{"id":26658,"date":"2026-11-14T09:34:53","date_gmt":"2026-11-14T09:34:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/?p=26658"},"modified":"2026-11-14T09:34:54","modified_gmt":"2026-11-14T09:34:54","slug":"fda-issues-blindness-warning-for-ozempic-mounjaro-and-other-glp-1s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/?p=26658","title":{"rendered":"FDA issues blindness warning for Ozempic, Mounjaro and other GLP-1s"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The FDA has issued a new warning for popular weight-loss and diabetes drugs<\/strong> after disturbing reports of users experiencing \u201cOzempic blindness.\u201d<\/strong>

For nearly four decades, Ed Gillen worked for the state highway department while raising four children and coaching softball in Dedham, Massachusetts.

But in May 2025, his life changed dramatically when he suddenly lost his vision after taking a GLP-1 medication for about a year to manage his blood sugar.

\u201cThere\u2019s no warning sign at all, there\u2019s no pain; it just comes. It just comes,\u201d Gillen told Boston 25 News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was completely blacked out \u2013 Boom, lights out,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Ozempic blindness\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Doctors subjected Gillen to extensive testing, including brain scans and biopsies, before diagnosing him with non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, known as NAION.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDoctors said, \u2018you have Ozempic blindness,\u2019\u201d Gillen said, adding the condition \u201cprogressed so fast.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The American Academy of Ophthalmology explains the \u201crare condition occurs when blood flow to the optic nerve is disrupted, potentially causing sudden, painless and permanent vision loss.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People with diabetes or obesity already face a higher risk of developing optic nerve conditions, making it difficult to diagnose the exact cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this time, there is no treatment to restore vision once it has been lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018New job of being blind\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The diagnosis forced Gillen to leave his job operating heavy machinery after 39 years. He later attended the Carroll Center for the Blind, where he learned skills to help him live independently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was very good at my job. And now I got to learn this, a new job of being blind,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His experience comes amid mounting concerns about vision loss among people using medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FDA issues warning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On Nov. 9, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that manufacturers must add warnings about the potential increased risk of NAION to GLP-1 medication labels.https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FFDA%2Fposts%2Fpfbid0As38dkNAUKnGtVi9GKy28qkC88Pgi6reQswTroRQXHTarZFZPJ6orxQBdtUJZYWNl&show_text=true&width=500<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After reviewing clinical trials and other safety data, the agency identified a possible connection between the medications and the rare eye condition, although a direct cause-and-effect relationship has not been established.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Novo Nordisk, which manufactures Ozempic and Wegovy, maintains that existing data does not prove its drugs cause NAION. Meanwhile, Eli Lilly, the maker of Mounjaro and Zepbound, said it was reviewing the FDA\u2019s announcement, ABC News reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018This is a thing and it\u2019s real\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The agency advises patients experiencing sudden vision loss, blind spots or other unexpected changes in their eyesight to contact a healthcare professional immediately rather than stopping their medication without medical advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gillen has joined other GLP-1 users in legal action against drugmakers over alleged vision loss, hoping to raise awareness of the potential risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want people to know that this is a thing and it\u2019s real,\u201d he told Boston 25 News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please share this story with your family and friends to help spread awareness of the potential risks linked to GLP-1 medications, including sudden and permanent vision loss.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The FDA has issued a new warning for popular weight-loss and diabetes drugs after disturbing reports of users experiencing \u201cOzempic blindness.\u201dFor nearly four decades, Ed Gillen worked for the state highway department while raising four children and coaching softball in Dedham, Massachusetts.But in May 2025, his life changed dramatically when he suddenly lost his vision …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":26659,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26658","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26658"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26658\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26660,"href":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26658\/revisions\/26660"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cehre.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}