More Americans on Ozempic go BLIND as doctors sound alarm over startling side effect
Experts have sounded the alarm about blockbuster weight loss drugs like Ozempic leaving users blind.
Several studies have linked the shots to conditions that cause inflammation and block blood flow to the eye, causing severe and sometimes permanent vision loss.
Now, researchers have detailed nine new reports of US patients who went blind after taking semaglutide or tirzepatide, the active ingredients in Ozempic and Mounjaro, respectively.
One woman injected one dose of semaglutide for her diabetes and woke up the next morning blind in her left eye.
This prompted her to stop the medication for two months before her diabetes forced her to go back on it. Two weeks after restarting, she lost vision in her right eye as well.
Another woman who had been taking semaglutide for a year woke up one morning with a ‘painless shadow’ over her left eye. Testing revealed blood vessels in her retina had become damaged, leading to blindness.
And one suffered bleeding in his left eye after taking tirzepatide for a year. However, doctors told him to keep taking the drug due to a lack of evidence linking his condition to weight loss shots.
The experts said while the exact cause is unclear, drugs like Ozempic rapidly lowering blood sugar levels could damage blood vessels in the eyes, leading to vision loss.
A new study detailed nine patients who lost their vision after taking weight loss shots like Ozempic (stock image)
The researchers wrote in JAMA Ophthalmology last month that it’s not clear exactly what could be causing the side effect.
It has been suggested that the weight loss drugs cause a sudden drop in blood sugar (because people stop eating junk food) potentially temporarily damaging blood vessels.
Last year, the American Academy of Ophthalmology issued a press release urging patients who have experienced vision loss while taking semaglutide to stop taking the drug and contact their doctor.
However, the academy did not recommend against taking the drugs altogether.
Health officials in Denmark, where Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk is based, is currently investigating the links between semaglutide and vision loss.
The new report detailed the cases of nine adults taking either semaglutide or tirzepatide.
The average patient age was 57, and the majority (56 percent) were women.
The patients were from Utah, Minnesota, New York, West Virginia, and Ohio.
The researchers found seven patients were diagnosed with nonarteritic ischemic anterior optic neuropathy (NAION), a condition where blood flow to the optic nerve gets blocked. The optic nerve helps transmit visual information from the eye’s retina to the brain.
Jacqueline Barber of Louisville, Kentucky slept on the couch with a garbage can next to her for about a year. She lost 140 lbs, her teeth began crumbling because of the stomach acid in her comit and she became so weak that she had to use a walker to get around. She has also suffered other side effects
Ashley Keenan, 37, started taking Ozempic in 2020 to help control her type 2 diabetes. While she was her thinnest since age 18, her blood sugar spiked and her potassium got so low that her heart stopped. She spent 10 days in the ICU with gallstones, pancreatitis, and diabetic ketoacidosis
This leads to sudden vision loss in one or both eyes.
NAION occurs in about 6,000 Americans every year, and it’s most common in patients with diabetes, high blood pressure, and sleep apnea, as these conditions can damage blood vessels.
One woman in her 50s developed NAION the day after her first semaglutide injection.
She woke up the morning after the injection with ‘painful vision loss’ in her left eye.
Tests revealed swelling in her optic nerve and damaged blood vessels in her retina.
The women stopped taking semaglutide and her insulin, and her vision had gone back to normal two months later.
Two weeks after restarting semaglutide to control her diabetes, the vision loss returned. She was diagnosed with severe optic nerve swelling, and her vision returned to normal seven months later.
It’s unclear if she stopped semaglutide a second time.
A man in his 60s started experiencing painless blurred vision in his right eye 10 months after starting semaglutide for diabetes.
He had optic nerve swelling and flame hemorrhage, bleeding into his retina. Though his symptoms resolved within a few weeks, he lost vision in his left eye as well.
About 10 weeks after stopping semaglutide, vision in both eyes returned to normal.
In 2023, Oprah Winfrey, 70, finally admitted to using an undisclosed GLP-1 to shed nearly 50 pounds after decades of yo-yo dieting. The admission came as a shock to fans as Oprah initially denied using weight-loss meds to slim down and even went as far as to slam the method as an ‘easy way out’
One woman in her 30s suffered swollen optic nerves and hemorrhages in both eyes three months after starting semaglutide.
Most patients with NAION noticed their vision improving within days or weeks of stopping semaglutide.
One man, however, who developed hemorrhaging had vision improvements without stopping tirzepatide, so doctors advised him to stay on it.
The researchers said the results show associations between weight loss drugs and blindness, though they can’t prove causation.
Roughly six percent of Americans – 15million – report using some form of weight loss shot.
Since their approval and mass circulation, patients have reported a number of unexpected side effects linked to the various weight loss drugs.
Black box warnings for the Ozempic include that it may increase the risk of developing thyroid tumors. The label also warns about the risk of developing stomach paralysis which can lead to nausea, vomiting and malnutrition.
Other individuals have reported developing problems with suicidal thoughts, sexual dysfunction and hair loss as a result of the drug.
