced hunger and fewer food cravings.
- Higher confidence levels were part of the package as she felt comfortable in shorts for the first time in a decade.
Nevertheless, the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) advises against its use without prescription, citing health risks.
Bethany, however, has used the medication, and according to her, with great success—but not without a few undesirable side effects.
Bethany endured nausea, hair loss, and burps that smelled like rotten eggs
Image credits: bethanydianax
The sulfur burps, resulting from accumulating hydrogen sulfide gas in the digestive tract, were one of a few challenges.
Notably, she was not the only person to experience the malodorous effect.
“It's the Sulphur burps and the feeling of nausea which I cannot stand, especially when I'm hardly eating anything to cause it. Still on the plus side, weight is coming off well,” a commenter wrote in the thread.
Image credits: bethanydianax
Additionally, when Maunjaro was not clogging up her digestive tract and causing constipation, it swung to the opposite extreme: diarrhea.
Bethany went on to say that she also endured nausea, heartburn, wind, and acid reflux.
Another reaction Bethany experienced affected her exterior: her hair fell out. “Happens with any weight loss, but yeah, it IS NOT COOL,” she remarked.
Image credits: bethanydianax
Bethany went on to say that she also endured nausea, heartburn, wind, and acid reflux.
Another reaction Bethany experienced affected her exterior: her hair fell out. “Happens with any weight loss, but yeah, it IS NOT COOL,” she remarked.
This Ozempic-like medication makes the user burn body fat to lose weight
Image credits: bethanydianax
Perhaps the most unsurprising effect of a medication designed to make one lose weight is appetite suppression. Bethany revealed she experienced this too.
Mounjaro contains tirzepatide, which imitates the GLP-1 and GIP hormones in the human body.
In doing so, it sends signals to the brain to regulate energy balance, per a study published by the National Library of Medicine.
Part of the process is a slowed digestion, which reduces hunger and fights food cravings, making the users burn body fat for energy.
These intricacies, for Bethany, were well worth the results.
She says the medicine removed unwanted thoughts of food
“On the plus side,” she captions one of her TikToks, “I did lose six stone in nine months and I am such a better version of myself.”
To the question, “What do you mean you watched your spark come back?” Bethany compares herself–before she shed the excess–to videos of her hiking, walking, and enjoying the outdoors.
Image credits: bethanydianax
In another update, she points out that the medication was also responsible for her improved mental state.
To the soundtrack of Florence and the Machine’s ‘Dog Days Are Over,’ she captions a reel noting her departure from “food noise” (unwanted thoughts of food) and the prevalence of mental calmness.
Higher confidence levels were also part of the package and came with her ability to wear shorts in summer for the first time in a decade and the fact that food no longer ruled her life.
From size 18 to 8 in ten months
Image credits: bethanydianax
Her well-documented ten-month stint on Mounjaro started when she was 27.
At the beginning, she battled Lipedema, which she described as a “hormonal ‘painful fat’ condition,” affecting her arms and her legs.
The disorder, which affects 11% of females globally, inflates the legs and arms, but is not per se obesity, per My Cleveland Clinic.
Image credits: bethanydianax
Bethany admitted that weighing 145 lbs (65.8 kgs) at the time made her feel insecure.
“I decided to do something about that and changed the way I looked and so I went on a weight loss journey,” she said.
She is aware that the condition will persist despite her clothing size dropping from 18 to 8.
The media was ‘ruthless’ and ‘unhinged’ about her weight loss journey
Image credits: bethanydianax
Part of the experience was the press’s coverage of her during the process. In a recent (June 2) TikTok, she lashed out at the Daily Mail and its readers.
“And then we got the Daily Mail. The comments in this are unhinged,” she said. “People in the Daily Mail are ruthless. Honestly.”
Another UK outlet to fall afoul of the social media celebrity was The Sun, which she said posted about her five times.
She accused them of publishing her most unflattering photos and zooming in on them.
But Bethany's fans were with her:
“Don’t listen to people; they are just not nice! Well done to you!” wrote one, summarizing the general theme of support in the comment thread.
Bethany’s audience is largely supportive, with many aspiring to achieve her results
