Leigh-Anne Lagden was sent free weight loss injections from a brand on Instagram in exchange for promotion on social mediaThe 26-year-old ended up in the hospital throwing up blood The mom of one is now sending a warning, encouraging others to lose weight naturally rather than take "the easy way out" A 26-year-old mother nearly died after taking five times the recommended dose of a weight loss drug that she purchased from a brand on Instagram. In June, Leigh-Anne Lagden from Newcastle, England, followed a brand on Instagram. Shortly after, the company asked if she would promote the brand on social media if they sent her free weight loss injections. "The injections didn't cost me a penny," she told Kennedy News and Media via The Daily Mail . "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." Lagden, a content creator and mother of one, said she immediately started experiencing side effects after taking the brand's "recommended" dose of 0.5 ml. "I was throwing up for four days nonstop straight after I took the injection. My vomit was black and I was bedbound," she recalled. She contacted the company and said she was told that nausea is a common side effect when you first start the medication. The side effects got so bad that Lagden went to the emergency room two days later. "They sent an ambulance out to me. I wasn't eating or drinking and I couldn't keep everything down," she explained. "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." Lagden said that for a week, all she could keep down were ice pops. She was sent home the following day but returned to the hospital when her heart rate skyrocketed. "They asked if I was on any drugs because my heart was beating so fast," she told the outlet. "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." Lagden said that she contacted the brand and claims that they had no remorse for her health problems on the drug. She also contacted other content creators who promoted the injections and learned that she was supposed to take 0.1 ml rather than 0.5. "They made me take five times the amount," she claimed, noting that the injections were said to be a GLP-1drug, like Ozempic , Wegovy , Zepbound and Mounjaro .Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Meta — the parent company for Facebook and Instagram — said that they don't allow the sale of pharmaceutical drugs on the social media platforms and urges users to report any they come across. "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," Lagden said, warning others to do the same and not take "the easy way out." She also offered a piece of advice to those feeling the same way she did about her weight. "Don't be so hard on yourself," she said. "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 your research first." The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now ! Although Lagden was unsure of the type of weight loss injections she took, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration states that these illnesses are increasingly common . In August, the agency warned that many people are overdosing on alternatives to Ozempic and Wegovy due to the do-it-yourself doses of compounded semaglutide. Ozempic is an FDA-approved prescription medication for people with type 2 diabetes, while Wegovy is FDA-approved for people with chronic obesity. The medications — taken weekly by injection in the thigh, stomach or arm — are brand names for semaglutide, which works in the brain to impact satiety. However, the drugs have gained popularity over the past year as many are using them for weight loss when not medically necessary. Because of those demand increases, the medications were previously impacted by the nationwide drug shortage . But before pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk was able to amp up production, many counterfeit and compounded versions of the injectable hit the market, causing health effects to those who turn to it. In some instances, patients reportedly administered five to 20 times more than the intended dose of semaglutide. The agency notes that they do not review, test or approve these compounded drugs for safety. 
