I became a ‘hot girl' after losing three stone on fat jabs, but a mortifying side effect nearly ruined my life
However, there was one accessory she wasn't expecting to add to her wardrobe.
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As well as figure-hugging dresses and thigh skimming skirts, Emmie was forced to start wearing panty liners daily.
Aside from her astonishing weight-loss, incontinence has been an unwelcome side effect of taking Mounjaro.
The 34-year-old explains: 'It would happen when I laughed, coughed or sneezed.
"I wet myself during one date, I never imagined that could happen with the jab.
'It was so frustrating, I finally felt confident enough to go on dates but I spent the whole time worrying it would happen.
'It was humiliating - I was a hot girl who couldn't pull.'
Events manager and single mum Emmie, who lives in Manchester with her 12-year-old daughter, says the unfortunate side-effect made her self-conscious
She admits: 'I constantly worried that I smelt of wee.
'It was really off-putting and something I never imagined I would have to deal with.'
Emmie says she began struggling with her weight last year when she started comfort eating during the winter months.
Doc gives advice on how to tackle Mounjaro side effect of excess loose skin
She says: 'I loved a good takeaway, a bottle of wine and chocolates.
'It was so cold last year, I found myself indulging way too much.'
By Christmas, the mum realised she'd gained three stone in just two months.
'As well as my main job, I also do catalogue modelling,' she says.
'I knew I needed to lose weight as I noticed I was losing work since gaining weight.'
A mortified Emmie hit the gym but found it hard to shift the pounds.
'I had friends who were using weight loss jabs, I'd heard good things and decided to give them a go,' she says.
In January, Emmie bought Mounjarno on a private prescription, paying £150 a month for the jabs.
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'As soon as I started taking the jabs my food noise disappeared for the first time in my life,' she says.
But while Emmie quickly noticed her weight falling off, she soon became aware of her unfortunate side effect too.
She says: 'In the first four weeks, I lost seven pounds and felt amazing.
'But around the same time, I had been chatting to a man at a bar when I realised I had wet myself.
'It was just a few drops, but I fled to the loo with my jacket around my waist.'
Emmie's rapid weight loss in the first four weeks meant a rapid loss of tone around her pelvic floor muscles.
A study by HealthCentral.com revealed Ozempic or semaglutide can be linked to stress urinary incontinence.
This means the pelvic floor muscles can't hold up under pressure when you cough, sneeze or laugh because the drug's rapid weight and muscle loss, especially in pelvic muscles, lowers pelvic support and increases leakage risk.
Emmie says: 'The first time it happened, I convinced myself I had drunk too much.
'When it happened at work, I bought period panty liner pads to help control my pee problem.
'I even considered adult nappies for an extreme emergency.
Everything you need to know about fat jabs
Weight loss jabs are all the rage as studies and patient stories reveal they help people shed flab at almost unbelievable rates, as well as appearing to reduce the risk of serious diseases.
Wegovy – a modified version of type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic – and Mounjaro are the leading weight loss injections used in the UK.
Wegovy, real name semaglutide, has been used on the NHS for years while Mounjaro (tirzepatide) is a newer and more powerful addition to the market.
Mounjaro accounts for most private prescriptions for weight loss and is set to join Wegovy as an NHS staple this year.
How do they work?
The jabs work by suppressing your appetite, making you eat less so your body burns fat for energy instead and you lose weight.
They do this my mimicking a hormone called GLP-1, which signals to the brain when the stomach is full, so the drugs are officially called GLP-1 receptor agonists.
They slow down digestion and increase insulin production, lowering blood sugar, which is why they were first developed to treat type 2 diabetes in which patients' sugar levels are too high.
Can I get them?
NHS prescriptions of weight loss drugs, mainly Wegovy and an older version called Saxenda (chemical name liraglutide), are controlled through specialist weight loss clinics.
Typically a patient will have to have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, classifying them as medically obese, and also have a weight-related health condition such as high blood pressure.
GPs generally do not prescribe the drugs for weight loss.
Private prescribers offer the jabs, most commonly Mounjaro, to anyone who is obese (BMI of 30+) or overweight (BMI 25-30) with a weight-related health risk.
Private pharmacies have been rapped for handing them out too easily and video calls or face-to-face appointments are now mandatory to check a patient is being truthful about their size and health.
Are there any risks?
Yes – side effects are common but most are relatively mild.
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, gallbladder problems and hypoglycemia.
Evidence has so far been inconclusive about whether the injections are damaging to patients' mental health.
Figures obtained by The Sun show that, up to January 2025, 85 patient deaths in the UK were suspected to be linked to the medicines.
'I had no idea that this was a possible side effect of the jab, it's definitely not one that people talk about.'
