'Lizard venom treatment has saved my life'

Jane Mason, 56, from Rayleigh, Essex, was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, weighing more than 23st. But she's turned her life around - thanks to injections based on lizard saliva

- SANDRA WALSH

'Catching a glimpse of the healthy woman in the shop's mirror, I have to look twice to check if it's really me. It's been years since I could face clothes shopping, but now I need to buy a whole new wardrobe after losing 9st- and, as a result, getting a life-threatening condition back under control.

Amazing as it sounds, I've got the venom of a giant lizard to thank for it!

I've been overweight my whole life and had given up hope of being anything other than the fat woman everyone stared at in the street. As a child I was always the biggest in the class, the only one of my family who was overweight. My mum even took me to hospital to see if there was a problem but there wasn't - I just loved food.

I never felt bullied, but I didn't need to be because I was my own worst critic. Every few weeks I'd start a diet, signing up with weight loss companies including Weight Watchers and Slimming World, but I could never stick to them beyond a few days.

THE BLUSHING BRIDE

My wedding day should have been the happiest of my life but I was really uncomfortable. I'd borrowed the size 18 dress my cousin had worn but I had to wear a full girdle just to squash myself into it. I could hardly breathe all day.

My weight stayed at around the 18 to 20st mark most of my adult life. My marriage broke down more than a decade ago and food was my greatest comfort. I'd eat takeaways a couple of times a week, chocolate and cakes daily and chips with everything. I was hungry all the time. I never exercised because walking was so uncomfortable - I couldn't even cross my legs. Some days I couldn't face leaving the house because I hated the way I looked.