Ozempic and blindness: Is vision loss a side effect of this weight loss drug?

There may be a variety of curiosity round Semaglutide, which is offered beneath totally different manufacturers, together with Ozempic. It might assist to manage blood sugar ranges and help weight reduction. However the drugs, authorized by the US Meals and Drug Administration for kind 2 diabetes administration, may trigger nausea and diarrhea. These widespread unwanted effects could disappear as soon as your physique will get used to the weekly jabs. Nevertheless, there are additionally research which have linked this drugs to imaginative and prescient loss. Is there any connection between Ozempic and blindness? Let’s discover out.

What’s Ozempic?

Ozempic (semaglutide) is an injectable treatment labeled as a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist. “GLP-1 is an incretin hormone that performs a significant function in glucose regulation, particularly after consuming,” says endocrinologist Dr Dheeraj Kapoor. Administered as soon as weekly through subcutaneous injection, the medication is primarily used together with a nutritious diet and train to manage blood sugar ranges in adults with kind 2 diabetes. It is usually used for weight reduction.

What are the advantages of Ozempic?

Listed below are a few of the advantages of Ozempic:

• Lowers blood sugar ranges: It stimulates the pancreas to launch extra insulin when blood sugar ranges go up. “This helps to decrease blood sugar with no vital danger of hypoglycemia or low blood sugar,” says the professional. It reduces the discharge of glucagon hormone from the pancreas, which additional contributes to decreasing blood sugar ranges.
• Slows gastric emptying: It slows the speed at which the meals you eat leaves your abdomen and reaches your intestines. “This results in a sense of fullness, reduces post-meal glucose spikes, and may also help with weight reduction,” says the professional.

What’s the connection between Ozempic and blindness?

Ozempic and blindness don’t have a direct hyperlink. Nevertheless, there are a number of potential oblique hyperlinks:

1. Diabetic retinopathy

For folks with pre-existing diabetic retinopathy, a complication of diabetes that impacts the blood vessels within the retina, fast enhancements in blood sugar management, corresponding to these seen with medicines like Ozempic, can typically be related to a brief worsening of retinopathy. “This can be a identified phenomenon in diabetes administration, not unique to Ozempic. This momentary worsening might doubtlessly impression imaginative and prescient if not monitored,” says Dr Kapoor. In a two-year trial involving folks with diabetes and excessive cardiovascular danger, extra circumstances of diabetic retinopathy problems have been seen in members handled with Ozempic (3%) in comparison with placebo (1.8%), as per the US Meals and Drug Administration.

2. Non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION)

There are research which have advised a attainable affiliation between Ozempic and blindness. A hyperlink between semaglutide and nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) was discovered throughout a 2024 examine printed within the journal JAMA Ophthalmology. “It’s a situation involving sudden imaginative and prescient loss as a result of an absence of blood move to the optic nerve,” says Dr Kapoor. A brand new assessment, printed in JAMA Ophthalmology in January 2025, confirmed that 9 folks taking semaglutide and tirzepatide both skilled NAION, papillitis or paracentral acute center maculopathy. These situations result in imaginative and prescient loss.

Ozempic and blindness: Does imaginative and prescient get higher after stopping the medication?

If imaginative and prescient adjustments have been associated to a brief worsening of diabetic retinopathy as a result of fast glycemic enchancment, imaginative and prescient may stabilise. “It might enhance over time, no matter whether or not Ozempic is sustained, as the general glucose management improves,” says the professional. If the imaginative and prescient adjustments have been linked to different elements, corresponding to NAION, the end result would rely on the character and extent of the optic nerve harm. “In NAION or different eye situations, imaginative and prescient loss is usually everlasting, though some folks could expertise partial restoration,” says the professional. So, the reversibility of imaginative and prescient adjustments after stopping Ozempic relies upon fully on the underlying explanation for the imaginative and prescient subject.

Ozempic and blindness: What are the opposite unwanted effects?

The hyperlink between Ozempic and blindness will not be apparent, however there are unwanted effects which you can anticipate. The unwanted effects of Ozempic primarily contain the gastrointestinal system:

• Nausea
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting
• Constipation
• Belly ache

Much less widespread, however doubtlessly extra severe unwanted effects of Ozempic can embrace:

• Pancreatitis
• Gallbladder issues like gallstones
• Hypoglycemia, particularly if used with different anti-diabetes medicines like insulin or sulfonylureas.
• Acute kidney damage, which is usually associated to dehydration from extreme gastrointestinal unwanted effects.

Ozempic and blindness: Find out how to scale back the chance of imaginative and prescient loss and different unwanted effects?

Stopping potential eye points and different unwanted effects whereas on Ozempic includes:

• Common eye exams, which is very necessary for folks with diabetes. These will assist to observe for any indicators of diabetic retinopathy. It’s good to report any adjustments in your imaginative and prescient to your physician promptly.
• Whereas Ozempic could be very efficient, your physician will purpose for a gradual and secure enchancment in blood sugar ranges, which could assist scale back the chance of momentary worsening of retinopathy. That’s why the dose of Ozempic begins with 0.25 mg as soon as every week then 4 weeks later, it will get elevated to 0.5 mg as soon as every week.
• Staying hydrated will assist to minimise the chance of kidney points related to extreme gastrointestinal unwanted effects.

It is very important notice that Ozempic and blindness are usually not often linked, and imaginative and prescient loss is just not a generally reported or an anticipated facet impact of this weight reduction drug. Nevertheless, in case you are on Ozempic, and expertise any adjustments in imaginative and prescient, instantly seek the advice of a health care provider.