Mark Spurr didn’t qualify for weight loss injections on the NHS
Mark Spurr lost 13 stone using Mounjaro injections which cost over £3,000(Image: Collect/PA Real Life)
A 54 year old security officer from West Yorkshire was left in tears and begging his GP for help after being told he didn’t meet the criteria to receive weight loss injections on the NHS. After shelling out £3,500 for private treatment, Mark Spurr has shed an astonishing 13 stone, so much so that he’s unrecognisable from his passport photo.
The security officer, from Morley, embarked on his weight loss journey last summer with Mounjaro weight loss injections and shared his progress online through his TikTok and YouTube channels, MarkOnMounjaro.
When Mark tipped the scales at 30 stone, he could no longer fit into his required stab-proof vest, jeopardising his job at an immigration centre in Leeds. But his weight was causing more than just professional problems.
In an interview with PA Real Life, he said: “I was basically on my hands and knees, crying my eyes out and pleading with my GP to prescribe me something. I was in so much pain.
“I might as well have been smashing my head against a brick wall as I was told I didn’t fit the criteria, but they recommended that I take it privately.”
Mark’s weight put his health, family life and even his work at risk(Image: Collect/PA Real Life)
For the past decade, Mark has battled with his weight. At his heaviest, he found it difficult to walk from the car park to his workplace and had developed type two diabetes.
Despite being a slender youngster, he started piling on the pounds after leaving education at 15 and taking up carpentry work with Leeds City Council.
Reflecting on his journey, the father acknowledges that he turned to food as a “coping mechanism” and was splashing out £25 each day on junk food.
Whilst the expense of Mounjaro has put some people off seeking private care, Mark reckons it’s actually saved him £12,000 that he would have blown on food during the 17 months he’s been receiving the injections.
It’s still a relatively modest sum for the benefits it has brought Mark, as he explained: “Mounjaro has given me my life back in so many ways. I have reversed my Type 2 diabetes, saved my job and am spending more time with the family – doing normal things like going for a walk rather than hiding in a gym where I was too unfit for outdoor exercise.
“I even need a new passport. Flying to Spain in June, airline staff said my picture doesn’t look like me and nearly didn’t let me board the flight.”
Mark has been able to mountain bike with his son again and join his granddaughter on family outings(Image: Collect/PA Real Life)
He cautioned people against taking his transformation at face value, emphasising that it’s not a “magic jab”.
He continued: “It gets more difficult to remain focused as time goes on and if you’re not prepared to change, you will be throwing money down the drain.
“You’ve still got to be prepared to quit the junk food and get help with the emotional side of what’s causing you to eat.”
Mark is still on his weight loss journey, with the final hurdle being to tackle the two stone of excess skin which will bring him to his target weight of 15 stone. He intends to lower his Mounjaro dosage and maintain his current weight for the next year, and has set up a GoFundMe page to help fund his skin removal operation.
He stated: “To get this far is a real personal achievement. This is the last thing now holding me back.”
