Indiana woman reports vision loss after taking GLP-1 drug; scientific research suggests drugs potentially increase risk for 'eye stroke'

FRANKLIN, Ind. — When Elizabeth Wilde Gestner woke up one morning in September 2024, something wasn’t right. She could not see out of most of her right eye. There was no warning. No physical pain. Instead, it felt like she had “sleep” in her eye that could not be removed. Doctors determined her vision was gone, likely for good.

A growing amount of scientific research suggests there is a potential association between the type of GLP-1 medication Wilde Gestner was prescribed and a vision disease called NAION, or non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy. Recently, the European Union’s agency that regulates medicine safety listed NAION as a “very rare” side effect of semaglutide — the active ingredient in some of the most popular weight loss drugs including Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and