A grandmother who shed five stone after using Mounjaro is now fundraising for tummy tuck surgery, saying her dramatic weight loss has left her feeling like a “melted welly”.
Angela Brown, from Cumbernauld in Lanarkshire, weighed 24 stone only a few years ago. Since then, she has overhauled her body through regular exercise, a healthier diet and the weight loss injection Mounjaro.
The 52-year-old initially relied on diet and exercise alone and managed to lose an impressive six stone, bringing her weight down to 18 stone. But despite sticking with those lifestyle changes, she found her progress had stalled.
Angela, a cancer survivor who was also living with Type 2 diabetes, later began taking Mounjaro after receiving advice from a health expert. She said she was stunned as the “weight just melted away”, ultimately leaving her 11 stone lighter overall.
When she began her weight loss journey, Angela wore a size 26. She has since dropped to a size 12 to 14 and says she is now in remission from diabetes.
However, the transformation has come with a difficult aftermath. Angela says she has been left with a large amount of excess skin and has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for surgery abroad to have it removed.
While she is delighted with the health benefits and her weight loss results, the grandmother said the loose skin on her stomach, arms and legs continues to affect her body confidence.
Speaking to the Glasgow Times, Angela said she can barely look at herself in the mirror and feels “embarrassed” by the “saggy” skin left behind after losing so much weight.
Angela Brown, from Cumbernauld in Lanarkshire, weighed 24 stone just a few years ago. Pictured during her weight loss journey
She told the paper: ‘I’ve lost so much weight and my heath has vastly improved, but instead of feeling confident I hate looking in the mirror.
‘My stomach stretches down to my knees and the amount of saggy skin on my legs has left me feeling like my body looks like a melted welly.’
She added: ‘I feel so embarrassed, and I have to go up a clothes size just to fit the skin hanging down into my trousers.’
Much to her dismay, a cosmetic procedure to remove the skin is not be available on the NHS, meaning Angela would need to travel abroad to seek treatment.
Unable to pay for her own surgery, she would need to spend £12,000 to have the three surgeries abroad for the results she wants.
Writing on the charity website, Angela said she was ‘looking for a little help towards surgeries’, adding that she wasn’t just looking for handouts, and was ‘also saving towards this myself.’
Since sharing the plea on the charity funding page last week, she has raised £5,000.
Angela’s incredible results were inspired by tragic circumstances, she told Glasgow Times.
Starting her journey as a size 26, Angela has seen incredible results and has now slimmed down to a trim size 12 to 14
Using diet and exercise only to begin with, the 52-year-old was able to ditch an impressive 6st, taking her to 18st, but she struggled to get any further with her weight loss, despite keeping up with natural technique
The grandmother said it was the death of her father, Robert, in 2023 that marked the turning point in her choosing to finally make a change.
Not only that, but Angela has also faced ‘cancer and other health issues’, only some of which she put down to ‘an unhealthy lifestyle’.
Thanks to healthy changes and taking weight-loss drugs, Angela is also now in remission for Type 2 diabetes.
Mounjaro, also known as GLP-1s, is the brand name for Tirzepatide – a drug that lowers blood sugar levels.
It is one of a number of now popular weight-loss drugs such as Wegovy and Ozempic, that have become increasingly popular.
It comes following the news that pharmacists are set to start dishing out weight-loss jabs on the NHS.
Under government plans, just a short, over-the-counter consultation will be needed to get the likes of Ozempic and Mounjaro for the cost of an NHS prescription – this week frozen at £9.90.
The Mail understands a deal worth tens of millions of pounds will be struck with a major pharmaceutical firm to fund a pilot scheme across the UK, with a view to eventually rolling it out to everyone in need.
At the moment, the powerful injections are available to only a tiny number of people on the NHS – after talks with a specialist and in conjunction with other weight-loss methods. There is a two-year waiting list.
But ministers plan to expand the drugs’ use dramatically by dishing out prescriptions quickly and easily in ‘creative’ ways, such as through high street chemists, health centres and apps.
It means, once the deal is signed, it will be possible to walk into a pharmacy and, after a short assessment, leave with a supply of jabs for £9.90.
