How I lost 9lbs in a fortnight on FREE weight-loss drug – and I’m even being paid to take it: Erica wasn’t eligible for NHS jabs so is now thrilled by her results… this is how she did it

Earlier this year I drove to a GP surgery an hour from my home in the Midlands so a doctor could inject a clear liquid into my thigh. I had no idea whether the syringe contained an experimental dose of an unlicensed new weight-loss drug – which might have triggered a raft of unknown side-effects – or whether it merely contained a harmless (and useless) saline solution.

I may never know for sure. As a participant in a clinical trial of a brand new weight-loss medication – one of the many drugs currently being tested in the ‘winner takes all’ race to rival Mounjaro and Wegovy – I knew I might be taking a risky path. But after 40 years of failed diets, I was desperate.

Despite weighing 12 and a half stone, with a BMI of 33 (I’m 5ft 1in tall) I don’t qualify for weight-loss jabs on the NHS. And I simply couldn’t afford to pay the estimated £300 a month for a private prescription.

This trial was my best chance of finally losing the excess weight that had plagued me all my life.

And when I woke up the next morning with a gnawing feeling in my stomach and no desire to eat breakfast, I was secretly delighted – did this mean I was definitely getting an exciting new weight-loss jab for free?

Making the decision to join a clinical trial isn’t one anyone should take lightly, but at the age of 51, I really had reached the end of my tether with my weight and knew I had to make some dramatic changes to my life if I wasn’t going to end up with bad knees, high blood pressure or diabetes.

I have tried every diet invented and I have analysed every single mouthful I’ve eaten since I was 11 years old, and I’ve fluctuated from a size 10 to 18. When you’re only 5ft 1in, there isn’t a lot of height to carry those extra dress sizes.

The problem is, I come from a very long line of overweight women. My mum was overweight, as was my mum’s mum and her mum before that. And my downfall is the siren call of takeaways and carbs. For me, alas, food noise is deafening. I know what I should be eating, but I just love pizzas and pastries too much. Those cakes, croissants and muffins are always calling.

Reaching 50 was a tipping point. I recognised that my weight would very soon start to impact my health and probably shorten my life and it worried me that I would become a massive drain on the NHS.

I wasn’t eligible for weight-loss jabs via the NHS because I didn’t have the required health concerns (diabetes, high blood pressure, raised cholesterol) to qualify, though when I filled in an online form to get injections privately, I was immediately accepted.

My finger hovered over the ‘order now’ button, but I hesitated. My most successful weight-loss missions in the past had been with WeightWatchers and Slimming World which offer plenty of support, and I knew the skinny jabs bought online usually come with very little, if any, follow-up.

The cost of a jab regime was hard enough to justify, and without the support I was worried I’d still fail.

That’s when I started to investigate research programmes. In my thirties I’d taken part in a clinical research trial linked to a previous sinus problem, so I was familiar with the process. After a bit of digging I found a big trial for a new monthly weight-loss injection that was based about 30 miles away from where I live – and they were recruiting.

The trial is a phase-III clinical trial, which means it is large-scale and involves thousands of volunteers. I was reassured that by this stage in the process the scientists know a lot about the drug and the way it acts. These trials are all about monitoring dosages and side-effects. I was told the name of the drug (it wasn’t one I recognised) but I had to sign a legal document to say I wouldn’t reveal the name to anyone. The really exciting thing about this new drug is it is given as a monthly injection, not weekly like Mounjaro and Wegovy.

The doctors told me the drug had performed well at previous trials, helping people with obesity and diabetes lose 20 per cent of their body weight in a year. I was really excited to have the chance to try it. If I could lose 20 per cent of my body weight I’d be two or even three stone lighter, and that would be completely life-changing for me. I saw this as my one shot to reach and stay at a healthy weight for ever.

I knew that I would be carefully monitored on this trial, and my husband and son, who both knew how upset I was about my weight, supported me in my decision.

My biggest risk – in my mind – was that I might end up being given the placebo. As this is a ‘double blind, placebo controlled trial’ I was told there would be a 25 per cent chance that I wouldn’t get the ‘real’ jab. This meant the odds were on my side. Yes, there was a risk I could be going through all this for nothing, but I figured I’d still be moving in the right direction because whatever the researchers put in that syringe, I’d be getting a full package of nutritional support with diet and exercise advice plus regular medical check-ups.

There’s no escaping the fact that being involved in a trial like this is a huge commitment – I had to promise to be available for regular hospital visits for two and a half years because they need to monitor medium-term side-effects while the participants are losing weight and also to monitor weight maintenance afterwards.

At my first screening visit in July, I was given a thorough health check including blood tests, ECG and blood pressure. At my second visit, two weeks later, I was told I had passed the health screening (the main criteria were a BMI over 28, an age between 18-65 and being sufficiently healthy) and I would now be ‘randomised’ into the trial. That’s when I got my first injection.

I left with a pile of reading material, advice about diet, fluid intake and exercise, food/mood diaries to be filled in and submitted online and a gift of a water bottle and gym towel.

To my surprise not only are my travel expenses paid, but I receive £60 each visit as an ’inconvenience payment’ too.

I slept well that first night and when I woke the next morning, the first thing I noticed was absolutely no urge to eat breakfast. This is not like me at all. Food is normally the first thing I think about and hot buttered toast with honey is one of my favourite things in the world. But on that day I just didn’t feel hungry. It felt quite miraculous!

The appetite suppression continued and when I returned for a check-up a fortnight later, I was told I’d already lost 9lbs.

There is no doubt in my mind that I am getting the real drug – not the placebo – and it feels amazing.

For the next two months I drove back for fortnightly check-ups with each visit lasting about an hour. I was asked about health concerns, side-effects and a clinician would take a note of my weight, waist circumference and blood pressure.

After eight weeks, the visits – and injections – become monthly and I get a session with the nutritionist while I’m there. This is the most beneficial part of the trial for me. At our first session she told me I wasn’t eating enough – that’s the first time anyone has told me that!

We are working on regulating my eating patterns and trying to reverse some of the psychological eating issues that I have around food (such as labelling foods ‘good’ and ‘bad’ rather than thinking about their nutritional impact).

I’m hoping this advice and support will hold the key to me losing the weight and keeping it off forever.

So far, I haven’t experienced any nausea or vomiting, just a bit of heartburn, which I can manage by taking an antacid. My biggest problem has been constipation. At one point I had such severe stomach cramps and bloating that I started to worry that my bowel was becoming impacted. At my next hospital visit I was given a prescription for regular laxatives. That’s precisely why I wanted to join a trial – it means I get access to medical care without having to pester my GP.

Now, three months on, I have lost 22lb. It’s not the extreme weight loss that people often associate with these jabs, but I’m thrilled and I think this is much more sustainable in the long term.

I’m certainly eating less and more healthily and the weight is steadily falling. Thanks to everything I’m learning from the nutritionist I’m sure I’ll be much better placed to stay slim when I do reach a healthy BMI.

I feel very privileged to be on this trial, and I take my responsibility seriously. These new drugs aren’t designed to help people drop a dress size. The scientists are trying to find genuine treatments to reduce the impact that obesity has on long-term health and its burden on the healthcare system.

For many people, obesity is a chronic health condition, and these drugs offer a real solution to reducing obesity as an epidemic. I’m proud to be doing my part.

Yes, I am seeing real personal benefits, but there is also a level of altruism in my involvement – I feel that I am contributing to improving healthcare for all, not just for me.

Erica Wheatley is a pseudonym

Interview by Anna-Louise Dearden, additional reporting by Louise Atkinson