Patients on Ozempic report ‘waking up blind’ in as little as a day after using fat jab
PATIENTS taking blockbuster diabetes and weight loss drugs are waking up with vision loss, researchers warn.
Some reported terrifying changes to their vision mere days or weeks after taking the jabs.
A study published to JAMA Ophthalmology detailed the experiences of nine patients – aged between 37 and 77 – who experienced eye complications after taking semaglutide or tirzepatide.
“There has been a recent concern that [semaglutide] and other similar medications may be associated with ophthalmic complications,” researchers wrote.
One woman in her fifties with type 2 diabetes woke up with “painful vision loss in the left eye” just a day after injecting her first dose of semaglutide – – the active ingredient in diabetes jab Ozempic and fat loss drug Wegovy.
She stopped taking 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, this time in her thirties, reported “shadows” clouding the vision in her right eye two or three days after using the drug – she’d started taking it three months prior.
Meanwhile, a man suffered bleeding in his right eye after taking tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Mounjaro, for a year to treat his type 2 diabetes.
But researchers noted that the exact cause of patients’ vision loss remains unclear, as they couldn’t determine a cause-and-effect relationship between the drugs and subsequent eye complications.
Instead, they suggested that semaglutide and tirzepatide rapidly lower blood sugar levels, possibly damaging blood vessels in the eyes and leading to vision loss.
A spokesperson for Novo Nordisk – which manufactures Ozempic and Wegovy – told The Sun: “Patient safety is a top priority for Novo Nordisk, and we take all reports about adverse events from use of our medicines very seriously.
“Any decision to start treatment with prescription-only medicines should be made in consultation with a healthcare professional who should do a benefit-risk evaluation for the patient in question, weighing up the benefits of treatment with the potential risks.
“Eye conditions are well-known comorbidities for people living with diabetes.
“The study concludes that there was not a demonstrated causal relationship between semaglutide and the eye conditions that the patients experienced.
“At this time, Novo Nordisk is of the opinion that the benefit-risk profile of semaglutide remains unchanged.”
Mounjaro’s maker Eli Lilly has also been contacted for comment on the findings.
Studies have previously linked diabetes and weight loss jabs to eye conditions that can lead to permanent vision loss.
Health officials in Denmark – where Novo Nordisk is based – are also currently investigating the links between semaglutide and vision loss.
Harvard Medical School researchers found that diabetes patients prescribed semaglutide were more than four times more likely to be diagnosed with non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION).
Overweight or obese people taking the drugs were also more than seven times as likely to develop the condition as those on other weight loss medicines.
NAION, an uncommon eye condition that typically causes sudden vision loss in one eye, occurs from a lack of sufficient blood flow to the optic nerve.
People usually won’t experience any pain, but they’ll notice the change to their vision on waking up.
There are no current treatments for NAION and vision often does not improve.
Joseph Rizzo, a professor of ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School in the US, who led this earlier study, said: “The use of these drugs has exploded throughout industrialised countries and they have provided very significant benefits in many ways.
“But future discussions between a patient and their physician should include NAION as a potential risk.
“It is important to appreciate, however, that the increased risk relates to a disorder that is relatively uncommon.”
NAION is thought to affect 10 out of 100,000 people in the general population.
What is non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION)?
NAION is caused by a loss of blood flow to the optic nerve – the cable that connects the eye to the brain.
It usually results in sudden vision loss in one eye, without any pain, which patients will usually notice when waking up in the morning.
The visual loss typically remains fairly stable, without getting markedly better or worse once it has occurred.
Medics aren’t sure what exactly caused reduced blood flow to the optic nerve – but the condition is more common in people with diabetes, high blood pressure and sleep apnoea.
Smoking may also raise the risk of NAION.
Most patients with NAION have an anatomical variation of the optic nerve, making its contents very tight and crowded.
This anatomy probably contributes to the impaired circulation that causes NAION.
NAION has previously been linked to erectile dysfunction drugs and taking medications to treat high blood pressure before bedtime.
Unfortunately, there are no treatments for NAION that are proven to be effective.
Once NAION has occurred in one eye, it is very rare for it to occur again in the same eye. But there is about a 30 per cent chance that it can occur in the other eye over one’s lifetime.
