People With Vision Loss Want Warnings Even If Risk Of NAION Eye Injury Is Low

(Posted by Tom Lamb at Drug Injury Watch)

For more than two years, we have seen numerous medical journal articles about vision loss associated with Ozempic, Mounjaro, and other glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drugs due to non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION). However, to date, the current Prescribing Information documents or drug labels for these drugs do not have any warnings about NAION and vision loss here in the US.

We have been talking with people who have vision loss due to non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) after using Ozempic and Wegovy (which are both semaglutide-containing drugs), as well as Mounjaro and Zepbound (which are both tirzepatide-containing drugs), about their situations. Almost without exception, these people have said they were disappointed there were no side-effect warnings, even if the risk of NAION vision loss is low (and some people are understandably angry about it).

Before we get to some recent medical news articles about whether the NAION risk is low and whether the drug labels for Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound should have eye injury side effect warnings, here are two earlier pieces we wrote about those issues:

Ozempic And Other GLP-1RA Use Associated With NAION Eye Side Effect (5/21/26)

Ozempic Eye Problems Side Effect Warnings Not In US Drug Label (7/27/26)

Now for the recent medical news articles about vision loss with Ozempic, Mounjaro, and other GLP-1 drugs, as well as the lack of any eye side-effect warnings.

Healio Primary Care Optometry News published online October 2, 2026, “GLP-1s may be linked to vision loss, but overall risk ‘very, very low’“, from which we get this report on a presentation made by Leonard V. Messner, OD, FAAO, professor of optometry at Illinois College of Optometry, who was a speaker at Academy 2026, an event put on by the American Academy of Optometry:

Messner outlined two recent studies examining the link. A retrospective, single-center analysis from Hathaway and colleagues evaluated more than 16,000 patients with type 2 diabetes, overweight or obesity. It found that patients taking semaglutide had “between a four- and sevenfold” greater risk for NAION vs. those who did not take semaglutide, particularly those using the drug to lose weight, Messner said.

An analysis from Cai and colleagues consisted of 14 databases spanning more than 37 million patients with type 2 diabetes, more than 810,000 of whom initiated semaglutide. The researchers wrote that they found “a modest increase” in NAION with the use of semaglutide, although the risk was “smaller than that previously reported.”

Messner said the NAION risk uncovered in this study was “not much higher than the risk simply associated with type 2 diabetes.” He suggested that the study methodologies may have influenced the difference in results.

“The Hathaway study was a look back based upon anecdotal observances … of high-risk individuals that were presenting to a tertiary-level health center,” he said. “On the flipside, the Cai study was a large population-based analysis of individuals with type 2 diabetes.”

Overall, Messner said the evidence does not currently support risk for NAION as a reason for stopping GLP-1s.

The second recent article is “GLP-1s and NAION: Do Patients Need a Warning?“, published online October 2, 2026, by Medscape Medical News. It reports that lawyers representing people who suffered vision loss with Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound in drug injury lawsuits filed against the responsible pharmaceutical companies argue that the lack of NAION warnings puts US doctors and patients at a disadvantage. Those lawyers assert that adding NAION eye injury warnings to the drug labels would make doctors and patients more likely to consider the potential risk of NAION when making their decisions about prescribing and using these medications.

As we said at the outset, people who have vision loss while using Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, or Zepbound have consistently told us they are disappointed there were no side-effect warnings, even if the risk of NAION eye injury is low.

We continue to investigate drug injury lawsuits involving Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound with vision loss due to NAION. For the basic facts about these cases, here are two pages on our Drug Injury Law website:

Eye-related Side Effects of Ozempic, Wegovy, and Rybelsus With Vision Loss

Zepbound and Mounjaro Eye Side Effect NAION Information Page

If you have been diagnosed with NAION while using Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, or Zepbound, you may want to submit a Case Evaluation Form online. It is free, confidential, and there is no obligation.

Ozempic / Wegovy / Rybelsus Vision Loss Case Evaluation Form

Zepbound / Mounjaro Eye Side Effect NAION Case Evaluation Form

Or, you can have your potential NAION lawsuit reviewed by drug injury lawyer Tom Lamb by these two alternative means: (1) send an email to TJL@LambLawOffice.com or (2) call 910-256-2971.

DrugInjuryLaw.com: Medical & Legal Information About Drug Side Effects

Drug Injury Case Evaluation – Free. Confidential. No Obligation.