Urgent warning after severely anorexic woman who weighed under SIX STONE was prescribed weight loss jab by online pharmacy amid crackdown on rogue sellers

A severely anorexic young woman was prescribed blockbuster weight loss jab Wegovy by one of the UK’s biggest online pharmacies, despite weighing less than six stone. 

Catlin, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, was diagnosed with the eating disorder and serious mental health condition over a decade ago, when she was still a teenager. 

Since then she has been sectioned under the Mental Health Act and after her last hospital visit her mother, Debbie, was devastatingly informed that her daughter was at risk of sudden death—as a result of malnutrition and related mental health problems. 

Now she weighs less than 38kg. 

Currently according to NHS guidelines, patients should only be prescribed weight loss injections like Wegovy if they have significant health problems due to their weight and have a BMI of 35 or higher, meaning they are considered obese. 

But Catlin was able to access a monthly subscription of the fat jab Wegovy from the online pharmacy Numan by uploading an AI generated image to prove that she met the criteria, in a move that could have killed her. 

Now her mother is calling for stricter regulations across the healthcare sector, including face-to-face checks on all prescriptions to help raise awareness and protect the lives of thousands of vulnerable people in her daughter’s position. 

Speaking to LBC, she said learning of her daughter’s dangerous drug use, which was facilitated by inadequate safeguarding procedures, made her feel ‘powerless’. 

‘The first thing I do every morning is go into my daughter’s room to see if she is still alive—that is how I begin every single day,’ she said. 

‘I have to regularly check her room for things like laxatives. Hidden in one of her drawers were two boxes of Wegovy.

‘One was empty… one of them still had needles in it.’ 

Semaglutide, the active ingredient in blockbuster jabs like Wegovy and Ozempic—works by tricking the brain into thinking it’s full, quietening food nosies, and helping people lose weight as a result. 

Some users have reported losing over 25kg on the jabs.  

Debbie continued: ‘You just feel so desperate. I carry on in agony every day with worries about her. And then when you’re fighting things beyond her own illness and beyond the walls of your own home… you feel so powerless.

‘As a mother, when you see things like that, your heart just collapses because you’re fighting so much.’

When Debbie discovered her daughter was using the jabs, and saw they had been provided by Numan—who claims on its website to ‘keep a close eye’ on patients’ progress—she contacted the chemist’s customer service team to cancel the prescription. 

But despite her best efforts and concerns about Catlin’s life, she was informed that this would not be possible due to data protection. 

It was only when LBC contacted the pharmaceutical company on her behalf that a decision was made to cancel her subscription.

LBC reports that, upon learning about Catlin’s situation, Numan has promised to implement more thorough training to help staff successfully identify when to escalate safeguarding concerns. 

Debbie added: ‘I feel frightened that my daughter could die if she gets hold of any more—but really, she could die and thousands of other people’s children could die. 

‘You do get moments as a mum when you let those thoughts become really dark. 

‘I have replayed conversations in my head where I go through my speech for her funeral and I know the last line of that would be: “I’m so sorry we couldn’t save you.”‘ 

In response, Numan—which is projected to make £170m in revenue this year—has said patients will now have to submit photos in real time when applying for weight loss jabs.

In response to Catlin’s heartbreaking story, Sokratis Papafloratos, CEO of Numan issued a statement: ‘I have been in private contact with the family to apologise unreservedly for the distress caused. 

‘I have also reassured them we have taken the necessary action to ensure their daughter never receives weight loss medication from us again. 

‘We are expanding our safeguarding leadership team, improving verification rigour through a combination of live-photo, video consultation and gaining NHS record access.

‘Patient safety is our number one priority.’

The company has also pledged to increase the proportion of patients who will have to be verified through a video call, following the General Pharmaceutical Council’s crackdown on weight loss jab restrictions . 

At least 1.25million people in the UK are thought to be living with an eating disorder, predicts BEAT, the UK’s eating disorder charity. 

‘People with eating disorders like anorexia often feel compelled to lose weight however they can, and so these kinds of drugs are incredibly attractive for people who are in the grip of this really serious illness, Tom Quinn, founder of BEAT told LBC. 

‘We need someone to be face to face, to actually check whether the person’s BMI, for example, is what they say it is. 

‘But actually even that isn’t sufficient because people may be struggling with an eating disorder without yet having lost weight. 

‘That’s why we think, as well as a face to face consultations, there needs be proper mental health screening in place to check that someone doesn’t have a serious eating disorder.’

The call to action comes following the devastating death of a mother-of-three who was illegally administered a dose of semaglutide bought on the black market in May. 

Ms McGonigal, from Salford in Greater Manchester, had tried to get the jab on the NHS but was deemed ineligible so she took matters into her own hands, purchasing the jab from a beautician who took her into a back room where she was injected with a syringe. 

Just days after her last injection she began experiencing stomach pains and breathing difficulties. 

She was admitted to hospital and died two days later. 

If you’re worried about your own or someone else’s health, you can contact Beat, the UK’s eating disorder charity, 365 days a year on 0808 801 0677 or at beateatingdisorders.org.uk