Terrifying rare permanent side-effect of weight loss medication revealed as thousands sue

Thousands of Americans are now taking legal action against popular weight loss drugs after a rare and terrifying permanent side effect was revealed.

Ozempic and Wegovy, part of a class known as GLP-1 receptor drugs, were originally designed to treat Type 2 diabetes. However, they quickly surged in popularity after patients began experiencing weight loss while taking them.

Todd Engel, a 63-year-old grandfather from Maryland, was among those prescribed the medication.

But after taking Ozempic, he developed a rare condition known as non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), which has left him permanently blind.

He is now suing Novo Nordisk, the pharmaceutical company behind both drugs.

Man Left Legally Blind After Taking Ozempic

Per Fox 5, Engel began taking the drug in the spring of 2023 to manage his diabetes while working as a professional truck driver for Howard County highways.

Around New Year’s Eve that year, he suddenly lost vision in his right eye in what doctors described as an eye stroke.

At the time, Engel continued using the medication, unaware that there could be a link. Ten months later, in October 2024, he woke up unable to see out of his left eye as well.

Doctors later diagnosed him with NAION, which is the leading cause of sudden vision loss. "I was terrified... I’m never going to be able to see my wife again," he shared.

The condition forced him to give up the job he loved and dramatically changed daily life for him and his family.

"I went in and I told them what happened, and I cried in front of my supervisors because I couldn’t do my job anymore," Engel said. "A job I really enjoyed."

His wife, Shelley, now helps him navigate daily tasks. "It’s heartbreaking when our little grandkids have to take his hand and lead him around," she said, per The Independent. "He can't drive and he can't work, which is major, he can't play ball.

"It breaks my heart, but my life has changed. Our whole family's life, everything has changed completely. He can't play with our grandkids. Everything in our house has been rearranged and organised," she added.

Growing Number Of Lawsuits Over Rare Eye Condition

Engel’s case is one of more than 4,000 lawsuits filed by patients who claim the drugs caused severe health complications, including blindness and even death.

Many of the cases have now been consolidated in Pennsylvania as part of a growing legal battle seeking to determine what the drug manufacturers knew about the risks.

Engel’s lawsuit claims the manufacturers knew Ozempic was associated with an increased risk of NAION but did not properly disclose the danger. "My neuro-ophthalmologist at Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute said there’s some speculation that Ozempic could have caused this," he said.

One study cited in the complaint reportedly discovered that using semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic, more than doubles the risk of NAION.

Engel hopes his experience will force drugmakers to take notice. "I want people to realize. I want the manufacturers of Ozempic to see me. That I cannot see anything. I’m blind. I’m legally blind, and this is devastating," he said.

His attorney, Jonathan Orent, said the impact of the condition cannot be overstated.

Other Patients Report Serious Complications

Diane Wirth, who worked as a nurse for more than 30 years, also developed NAION in her right eye after taking the drug, forcing her into retirement.

"If someone would have told me there was a chance that a drug I was taking could make me blind, I would never, ever, have taken the first shot," she said.

Another lawsuit has been filed by Tracy Ettinghoff, whose wife, Marsha, died six months after beginning Ozempic.

In 2024, Marsha had started taking the medication in hopes of losing weight before their son’s wedding. "She didn't have any symptoms until a week before she died,” Ettinghoff said. “She started throwing up, and one week later she was dead.”

Ettinghoff said his wife "didn't think that she needed [the medication], but she wanted to be on it," and that the weekly injections did not appear to make much difference to her weight loss.

"We believe that Mrs. Ettinghoff’s premature death was substantially caused by her use of GLP-1s and the adverse reactions associated with them," Orent said. "We believe that sufficient warnings would have prevented this tragic death from ever happening."

Drugmaker Responds

Novo Nordisk has said patient safety remains its top priority and disputes claims that the medication directly causes NAION.

"Patient safety is our top priority, and we take any reports about adverse events from the use of our medicines very seriously. We work closely with authorities and regulatory bodies from around the world to continuously monitor the safety profile of our products," they said, per The Guardian.

They added that EU patient leaflets for Wegovy, Ozempic, and Rybelsus have been updated to include non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION).

However, the company has concluded that data "did not suggest a reasonable possibility of a causal relationship between semaglutide and NAION, and Novo Nordisk believes that the benefit-risk profile of semaglutide remains favourable."

Featured image credit: Steve Christo - Corbis/Getty