Damn, Even Weight Loss Drugs Are Trying To Screw With My Vision!

Another Day Another Problem

Alright babes Duke's here and I've got some news that's got me seeing red—literally. Seems like those weight loss wonder drugs Wegovy and Ozempic are causing some serious eye trouble. The European Medicines Agency is saying these injections might mess with your vision and not in a 'seeing double after a night out' kind of way. I hate when that happens. We're talking potential vision loss people! That's worse than running out of bubblegum.

Eye See What You Did There Pharma

Apparently this ain't the first time this has popped up. Some studies already hinted at Ozempic causing this 'non arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy' thing—NAION for short. Sounds like a real party right? Now the committee's telling Novo Nordisk to slap a 'very rare' warning label on their semaglutide filled goodies including Wegovy Ozempic and even their Rybelsus pill. So the same stuff that's in my steroids. Great.

Gotta Stay Focused Duke!

These GLP 1s are supposed to be all about regulating blood sugar and killing your appetite but it looks like they might be doing a bit more than advertised. Sure most folks probably won't have their peepers go kaput but the committee's saying it could affect up to 1 in 10,000 people who've been on this stuff for a year or more. Not great Bob!

Optic Nerve? More Like Optic NERVE!

And get this diabetes patients on semaglutide are twice as likely to get NAION compared to those who aren't. This NAION thing is no joke; it's the second biggest cause of blindness from optic nerve damage right after glaucoma. So if you're on this stuff and your vision starts going south the committee says to stop treatment immediately. Yeah no shit Sherlock.

Novo Nordisk: 'Come Get Some'

Of course Novo Nordisk is playing it cool saying their data doesn't show a direct link between semaglutide and NAION. They're claiming the benefits still outweigh the risks. But hey they're still gonna play nice with the EMA and update those labels. Translation: 'We'll cover our asses just in case.' Just like my armor only not as effective. They should've came to me I always have the right gear on hand.

Tech To The Rescue (Maybe)

But wait there's more! Some smart cookies over at the University of Toronto did a study showing that diabetes patients on GLP 1s are twice as likely to develop neovascular age related macular degeneration (nAMD). That's 'wet' AMD the nasty kind that leads to irreversible vision loss. So basically it's like staring into the Ark of the Covenant – not recommended. On a brighter note CNBC's Disruptor 50 List is out and a bunch of health tech companies are making waves with AI. Transcarent Virta Health Rad AI and more are using tech to shake things up in healthcare. Maybe they can come up with a way to fix my eyesight after dealing with these drugs.