Ozempic Blindness
A recent study published in JAMA Ophthalmology indicates that Ozempic and Wegovy could make you go blind. Researchers found a possible link between semaglutide and nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), which is a rare form of blindness. According to the study, of about 1,700 patients who used semaglutide—the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy and other drugs for treating Type 2 diabetes or obesity—it is associated with a four times higher risk of NAION when used for treating Type 2 diabetes and a seven times higher risk when used for obesity.
Among the 710 patients with Type 2 diabetes, the rate of developing NAION was 8.9% for those taking semaglutide, compared to 1.8% for patients taking other medications. Patients who were prescribed semaglutide for weight loss treatment developed NAION at a rate of 6.7%, while patients taking other medications had a rate of 0.8%.
Although rare, NAION is the most common cause of acute optic nerve injury in individuals over 50 years old and white people are at higher risk than other ethnic groups, reports the American Academy of Ophthalmology. The disorder occurs from a lack of sufficient blood flow to the eye’s optic nerve, which connects the brain to the eye and is found in about in about 10 in every 100,000 people older than 50 in the U.S.
In response to the study, Novo Nordisk, the Ozempic and Wegovy maker, said it lacked sufficient data to establish an association between semaglutide and NAION, adding the disorder is “not an adverse drug reaction” for publicly available forms of the drug. It went on to say that the study’s design was limited as it was not conducted as a randomized controlled trial, in which patients are randomly assigned to one or two groups before being compared to a control group.
Other Debilitating Ozempic Side Effects
Add thyroid issues to the list. Medline Plus, an official website of the U.S. government, states that “Semaglutide injection may increase the risk that you will develop tumors of the thyroid gland, including medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC; a type of thyroid cancer). Laboratory animals who were given semaglutide developed tumors, but it is not known if this medication increases the risk of tumors in humans”.
Medline Plus also warns of suicidal thoughts, stating that “You should know that your mental health may change in unexpected ways and you may become suicidal (thinking about harming or killing yourself or planning or trying to do so) while you are using semaglutide injection for weight loss.”
Ozempic Hype Over?
A new analysis indicates patients on weight loss drugs are quitting them early. Analysis of insurance claims shows that 85 percent of individuals who newly started drugs like Ozempic for weight loss were no longer taking the medication after two years. The research also showed that 71 percent of people stopped taking them within 1 year. After analyzing pharmacy claims for 3,364 people prescribed injections like Ozempic and Wegovy, researchers found that after one year, 29% of the people were still taking the medicines, and after 2 years, just under 15% were still on them. And just one in four patients who were taking the drugs for weight loss and not diabetes stayed on Ozempic for at least two years.
Reuters reported that this analysis does not include details about why patients quit. However, it does offer a longer view on the real-world experiences of patients taking the drugs than previous research that studied use over a year or less. One major issue is cost. Medications like Ozempic that belong to the class of drugs called GLP-1 receptor agonists can cost over $1,000 per month. Earlier this month, USA Today published an opinion piece by President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders. They requested that Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly (maker of Zepbound and Mounjaro) lower the cost of their diabetes and weight-loss drugs. The op-ed piece said:
READ MORE OZEMPIC AND MOUNJARO LEGAL NEWS
- If Novo Nordisk and other pharmaceutical companies refuse to substantially lower prescription drug prices in our country and end their greed, we will do everything within our power to end it for them.
- If the prices of these drugs are not substantially reduced, they have the potential to bankrupt the American health care system.
- If half of adults with obesity took Wegovy and the other new weight loss drugs, it could cost $411 billion per year.
- 10 top pharmaceutical companies made over $110 billion in profits last year
- In 2023 Novo Nordisk made over $12 billion in profits, in part by charging Americans over $1,000 a month for a prescription drug that can be profitably manufactured for less than $5
The increasing demand for Novo and Lilly's drugs has led some analysts to predict the market for those weight-loss treatments will reach $150 billion by the early 2030s. Unless the government ends it for them.