The Blind Spot in the GLP-1 Conversation

Note: This article describes my personal experience and summarizes currently available medical and regulatory information. It is not medical advice. If you take a GLP-1 medication and have experienced sudden changes in vision, contact your healthcare professional immediately.

I am choosing to publish this on The Times of Israel because it reaches a deeply engaged, global audience. I believe patients deserve to know about emerging health risks that could affect them—and to have the information they need to talk to their doctors. 

I began taking a GLP-1 medication in 2021 to manage my blood sugar. Over time, I noticed something else: the constant “food noise” was gone. I didn’t even know what food noise meant until it was gone. Suddenly, I was able to resist unhealthy foods, ignore constant cravings, and experience a sense of mental quiet around food that I had never known before. For me, it was a miracle.

In early 2025, while on vacation, I developed sudden blurriness in my right eye. At first, I thought my glasses just needed cleaning. But by the third day, it was clear that something was wrong. After I returned home medical testing confirmed Non-Arteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy (NAION), an eye condition that causes sudden vision loss and is sometimes called an “eye stroke.”

I had never heard of NAION. After Googling it, I learned that the vision loss from NAION is permanent. There is currently no cure or treatment that can restore vision that has already been lost.

When I looked into potential causes, I found emerging reports linking semaglutide to NAION. I stopped taking the medication immediately and then contacted my doctor. Her response was a brief, concerned, “Oh no.” She had heard early discussions about a possible connection but had not yet seen a patient affected by it.

Questions about a possible connection between semaglutide and NAION began to emerge in 2023 because NAION is relatively rare. Dr. Joseph Rizzo, a neuro-ophthalmologist at Mass Eye and Ear in Boston, became concerned when three patients with NAION came to see him in the same week—and all three were taking semaglutide. That unexpected pattern prompted him and his colleagues to investigate a possible connection. Their study, published in JAMA Ophthalmology in 2024, brought increased attention to the possible link and prompted further investigation.

For months, I tried to find a journalist to cover this issue, without success. Recently, The Wall Street Journal and NBC Nightly News covered the growing number of GLP-1 vision-loss lawsuits. But I am writing today not simply to report on lawsuits. I want to give patients clear, actionable steps they can discuss with their doctors.

Some people who develop NAION have a natural feature of the optic nerve that may make them more vulnerable. Researchers are still trying to understand exactly why NAION occurs and whether GLP-1 medications play a role. 

I am taking my story public because I wish I had known then what I know now. I am not asserting that everyone taking a GLP-1 medication is going to lose their vision. I am saying that you deserve to know that this potential risk exists—and chances are, you probably don’t know about it. My story has already prompted three acquaintances to talk to their doctors and have an Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) eye scan. If sharing my experience helps someone ask the right questions, then telling my story is worth it. I have lost 70% of the vision in my right eye, as well as my depth perception.

What You Can Do to Protect Yourself

• Talk to an ophthalmologist if you are taking a GLP-1. Insist on having an OCT exam.
• Know the Warning Signs: NAION can cause sudden, painless vision loss or blurring in one eye. It is often noticed when a person wakes up, although it can happen at other times. Don’t ignore a sudden change in your vision.
• Act Immediately: If you experience sudden vision loss while taking a GLP-1 medication, contact your doctor or an ophthalmologist immediately. Don’t wait to see whether it improves on its own. European regulators specifically advise patients taking semaglutide to contact their doctor without delay if they experience sudden vision loss or rapidly worsening eyesight.
• The 14-Day Window: There is currently no treatment that can restore vision already lost to NAION. A clinical trial is currently underway for people diagnosed with NAION. Act quickly, you only have 14 days to qualify.
• Protect the Other Eye: If NAION has already occurred in one eye, there is a risk of it affecting the other eye in the years that follow. Talk to your medical team about your individual risk factors and how to protect your remaining vision.

If you are taking a GLP-1 medication, know that NAION exists. Know the warning signs. And if you suddenly experience vision loss or blurred vision, go to a doctor immediately.