this post was submitted on 13 Feb 2025
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Summary

A new study links GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic to serious eye conditions, including nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), which can lead to blindness.

Researchers reviewed nine cases where patients developed vision problems after starting semaglutide or similar medications.

While the study does not prove causation, scientists suspect the drugs may contribute to these issues by rapidly lowering blood sugar or affecting optic nerve cells.

Experts call for more research and suggest that adjusting dosage rates might help mitigate potential risks for high-risk patients.

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[–] paraphrand 33 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (3 children)

Awww man. We can’t have magic drugs in our cyberpunk future? Hopefully they nail down what’s going on.

[–] EvacuateSoul 17 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

It's a 9-person study. This is like the articles about bone density loss for these drugs (same as losing significant weight any other way, mitigated by exercise).

These articles blow up and are widely shared due to our thirst for comeuppance, that people taking a "shortcut" will end up getting cancer someday and look like fools.

I believe these drugs aren't without risk and these links should be studied, but it would have to be orders of magnitude more prevalent to offset the good it's done.

I find the kneejerk cravings for scary downsides to be on par with Big Tobacco vape messaging or vaccine skepticism, and, at its root, I think it has some Puritanical holier-than-thou elements since the fatties didn't suffer or risk enough.

Edit: This isn't directed at the scientists, rather the concern trolling on social media.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 days ago

Right, my thought was close, "oh no, you mean to tell me the definitely-too-good-to-be-true drug turned out to be too good to be true"? I'm shocked, shocked!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 days ago

Cyborg eyes will fix this issue.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 6 days ago (3 children)

Fucking seriously? Come on, people, I just want to bring down my fucking A1C. -_-

[–] Krazore 1 points 5 days ago

These side effects are almost always from abuse, meaning high dosages or taking it for too prolonged of a period. You can also wreck your pancreas and make your TSH/LSH levels so low that they don't show up on blood exams if you have a massive bolus dose. If you're being responsible and taking it appropriately you should be fine.

[–] [email protected] -5 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I mean this with all curiosity.

Isn’t this a “stop a certain behavior and things get better” kind of thing?

[–] [email protected] 15 points 6 days ago (1 children)

It's not, no. I've cut out basically all sugars. My A1C won't go down. I start insulin once I get paid and can afford the prescription. So far ozempic is the only thing that has helped. It even allows me to be able to eat bread and pasta again, whereas before I had had to cut it out entirely, along with everything else that brought me any joy.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 days ago

Experts call for more research to find what would be safe: New FDA, sorry mate, we don't allow research grants to medical purposes.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago

I would rather be fat than have worse eyesight than I currently have.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Man, can you believe anglophones went with "eye doctors" as a thing they say with a straight face? So weird.

[–] Aedis 26 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (2 children)

Ophthalmologist is a hard word.

Edit: also they went with "ear nose and throat doctor" instead of the word that just rolls off the tongue: otorhinolaryngologist

[–] whostosay 4 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Yeah so every once in awhile I'll stutter when I'm speaking.

I've never had a problem stuttering in my own head, but I just had that problem no less than 10 times reading your comment.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

My only issue with that word is I can never remember how the first g is pronounced. LarynGAWLogist it larynJAWLogist. It trips me up. Long ass words and pronunciation is not something I generally have a problem with, I had speech issues as a kid, and also had a super thick southern accent, and in my preteens I worked hard to make sure my pronunciation was on point and worked to change my accent. But that word in particular just fucks me up every time.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 days ago

It's a hard "g"