Several patients complained of a vision loss after taking it.
This medication is very talked about. For its positive effects on the one hand but also more and more for its undesirable effects. If it is so coveted (215,000 French people use it according to figures from the National Medicines Agency (ANSM)), it is because it is impressive impressive mild virtues. In France, it can only be prescribed by a doctor and issued in a prescription pharmacy, but some people manage to obtain it outside the prescription conditions or by falsifying the prescription. Among the potentially serious adverse effects already mentioned, gastrointestinal disorders, pancreatitis and hypoglycaemia. Worse, several patients recently complained of a vision loss which occurred after taking this medication.
“”Shortly after my doctor increased the dose, I woke up one morning with a troubled vision of the left eye. Two weeks later, the vision of my right eye became blurred. After having undergone a scanner and consulted a neuro-speaking, it was revealed that I suffered from an anterior non-arteritic anterior optical neuropathy (Noian)“, Says in the Nypost James Norris, a 56-year-old man from New Jersey (United States). His lawyer, in charge of the case, believes that he has received” hundreds “of cases similar to the United States. Cases have also been observed in Europe, especially in Denmark and Norway. The Pharmacovigilance Committee (PRAC) of the European Medicines (EMA) is investigating these Risks.
According to a study published in January 2025 in the journal Jama Ophtalmology and conducted with 9 patients with a potentially blinding ophthalmic complication associated with the use of this drug “It was not possible to determine whether there is a causal link between this medication and the complications reported “. The authors have hypothesized “that a rapid correction of hyperglycemia induced by these drugs, rather than a toxic effect, could be associated with ophthalmic complications reported“. The drug in question is Ozempic®, an injector pen containing semaglutide, a substance that reduces appetite hence its effects on weight loss. It is only authorized for people with type 2 diabetes insufficiently controlled, insist ANSM and health insurance.
For the manufacturer Novo Nordisk laboratory, quoted by the post “Lhas Noian is a very rare eye disease and does not constitute an adverse drug effect “. The laboratory estimates that the benefit-risk profile of the semaglutide remains “unchanged”. The researchers call for caution and recommend consulting the prescribing doctor in the event of eye disorders following the treatment. Two other drugs with effects similar to Ozempic, Mounjaro (shooting) and Wegovy (semaglutide) were also associated with vision disorders. They are both authorized in France since the end of 2024 but not reimbursed therefore much less prescribed.
