Weight loss jabs have been life-changing for millions of people across the globe—but some have had to quit the appetite suppressing meds due to uncomfortable side effects.
Portia Devine, 35, a project manager from Ely, Cambridgeshire, almost found herself in the latter category as she struggled with nausea while taking Mounjaro.
Ms Devine reached her heaviest weight of 14st 7lbs (203 lbs) in 2022, and felt trapped in a cycle of emotional eating and low self-esteem
Standing at just 5ft 1in (154.9cm) tall, Portia said she used to ‘constantly’ think about food, until she began taking the ‘King Kong’ of weight loss drugs in in April 2025.
Since then, she has lost weight steadily, dropping a dress size every month and gaining a new sense of confidence, and is now happy to go out alone and no longer hides inside ‘baggy clothes’.
She now weighs 8st 11lbs (123 lbs), wears a UK size eight, and pays £210 ($280) a month for her medication and check-ups—and credits a cheap gadget for helping her navigate one of the medication’s worst side effects.
Since taking the medication, she said she has often suffered with nausea but has managed to keep this at bay by using Sea-Band’s acupressure bands—a product she has not been paid to promote.
The bands, which can be picked up for under £8 online, work by stimulating a pressure point on your wrist—the Nei-Kuan acupressure point—which can relieve motion sickness.
Portia Devine, 35, started taking Mounjaro in April 2025 and has since lost nearly 6 stone
Usually they are worn by people who get travel sick on cruises or plane journeys, but Ms Devine has found they’re great for wearing on dry land, too.
Ms Devine said: ‘They’ve been a lifesaver, and I don’t feel nauseous anymore, they’ve really made a difference.’
In her first week of taking the medication, Ms Devine lost 5lbs, followed by 3lbs in her second week, and since then she has lost an average of 2lbs per week.
‘I’ve consistently lost weight per week. Luckily, I haven’t had any plateaus,’ she added.
‘It’s changed my life – I can’t believe how well it has worked.’
Nausea is one of the most common side effects of GLP-1 medications, which reduce food cravings and making the stomach to empty more slowly, resulting in weight loss.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which polices the safety of drugs used in Britain, also warns Mounjaro side effects could include diarrhoea, vomiting—which usually goes away over time—and constipation.
People taking the drug outside clinical trials have also reported experiencing hair loss while taking Mounjaro, although this is related to malnutrition from reduced food intake rather than being a direct side effect of the medicine itself.
Ms Devine says that she had been heavy her whole life, and at her largest wore a UK size 18
Ms Devine, who now has a healthy BMI of 23.2, said: ‘Food used to feel like an addiction – I was always thinking about it and I’d be hungry straight after eating for no reason.
‘Mounjaro has been the best decision I’ve ever made – food is still enjoyable but I view it as fuel now.
‘It’s just changed my mindset, I used to use food as a reward.’
Ms Devine, who works in a management role, says that she has always been on the heavier side, but it was a failed relationship which caused her weight to shoot up further.
She explained: ‘I’ve been overweight since I was 10, when I had my first period, and I put weight on almost overnight.
‘I think what led me to my highest weight, though, was I got into a new relationship, and we were eating out a lot.
‘Then we broke up and I was quite miserable and was emotionally eating.’
In 2022, Ms Devine would typically skip breakfast, have a sandwich and crisps for lunch and eat a home-cooked dinner of stews containing ‘hidden calories’, such as high-fat mince and cream.
She spends £210-a-month on a private prescription for the appetite suppressing jabs
At the time, she said she went to the gym three times a week but did not ‘do many’ steps each day because she worked in an office.
She added: ‘I felt very low, my self-esteem was rock bottom.
‘I have suffered from anxiety most of my life, and my weight and how I looked definitely added to that.
‘I would try to hide myself with baggy clothes and I felt like I couldn’t really dress the way I wanted, because nothing looked good on me.
‘I wouldn’t really go out on my own because I didn’t want people to notice me.’
Ms Devine said she felt as though she was constantly thinking about food and that it felt like ‘an addiction’.
‘I felt like my body was telling me I was hungry even though I shouldn’t be – I felt like I was fighting my body,’ she explained.
‘I felt like I couldn’t think about anything else.’
She feels much more confident after losing weight and loves wearing clothes which show off her figure
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Furthermore, she had tried ‘every diet’ over the years—from WeightWatchers to intense calorie counting—and felt that nothing ‘seemed to work’.
But going to the gym and ‘watching what she ate’ helped her lose some weight, and by 2025, she weighed 12st (168 lbs), with an obese BMI of 31.7, and wore a UK size 14.
However, from there, she said her weight plateaued, despite increasing her exercise and decreasing her calorie intake.
In April 2025, she decided to try Mounjaro and said her food noise—the constant thoughts about food—’instantly’ disappeared.
‘It felt like a weight off my shoulders, to be honest, and just a huge relief,’ she said.
‘I stopped having anxiety about my weight and slowly felt more confident and happier.’
Ms Devine has been prescribed Mounjaro through her local pharmacy and currently pays £210 a month for 7.5mg, along with a monthly check-up that includes blood pressure monitoring and discussions about her progress.
NHS England says that, before prescribing Mounjaro, a healthcare professional will talk through the benefits and limitations, including any side effects.
If Mounjaro is recommended, individuals will need to eat a balanced, reduced calorie diet and take part in physical activity regularly whilst taking the medicine.
She now ‘prioritises protein and fibre’ in her daily diet, having yoghurt, flaxseeds and peanut butter for breakfast, homemade soup for lunch and a low-fat cottage pie for dinner.
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She now also goes to Pilates classes and walks daily but she ‘can’t afford’ a gym membership alongside paying for Mounjaro.
Her investment in her health has paid off in other areas of her life, too. She said: ‘I do more on my own now.
‘I met my mum and dad the other day in a restaurant and I walked in on my own, which sounds silly, but I never would have done that before.
‘I go to coffee shops and restaurants on my own and enjoy it.’
Looking ahead, she plans to rejoin the gym and slowly wean herself off Mounjaro, with advice from her pharmacist, once she reaches her goal weight of 8st 7lb (119 lbs).
‘I feel confident that I can keep the weight off – I think I’ve built up healthy habits and my whole mindset around food has changed,’ she said.
To others wanting to lose weight, she said: ‘If I can do it, anyone can.
‘I’d recommend the jabs – it changed my entire life.’
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