Wegovy linked to 5x risk of sudden sight loss

[tendency]

Not sure if this has been brought up already but PSA: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/mar/10/wegovy-sudden-sight-loss-ozempic-study-semaglutide

 

[CNCCurrency]

But a study, published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, found that patients taking Wegovy for weight loss had a fivefold greater chance of developing non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (Naion) than the diabetes drug Ozempic, while men had a three times greater risk than women.

Doesn't make sense that ozempic causes it but wegovy doesn't? Explain that logic

I see they say speed of dosing? i don't follow on formulation either?

 

[lessthanhalf]

Ozempic is for diabetes and only goes up to 1mg per week, Wegovy is for obesity and goes up to 2.4mg per week. So same drug, but presumably different doses. So I assume they are saying that it is more likely at higher doses than doses at or under 1mg/w.

There are a lot of studies on GLP's and eye issues, many have contradictory results. In diabetes , rapid correction of high blood sugars can trigger diabetic retinal damage, but over the longer term , they slow its progression.

NAION is a rare condition , and even if GLP's make it more likely, in the real world GLP effects on very common eye problems like cataracts or macular degeneration or diabetic eye issues or glaucoma probably matter a lot more. I do not see a clear picture from the research yet.

 

[lessthanhalf]

I did find the study , apparently I was wrong and ozempic does go up to 2mg. Interesting that no effect was seen for tirzepatide. Sorting out what is statistical noise from data on those scales in those types of retrospective studies is hard, there will no doubt be may more studies on the same question.

 

[Rezn8]

I did find the study , apparently I was wrong and ozempic does go up to 2mg. Interesting that no effect was seen for tirzepatide. Sorting out what is statistical noise from data on those scales in those types of retrospective studies is hard, there will no doubt be may more studies on the same question.

My wife is on Dr prescribed tirzepatide for her diabetes. (Dont even get me started on how hard I had to fight to get the insurance to cover it)

They doctors are actively monitoring her eyes for any signs of these eyesight issues. She has follow-up eyesight appointments twice a year.

It may simply be that because they saw ozempic causing eye issues, they are assuming tirzepatide may do the same, but they are definitely watching for it

 

[lessthanhalf]

I would not assume a lot at this point. I think it only applied to tirzepatide and NAION , presumably rapid correction of blood sugars by GLP drugs or maybe anything else is an issue for eyes, I know it can trigger some odd neuropathy problems, so sometimes it is better to fix blood sugars more slowly than quickly. Eyes in diabetes need expert monitoring anyway.

I think the concern with NAION is that even though it is rare it can cause loss of sight , and once you start putting millions of reasonably healthy but obese people on GLP's the numbers might start to add up, and healthy people losing sight in an eye as a drug side effect is the kind of thing people get upset about, even if the more subtle effects on really common eye problems probably add up to a much larger effect overall.

 

[Zydeceltico]

Not sure if this has been brought up already but PSA: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/mar/10/wegovy-sudden-sight-loss-ozempic-study-semaglutide

I just learned that being born is 100% linked to dying............sorry................lol.................

 

[Rolltide61]

Wegovy trial group meet for one year anniversary.



Wegovy trial group one year anniversary.

 

[HereKittyKitty]

My wife is on Dr prescribed tirzepatide for her diabetes. (Dont even get me started on how hard I had to fight to get the insurance to cover it)

They doctors are actively monitoring her eyes for any signs of these eyesight issues. She has follow-up eyesight appointments twice a year.

It may simply be that because they saw ozempic causing eye issues, they are assuming tirzepatide may do the same, but they are definitely watching for it

For diabetics, annual or twice yearly diabetes eye exams are usual in the US. Not linked to glp/gip use.

I am t2 dx in 2019 and in remission since 2021. Twice yearly eye exams since 2019. Annual since 2024.

 

[UpDownLeftRightAS*]

As others have mentioned, what is the risk of blindness for the diabetic (OG audience for this drug) patients? I'm curious about cause/ correlation here.



https://www.perplexity.ai/search/wegovy-linked-to-5x-risk-of-su-oHfGknq.TiOiH_c7W24DZw#1

 

[hypnosisguy]

From the study (Ischemic optic neuropathy with semaglutide: global observational analysis of sex- and formulation-specific risk):

Although Wegovy produced fewer ION reports than Ozempic, its lower overall reporting yielded a higher ROR. Disproportionality reflects relative reporting rather than incidence and may be influenced by exposure, indication or media attention...This supports the suggestion that Wegovy’s stronger disproportionality signal reflects higher reporting intensity rather than volume.

They're saying that the Wegovy v. Ozempic numbers are likely a statistical artifact. In fact, the FAERS data all this comes has extreme limitations:

As FAERS lacks denominator data, we could not determine true incidence or assess whether reports

clustered following regulatory recognition. It also lacks comorbidity data (eg, diabetes) for adjustment and does not capture disease severity, laterality or other granular phenotypic characteristics.

They can't tell actual risk ratio from the data they've got, can't tell how much is media driven, can't tell whether it's concentrated in diabetics, can't tell whether it's a more or less severe form...in fact, they can't tell much.

 

[FarmgirlRebel]

Wegovy trial group meet for one year anniversary.

Wegovy trial group one year anniversary.

OMG....I'm dying ...runs off to make our handbaskets

 

[Kalius]

I know that before I switched to Reta, tirz was starting to make my vision blurry a lot and I had a few weird moments the last few weeks where my eyes felt stressed out, hard to explain. I did tirz and Reta stacked for a couple months when I was switching over and was getting a little better, and about 4 weeks after I stopped tirz completely my eyesight went back to normal and never had an issue again.

 

[CathyGoesFar]

It seems like a lot of these issues could be from the inadequate monitoring and exams most people are now getting. I wonder how many of these folks had a dilated eye exam in the last year? Some doctors barely even TOUCH their patients on a regular basis anymore let alone do a real physical exam. I take a relative to their medical appointments and despite worsening leg weakness only one doctor has actually taken the effort to make sure reflexes are intact.

BTW, if 10,000 people were obese there are likely to be 70-100 extra cases of cancer due to obesity and 7-20 are likely to be fatal. The possible risk to eyesight is something to consider but it needs to be put into perspective. Alarmist headlines like in that article can hurt a lot of people.

 

[Pinngo]

BTW, if 10,000 people were obese there are likely to be 70-100 extra cases of cancer due to obesity and 7-20 are likely to be fatal. The possible risk to eyesight is something to consider but it needs to be put into perspective. Alarmist headlines like in that article can hurt a lot of people.

This is typically my take as well when I see articles like this. Risks from GLP use are not in a vacuum, they ought to be compared to the risks of obesity (in the least - you could also add the risks of yo-yo diets, bro science weight loss, etc.). In the vast majority of cases, the risks of GLP use are exceptionally less than obesity itself.