To try to reduce the risk that NAION occurs in the other eye, a doctor might suggest regular exercise, a healthy diet, and other measures to treat the risk factors of diabetes, high blood pressure, and sleep apnoea.
Source: Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Of the cases detailed in the report, seven patients experienced NAION, while one patient was diagnosed with papillitis – inflammation of the optic nerve – and the remaining one had paracentral acute middle maculopathy, a condition caused by lack of blood flow to the retina.
“None of the patients reported had previously used a GLP1-RA drug or any other drugs associated with optic neuropathies or retinopathies within the year prior to symptom onset,” researchers noted.
GLP1-RA stands for glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists. The drugs work by mimicking a hormone produced by the gut when you eat, which signals to the brain that you’re full and prevents you from overeating.
Most patients were women and were from the US.
One woman in her 50s developed NAION the day after her first semaglutide injection, waking up the next morning with “painful vision loss” in her left eye.
She was concerned that the drug and insulin shots she had recently started taking to manage her diabetes had resulted in vision loss – “therefore, she discontinued use of both insulin and semaglutide”, study authors said.
Tests revealed swelling in her optic nerve and damaged blood vessels in her retina.
But she was advised to keep taking the medications to keep her diabetes in check, and once again woke up with “painful vision loss”.
“Because the patient was challenged and then rechallenged with semaglutide, her clinical course would seem to support a direct, toxic, idiosyncratic reaction to semaglutide,” researchers said.
A man in his 60s with a history of diabetes experienced painless blurred vision in his right eye.
He had been on semaglutide for 10 months, and had his dose increased six months earlier.
He had optic nerve swelling and bleeding into his retina. Though his symptoms resolved within a few weeks, he lost vision in his left eye as well.
Medics suspected that that the drug was a possible cause so they took him off the medication.
About 10 weeks after stopping semaglutide, vision in both eyes returned to normal.
Later tests showed that both his optic nerves appeared pale, indicating damage.
Fat jabs fact vs fiction
IN a world with soaring obesity rates, fat jabs have arrived and taken the world of the rich and beautiful by storm.
The injections have allegedly helped celebrities like Elon Musk, Sharon Osbourne and even Prime Minister Boris Johnson shed the pounds.
But there is a dark side to these “miracle jabs”.
UK health chiefs are investigating 20 deaths that have been reported as being potentially linked to the injections.
Several celebs, including model Lottie Moss and actor Stephen Fry, have opened up about all the horrible side effects they experienced while taking the jabs, from contorting on the floor to violent sickness.
Ian Budd, pharmacist for Chemist4U and MyBMI, says: “Using injectable weight-loss medications for cosmetic reasons or without a medical need is not recommended and can be potentially harmful.
“They are not a quick fix or a way to lose a few pounds before a holiday.
“Misuse of these medications can lead to serious health consequences and should be avoided.”
Dr Iqbal added: “They are for the management of chronic obesity, so they may not be the first step to take if your weight gain has been more recent or over a shorter period of time.”
Eligiblity hinges on having a body mass index of 30-35 (obese category), coupled with weight-related health issues such as hypertension or type 2 diabetes.
Fat jabs aren’t available over the counter, you need to have a prescription to take them.
Aside from getting a prescription via the NHS, you also have the option for paying for a private prescription.
Your eligibility will still need to be assessed by a pharmacist or GP, according to Click2Pharmacy.
But an influx of skinny jabs on the black market has resulted in people becoming sick and even risking death.
Experts warned a legitimate prescriber will have their credentials listed in registers provided by the General Medical Council or General Pharmaceutical Council and pharmacies should be registered with the GPhC.
Another man in his 60s – this time taking tirzepatide – developed a painless shadow in his left eye and was diagnosed with NAION.
As no link to tirzepatide was established, he continued to take the medication.
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 the drugs.
Researchers said: “In this case series study, was not possible to determine if there is a causal link between these drugs and the ophthalmic complications reported.
“In some cases, we hypothesise that rapid correction of hyperglycemia induced by these drugs, rather than a toxic effect of the drugs, could be associated with the ophthalmic complications reported.”
Rapid correction of high blood sugar levels has previously been associated with papillitis, they added.
At least three other drugs have been associated with NAION, including erectile dysfunction drugs, researchers noted.