In a bid to ease her embarrassing symptoms, Emmie immediately began doing her pelvic floor exercises three times a day.
She says: 'I use Kegel balls, which come in different weights with strings attached.
'You pop inside your vagina and practice holding them for different periods of time.
'It took four weeks of training, but my symptoms have finally eased up.'
While urinary incontinence might have been a negative side effect, Emmie has found an added bonus aside from her weight loss.
'The jab has increased by sex drive and my orgasms are stronger than ever,' she says.
'I consider that an added bonus.'
According to research, the GLP-1 drugs can also alter autonomic nervous system responses and increase blood circulation, especially to your pubic area, which could explain Emmie's heightened sensitivity and increased sex drive.
After six months of using Mounjarno, Emmie has now lost 3st 1lb and has no regrets.
She says: 'I don't regret using the drug to fast-track my weight loss.
'It's not cheating, it's using what works for you.
'The oddball side effects created havoc in my life, but I got through it and I am back to feeling like my best self.'
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The Sun
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BBC News
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Some supermarkets do sell sliced packaged sourdough – and the ingredient list is minimal, distinguishing it from UPF versions of sliced bread. And for those worried about shelf life, freezing bread is always an option too. For those interested in baking their own bread, the BBC has plenty of recipes to follow, including how to make your own sourdough loaf. * Melissa Hogenboom is a BBC health and science journalist and author of the upcoming book Breadwinners (2025) and The Motherhood Complex -- For trusted insights into better health and wellbeing rooted in science, sign up to the Health Fix newsletter, while The Essential List delivers a handpicked selection of features and insights. For more science, technology, environment and health stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram.
The Guardian
38 minutes ago
- The Guardian
London's low-traffic zones ‘cut deaths and injuries by more than a third'
Low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) cut road injuries and deaths by more than a third within their boundaries with no apparent negative safety effect on nearby roads, a study has shown in a boost to proponents of the measure. Based on comparisons involving more than a decade of road casualty statistics between 113 LTNs created across London and other roads that did not have them, the report's authors found that LTNs were associated with a 35% reduction in all injuries, rising to 37% for deaths and serious injuries. In absolute terms, the study concluded, this meant that creating the LTNs prevented more than 600 road injuries that would have otherwise taken place, including 100 involving death or serious injury. On boundary roads, those just outside the LTNs, there was no observable change in the overall number of casualties. LTNs aim to make smaller residential streets more friendly for walking, wheeling and cycling by using filters to stop through-traffic by motor vehicles. While they have been used in various forms in the UK for decades and are ubiquitous in many European cities, an expansion in their use from 2020 led to pushback from some politicians and parts of the media. A common criticism has been that LTNs simply displace traffic to boundary roads, which thus become more dangerous. Earlier studies have, however, found a negligible impact on traffic levels and the new paper, published in Injury Prevention, a spin-off from the British Medical Journal, indicates this is the same for deaths and injuries. Of the 113 LTNs studied, 27 were subsequently taken out. According to analysis by the authors, from Westminster University and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, if the LTNs had not been removed there would have been 116 fewer injuries overall, 16 of which involved death or serious injuries. Across the LTNs as a whole, the authors said, an estimated 613 injuries were prevented, including 100 deaths or serious injuries. The study involved analysing road casualties from 2012 to 2024 on all so-all road links – a sections of road between two junctions – in London, some of which became part of or a boundary to an LTN, while others did not, and were treated as a control group. This allowed the authors to observe changes within LTNs and also compare them with changes on other road links, to take account of other, longer-term changes in injury rates, including lower traffic levels during Covid. One phenomenon that was apparent between schemes was that the safety benefits of being within an LTN in outer London seemed notably less than those in inner London. Some outer London schemes have been shown as less successful in reducing overall traffic. Even with such caveats, the results across a relatively large-scale study give supporters of LTNs the ability to argue that they provably prevent injuries and deaths, as has also been shown to be the case for 20mph speed limits in Wales. Although modal filters, the technical name for LTNs, have been repeatedly shown to be effective when implemented properly, negative media coverage of the wave of schemes introduced from 2020 prompted a political backlash, with Rishi Sunak's government pledging to clamp down on LTNs. Sunak's government even commissioned a report on LTNs in the apparent hope it would conclude they did not work. When the report found instead they were mainly popular and effective, it was initially buried. Dr Jamie Furlow from Westminster University's Active Travel Academy, who led the new study, said its findings should reassure policymakers over the schemes. He said: 'LTNs have led to considerable reductions in road traffic injuries inside their boundaries for all road users – from pedestrians and cyclists to drivers. At the same time, concerns about nearby main roads becoming more dangerous aren't supported by the evidence.'
