'I became addicted to weight-loss jabs and used them three times a week - I missed crucial warning signs'

'I became addicted to weight-loss jabs and used them three times a week - I missed crucial warning signs' WARNING SENSITIVE CONTENT: Hayleigh Davis turned to jabs to help her lose weight - but she became quickly became addicted and has since been diagnosed with anorexia A mum has issued a warning after her 'addiction' to weight-loss injections sparked a dangerous battle with anorexia. Hayleigh Davis, who is 5ft tall, weighed 14st 2lbs and wore a size 20 when she first turned to slimming jabs in November 2024. She quickly saw results. In the space of a month, the 37-year-old had lost more than a stone and a dress size, and her appetite disappeared almost entirely. But, as the weight continued to fall off her, Hayleigh became fixated and started to increase her dosage, sometimes injecting herself two or three times a week instead of the prescribed once. "I was severely overweight and the hate comments I received on my weight were wearing me down," Hayleigh, from Tidworth, Wiltshire, told creatorzine.com. "People would comment on my social media saying I looked chubby and it really got to me." Hayleigh describes her diet before she started using the jabs as 'a bit hit and miss'. "Sometimes I'd overeat, sometimes I wouldn't eat and I was a huge snack girl. "For breakfast, I'd have toast, yoghurt and fruit, lunch would be a McDonald's or Greggs, dinner was pizza, chips or a bacon sandwich and for snacks, I'd have crisps, biscuits and cereal. On the days I didn't eat, I'd just have ice. "Crisps and cola were my go-to every time," she added. "But I had a very active lifestyle and I’d been on so many diets but nothing, truly nothing, helped. So I decided to try weight loss jabs. "When I started the injections, I didn't think I'd lose all that much. It felt like another fad and something to try. But the weight kept falling and then when it started to stay the same I would take another jab, often jabbing two or three times in a week. "That was my first warning sign that I didn't pick up on. The scales and my clothes were visibly showing I'd lost weight but in my head and eyes I was still big. "I thought I was in full control to begin with. It's when you stop seeing what other people see, the jabs call to you, they are your best friend and if I didn't take them I would automatically hate myself and be paranoid that I've put weight on. "I had my friends send me photos of them on their scales so I could keep getting them and I gave my friends the money to purchase them for me." In total Hayley shed eight stone - but when her worried family pointed out that her bones were protruding, she decided to get help. In November 2025, she was diagnosed with anorexia, and says her relationship with food now is dominated by fear. The mortuary technician said: "When I was diagnosed, I didn't believe I had it, I still don't. My relationship with food is awful. I get anxiety at the thought of eating. My diet is ice cubes, tuna, yoghurt and occasionally a jelly pot. "It was ok before but not the best. I either binged or didn't eat at all. When I was diagnosed, I was told to stop the jabs immediately. I was in a very poor way physically, I collapsed, fainted and was sick. Mentally, I'm confused as people say I'm slim but that's not what I see. It's hard and it's brutal." Hayleigh has also suffered some major side-effects, including extreme hair loss, painful gallbladder flare-ups, and recurrent urinary tract infections so serious that they have affected her kidneys. She is now under the care of an eating disorder clinic, and is slowly recovering as she tries to rebuild her relationship with food. Hayleigh is now speaking out to warn others about the potential risks of misusing weight-loss injections. She added: "I'm learning not to be scared of food, also looking at my clothes size to tell myself that this time last year I would have been like 'wow that's small'. It's about changing my mindset. "I want people to do their research. Yes they work, yes you will lose weight but check in with your GP and once you reach your goal weight, stop." If you are looking for support, contact Beat Eating Disorders by visiting the organisation's website here.