An aesthetic surgeon has warned of the dark side of Mounjaro and Wegovy, claiming that increasing numbers of extremely thin women are hooked on the appetite suppressing jabs.

And worryingly, Dr Ducu Botoaca, who specialises in non-surgical aesthetic procedures, claims that the ‘addiction’ is robbing them of of their natural good looks, and destroying their health—because the body begins to cannibalise itself. 

Dubbed the ‘King Kong’ of fat jabs, Mounjaro was originally developed as a Type 2 diabetes treatment, but due to its appetite suppressing properties, was soon being prescribed as a weight loss aid.

To be eligible for the medication, people need to have a BMI of over 30, which is classed as clinically obese. 

For reference, a BMI of 25 to 30 is classed as overweight, is a 18 to 25 healthy weight range, and below 18 is deemed as underweight.

However, Dr Ducu claims he now often sees patients who have obtained the drugs by faking their weight with online pharmacies, or even using dangerous knock-offs being sold on the black market.

He told Mail Online: ‘I’ve seen people with a healthy BMI of 23 drop to a BMI of just 17 in a matter of weeks—it’s like they have aged by 15 years in just three months.

‘They do not eat, and when they do they are not eating a healthy balanced diet with the vitamins and minerals that their body needs to function.

‘They are suffering from mood swings, hair loss, chronically dry skin… their collagen levels and muscle mass is being obliterated.’

Dr Ducu has noticed an increase in underweight women using weight loss jabs (file photo)

Dr Ducu’s main concern is that many people write off these symptoms as typical side effects of the jab—but they are actually suffering from malnutrition, and because they are not under medical supervision, they are totally unaware of the danger they are placing themselves in.

‘A doctor would tell them that the maximum amount of weight you can lose healthily is less than five percent of your body mass, and when you are losing weight, this figure changes every month.

‘People are chasing big losses on the scale. 

‘Most people measure themselves almost daily, seeing the numbers go down is instant gratification—but it’s going to make them very, very sick.’

But that’s not the only element of weight loss medication that people have got hooked on.

He added: ‘From my experience, it’s women aged between 30 and 45 who are dependent on these jabs. 

‘They don’t realise that they look malnourished—like zombies—and they continue taking it just because they have a crazy fear of rebounding and looking like they looked before.

‘Some of these people might have once been overweight, but some of them didn’t need the medication at all.’

Not everyone hooked on weight loss jabs are using legitimate products, and Dr Ducu is aware of several dangerous and unregulated alternatives being used by people who are unable to get Mounjaro.

He said: ‘These alternatives, often sold as compounded peptides, are typically manufactured in unregulated facilities that are not approved by the FDA or MHRA.

‘While not sourced from licensed pharmacies and lacking official approval, they are still widely used despite being part of an unofficial or grey market.’

Regardless of what drug the weight loss jab addicts are using, they are all at risk of succumbing to the same health risks—which he has seen first hand.

Dr Ducu offers health screenings at his Central London clinic, and he and his team have noticed that many of the jab addicts’ bodies are beginning to ‘cannibalise’ themselves.

‘My colleague, who is a GP, noticed that in some patients there was an increase in thyroid hormones, and she thinks that this is a sign of accelerated metabolism because the body has started to basically eat itself.’

Rapid weight loss due to under-eating is known to lead to muscle wasting, as the body metabolises muscle for energy along with fat—but Dr Docu has seen further worrying signs. 

‘X-rays and blood work reveal low levels of calcium, worryingly low levels of Vitamin D as the body begins to use the resources available to it to stay alive.’

The explosion of weight loss jabs hasn’t just changed the face of Dr Ducu’s clients, it’s transformed his day to day business.

He estimates that now ’80 per cent of my business is revision work for people after they have lost a lot of weight.’

Dr Ducu added: ‘They come in and obviously they’re depressed and have very low self-esteem. They have hair loss, their nails are breaking, their skin is dry, they look ten or fifteen years older than when they lost weight.

‘It takes time to rebuild all of that, and you have to work also with the psychological factor, their fear of regaining weight and ‘rebounding’ to their former size.

‘Because in clothes, they think they look good, but when they are naked, it is a different story.’

Dr Ducu added that it’s normally one of two areas which have made people realise that they need to start regaining some of their lost pounds.

‘Wanting to improve their bum and their face—the things they see the most—are what usually convinces them that they need to start eating again.

‘Once they see even a small improvement, or notice that they aren’t losing as much hair, they are usually much more willing to take our advice and start living healthier.’