The 24 year-old, who is 1. But within four days of consuming it, she developed palpitations, insomnia and subsequently suicidal thoughts. She stopped taking it immediately. I don't suffer from depression but suddenly, I had suicidal thoughts and was overwhelmed by my past of being bullied for my size," she told The Straits Times.
Gillian said she was swayed by the many success stories she read online. Called sibutramine, it can cause mood swings, hallucinations, heart attacks and strokes, said Associate Professor Chan Cheng Leng, group director of the health products regulation group at HSA. It is among four health products the HSA has alerted people to on Monday June 3 after five consumers reported adverse reactions to them, including one woman who now has severe heart failure. In one of the more severe cases, a woman in her 50s who bought BB Body from an online seller in Malaysia developed an extremely fast heart rate after taking the product for about three months.
Cardiologist Lee Chee Wan, who treated her, told The Straits Times on Monday that the woman has had a defibrillator implanted to regulate her heart rhythm as her heart is likely to fail again within a year. Her case is one of the worst Dr Lee said he has heard of. Even if you do check the ingredient list, some products do not declare that they contain harmful substances," he added.
The HSA said the adverse reactions of the women were consistent with the effects of sibutramine, which it had banned in due to an increased risk of heart attacks, strokes and other serious effects. BB Body, Bello Smaze and Choco Fit were marketed on various e-commerce and social media platforms, such as Instagram and Facebook, as having "no side effects" or can deliver weight loss in days.
The HSA said it has directed the administrators of the local online platforms to remove the product listings. It said: "HSA monitors local websites and e-commerce platforms which sell medicines or suspected illegal health products. We work actively with the web administrators to take down postings and educate sellers on the illegal sale of health products. It also works closely with overseas regulatory agencies and international counterparts like Interpol for information sharing on illegal health products.
