Man who lost five stone on fat jabs issues ‘trapped wind’ warning,
A father has sounded the alarm over weight-loss jabs after he developed a severe gallbladder infection that left him feeling like he was on the brink of death.
Edd Langmead, from Oldham, Greater Manchester, dropped from 20st 7lbs at his heaviest to 14st 5lbs in less than a year while taking GLP-1 drug Mounjaro.
The 44-year-old had a sweet tooth and long struggled to keep his weight down, but he knew it was time for a change when his weight began to give him back pain.
Looking for a quick fix last May, the father-of-two was told he’d have to wait 12 months to get the fat-busting jabs through the NHS and instead bought them from an online pharmacy.
And he was thrilled with the rapid results – especially as he believed he was experiencing no side effects.
But that changed on March 19 this year, when Mr Langmead began suffering with pain that he believed was trapped wind.
He bought over-the-counter medication to treat it, but the pain persisted, and in reality it was the sign of something far more sinister.
Within just three days, the musician was left ‘doubled over’ in agony and had to be rushed to hospital.
Edd Langmead dropped from 20st 7lbs to 14st 5lbs in less than a year while taking Mounjaro
Mr Langmead was hospitalised after complications believed to be linked to his fast weight loss
Tests revealed he had developed gangrenous cholecystitis – a life-threatening condition in which gallbladder tissue begins to die.
The infection is a complication of gallbladder inflammation known as acute cholecystitis, which is typically caused by a gallstone blocking the cystic duct.
Gallstones – made of cholesterol, fatty molecules carried in the blood – usually do not cause symptoms but severe complications arise when they block the bile duct, including sudden and intense pain around the stomach.
In Mr Langmead’s case, his infection – which is believed to have been linked to his rapid weight loss – spread into his stomach and lungs.
Speaking now about the risks of the jabs – and why he decided to take them anyway – Mr Langmead said: ‘Everyone wants a quick fix, don’t they? I did.
‘I’d been suffering with back pain for the past three years, getting out of bed actually hurt, and within the first two months my back pain had gone.
‘I didn’t have any bad side effects. It was up until that week, that’s the first bit of pain [I had]. I’ve dealt with trapped wind quite a lot and I know what it feels like.
‘I got all these things from over the counter trying to relieve it but it didn’t do anything.
‘I couldn’t sit or lie down without being in pain and it just kept getting worse and worse.
‘My partner was meant to be going to work and I was doubled up in pain on the floor and could barely talk so she rang an ambulance.’
Mr Langmead (after weight loss, left) was delighted after losing six stone in less than a year
After being tested, Mr Langmead was rushed into emergency surgery to have his gallbladder removed and said all he could think about ‘was leaving my kids without a dad’.
He stayed in hospital for four days before returning home with an IV antibiotic drip for 10 days and was told by surgeons that he is ‘lucky’ to have survived.
However, his life has now drastically changed.
Mr Langmead continued: ‘I’ve gone from being the healthiest I’ve ever felt since I was a teenager to now, I feel like I’m in my nineties.
‘I’ve got pipes hanging out of me, I can’t walk or move properly, I can’t lie down.
‘If I had not gone in or if I had been in a different situation where I couldn’t get to a hospital then I might not be here so that’s the scary thing.’
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After his traumatic experience using the jabs, Mr Langmead has urged people to get the drugs via their GP rather than buying them privately, like he did.
He said: ‘Once I found out it’d all gone wrong and was related to weight loss it put doubt in me [and] that maybe I should’ve just waited for the NHS.
‘The online companies don’t show you those risks. There is a sadness that it happened like that for me because I’m sure that had I done it differently it wouldn’t have been that way.
‘Make sure you go get regular blood tests. It’s not worth the risk.’
A spokesman for Lilly, who manufacture Mounjaro, said: ‘Patient safety is Lilly’s top priority and we actively monitor, evaluate, and report safety information for all our medicines to the MHRA.
‘The Mounjaro (tirzepatide) Patient Information Leaflet warns that cholecystitis (infection of the gallbladder) is an uncommon side effect (may affect up to 1 in 100 people).
‘Anyone experiencing side effects when taking any Lilly medicine should consult their doctor or other healthcare professional, and should ensure that they are getting genuine Lilly medicine.’
