'I got sent "Skinny Jab" for posting on Instagram – and it nearly killed me'

A mum claims she almost died when she accidentally injected "five times" the recommended dose of a skinny jab, which was sent to her as a "freebie" by a brand to promote their meds on .

Leigh-Anne Lagden claims she was sent the month's prescription of injections to promote the brand in June after following the company on Instagram earlier this year. But after taking the "recommended" 0.5ml dosage, the 26-year-old claims she was left vomiting blood and was rushed to hospital twice.

The content creator claims professionals said she looked like she had "taken drugs" because her heart rate was so high. And after being hooked up to IV drips, she was told she had "overdosed" on the weight loss jab and other women have since warned her that the recommended dose for her particular jab was just 0.1ml.

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Since becoming unwell, Leigh-Anne says she would never use skinny jabs again and has now gone down one dress size by losing weight the "healthy" way and going to the gym. The mum-of-one is now urging people not to purchase weight loss injections from anyone other than medical professionals and to do their research first before taking them.

Meta said they don't allow the sale of pharmaceutical drugs on Instagram or and urged users to report any that they spotted. Leigh-Anne, who lives in Newcastle, said: "I started taking them at the beginning of the year. They [the brand] got in touch with me after I followed them on Instagram.

"The injections didn't cost me a penny. The page sent them to me and I was meant to be on them for a month as I was meant to be promoting their brand. It came in a liquid solution with a needle so you had to make it up yourself.

"I was ill after the first one [injection]. I was throwing up for four days nonstop straight after I took the injection. My vomit was black and I was bedbound. After the second day of being sick, my mum rang 111 and they told me to go to the hospital straight away.

"They sent an ambulance out to me. I wasn't eating or drinking and I couldn't keep everything down. When I told them my sick was black, they told me it was blood. I was just throwing up blood. I thought I was going to die and I felt like I was going to die.

"The only thing I could keep down was ice poles [ice pops / popsicles] so I was on these for about a week. I was sent home the next day and then I woke up and my heart was beating so fast and I was rushed back into hospital. They asked if I was on any drugs because my heart was beating so fast.

"My bloods came back and they said they were off the charts and my liver was extremely abnormal. I think the reason I got so poorly was because I took five days worth in one hit. In the hospital they told me I overdosed but that is what [the Instagram page], told me to take."

Leigh-Anne, who was a size 10 at the time, says she had been following the business for a while on social media before they reached out to ask her to be a "free" promoter of the injections. But after she began to throw up straight after taking her first jab, Leigh-Anne's mum rang 111 and she was rushed to hospital.

Leigh-Anne says she was then discharged the following day, but when she continued to throw up "black" vomit, she was admitted back to hospital for further treatment. She claims the solution she was "gifted" to lose weight was claimed to be from the GLP-1 family of drugs - originally developed to treat diabetes, which is now often used as a weight loss product.

Despite recovering from her near death experience, she claims her liver function is still abnormal and she struggles to eat as it makes her feel sick. Leigh-Anne said: "I'd never take these again. I've learnt my lesson and am now losing weight the normal way by going to the gym and working out.

"I think that is why I've lost so much weight now as I've been walking everywhere. I've still not really got my appetite back. I used to love eating but since taking these injections it has put me off. I would recommend people losing weight by eating well and working out instead of taking [what they think] is the easy way out.

"It may work for some girls if they were to actually take the legit stuff from the doctors. I went to the doctors and they said the reason we didn't prescribe this [the weight loss injection], is because you don't need it.

"Don't be so hard on yourself. I thought I was big and needed to take these injections when in reality I was a healthy, normal size. Don't be taking these weight loss injections off strangers on the internet. Do you research first."

When she started to vomit, Leigh-Anne contacted the brand who sent her the injections and claims they told her it was normal to feel nauseous at first. After being discharged from hospital, she then contacted the brand again to report her sickness and told them she could no longer continue with the promotional opportunity.

She claims the brand showed her no remorse and since reaching out to other female promoters, she now believes she was meant to only take 0.1ml of weight loss solution per injection. Leigh-Anne said: "The brand told me to take a 0.5ml dosage so I took this on my first go but after reaching out to other girls they said they were told to only take 0.1ml. They made me take five times the amount [in my first go].

"I looked up what the injections actually were and it's for diabetic people but they advertised it as weight loss injections. I was being sick nonstop straight away. I messaged them [the Instagram page] and they told me this was normal and I would feel a bit unwell at first. I didn't stop being sick for three weeks.

"When I was feeling better, I messaged the Instagram page and told them I couldn't continue because I'd been really poorly and in hospital. They just replied 'okay'." Meta were contacted for comment and said they don't allow the sale of pharmaceutical drugs on Instagram or Facebook.

As a social media platform, they claim they remove content about weight loss that contains a miracle claim and attempts to buy, sell, trade, donate or gift weight loss products. They said content relating to weight loss products and potentially dangerous cosmetic procedures is restricted for under-18s.

Meta said they are constantly working to get better at detection and urged people to report anything they think violates the policies, so they can review it and take action. However the brand's Instagram and Facebook pages are still active and promoting skinny jabs. The brand were contacted for comment but failed to reply.