A 26-year-old mother from Newcastle, England, narrowly escaped death after mistakenly injecting “five times” the recommended dose of a weight loss drug sent to her by an Instagram-promoted company. Leigh-Anne Lagden revealed to The Daily Mail that she was contacted by the company after following them on Instagram, who then sent her a month’s supply of their weight loss injections as a promotional gift.
Lagden, a content creator, began using the product in June, starting with what she believed to be the “recommended” dose of 0.5ml. Shortly after, she began vomiting blood and was rushed to the hospital twice. “I started taking them at the beginning of the year. They [the brand] got in touch with me after I followed them on Instagram,” she explained, noting that the injections were free of charge in exchange for her promoting the brand, reported by the New York Post.
The drug, which arrived as a liquid solution with a needle, required self-preparation before injection. When Lagden first experienced severe nausea and vomiting, she contacted the brand, who told her the symptoms were typical at first. However, her condition worsened, and she was bedridden, unable to eat or drink as her vomiting persisted for four days.
“After the second day of being sick, my mum rang 111, and they told me to go to the hospital straight away,” she recounted. Upon arriving at the hospital, it was revealed that her black vomit was, in fact, blood. “I thought I was going to die and I felt like I was going to die,” Lagden admitted. Medical staff, alarmed by her condition, noted that her blood tests were “off the charts” and that her liver was severely impacted.
Health professionals later informed Lagden that the correct dosage was 0.1ml, meaning she had unknowingly taken five days’ worth in one go. Following her recovery, Lagden reported the incident to the brand, telling them she would not be continuing the partnership, but received no remorse from the company. “I’d never take these again. I’ve learned my lesson and am now losing weight the normal way by going to the gym and working out,” she said, attributing her recent weight loss to her increased physical activity.
When questioned about the product, Meta, the parent company of Instagram, stated that they prohibit the sale of pharmaceutical drugs on their platforms. Additionally, they restrict content relating to weight loss products and potentially dangerous procedures from being shown to under-18 users. Lagden’s ordeal serves as a cautionary tale on the dangers of unregulated products promoted on social media.