Doctor who 'looked different race' using Melanotan II 20 years ago shares dangerous effect no one knows about

Despite often being touted as a harmless tool that can help you achieve a golden complexion, Melanotan II does a lot more than that.

Dr Michael Mrozinski found out the hard way that the unlicensed and largely untested peptide can impact the mind just as much as the body after taking it for six months during his 20s.

He is still living with some of the physical consequences of injecting it two decades on - and in the hopes of warding off others, the medic spoke to LADbible about 'the things nobody wants to talk about' when it comes to Melanotan II.

Dr Michael has built up a huge social media following from sharing health advice online, and he doesn't shy away from topics often considered taboo, such as injecting artificial substances to top up your tan.

"There's not many doctors out there that would probably admit to doing a bad thing," he told LADbible. "But by admitting it and saying, 'Look I understand why people use it' - I think it gets the message across a bit better.

"I talk about Melanotan II all the time and I'm quite happy to, because I can actually discuss it from both aspects. I used it when I was a youngster and a bit naive."

Dr Michael looked a lot darker than his mates while taking Melanotan II (Supplied)

The peptide mimics natural hormones that are released when the sun hits your skin and continues to 'tell your cells to produce pigment, even if no sun has hit you', Dr Michael explained.

It acts on the bodies melanocortin receptors, which is the 'really interesting bit', according to the Australia-based medic - as these aren't just in your skin.

"They are in your adrenal glands, which are the little glands above your kidneys that produce adrenaline, cortisol and hormones," he told LADbible.

"They also act on your brain as well, where it controls your appetite, sexual function and a lot of things to do with your emotional decision making. Not only does Melanotan II make you brown, it attaches onto all these other receptors in your brain and your adrenal glands. So that explains why people get erections, hypersexual arousal, they're not feeling hungry, they're not eating, they're flushing."

'Your mind completely warps'

"It has all these other things that it's acting on, and it could act on a lot more than that as well," Dr Michael said. "It really is not 'just a tanning peptide' at all."

The health expert, who used Melanotan II for a period of around six months before the side-effects got too much to bare, explained he experienced the phenomenon known as 'tanorexia' while taking the peptide.

"You forget how dark you are," he said. "You go from looking in the mirror and going, 'Wow, I’m like a completely different race right now' - to a point in the future where you look at yourself and still think that you could be darker.

"You still think that you look pale, your mind completely warps. It’s almost getting cosmetic treatments done, people become desensitised and get used to what they look like in the mirror.

"Before you know it, they have become a different version of themselves."

Likening tanorexia to body dysmorphia, Dr Michael went on: "The tanning stuff is just on a on a different level.

"Everybody looks like glamorous with a tan, but these days, fake tans are just as good - and they don’t come with all the garbage that this stuff does."

He explained that the impact of injecting the artificial substance isn't just skin-deep (Supplied)

Dr Michael said he experienced physical side effects from Melanotan II including nausea, flushing and headaches, and admitted he stopped taking it because he 'felt so sh*t'.

"I did it during wintertime, so it looked even more bizarre," he said. "I was really dark and everybody in Scotland was still really white.

"I’ve got pictures at Christmas with a few of my friends who have typical Celtic skin, and all you can see in the photo from me is my teeth. Everything else is just dark."

Men who take Melanotan II are prone to experiencing spontaneous erections and Dr Michael said this happened to him an 'embarrassing' amount of times, while his libido was also on the uptick.

"I found that when you come off of it, it had a weird effect where it definitely affected my sexual desire," he continued. "You go from feeling energetic all the time to a big crash. Everything changes."

Dr Michael's warning

Dr Michael is on a mission to warn people who might be thinking about taking a tanning peptide to be aware of 'the full picture'.

"People online just give you the upsides of everything," he said. "But they’re making money from it and the people watching don’t know any better.

"So they end up just injecting themselves with random stuff, and sometimes, it goes wrong. If you don't know the risks, then you've not made an informed decision."

The good news is, Dr Michael said he started feeling back to normal about six months after he stopped injecting Melanotan II, although he was left with a lot more freckles and moles than he had previously.

"These are the things that nobody wants to talk about - but if somebody can learn from me and it stops somebody from doing it - then I know I've done my job.

"We’ve all made silly mistakes and I’m quite happy to admit mine if somebody can learn a little from it."