A former nurse practitioner in Georgia has joined a lawsuit claiming that the weight loss drug Wegovy caused her to become legally blind. Diane Wirth says she lost vision in her right eye weeks after starting the medication in February 2025. The case is part of a multi-district litigation involving…
A Georgia woman who took the weight loss drug Wegovy to shed a few pounds has become legally blind in her right eye. Diane Wirth, a former nurse practitioner at Grady Memorial Hospital, said she woke up one Saturday in February 2025, just weeks after starting the medication, and could not see out of her right eye. Doctors diagnosed her as legally blind in that eye, leaving her only able to perceive blurry shapes. “It was heartbreaking. It was jarring. I was angry,” Wirth said. She added that no one warned her about any risk of blindness, and the side effect was not listed on the drug’s label.
Wirth now spends most of her time at her home in Hartwell, Georgia. Simple chores like cooking have become difficult because her depth perception is off. “My vision is just not what it was,” she said. The condition she developed is called non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, or NAION. It is often described as an eye stroke caused by restricted blood flow to the optic nerve. The damage is painless but irreversible. “Bottom line is there’s nothing you can do to prevent NAION if it’s going to happen with these drugs because there’s not a warning sign. You wake up and you’re blind,” Wirth said.
Wirth is represented by attorney Jason Goldstein of Parker Waichman LLP, who also serves on the steering committee for a multi-district lawsuit involving more than 130 similar cases. The litigation is pending before a judge in Philadelphia. All plaintiffs allege they developed NAION after taking GLP-1 receptor agonists, a class of drugs that includes Wegovy, Ozempic, Mounjaro, and Zepbound. Goldstein noted that NAION strikes without warning and results in permanent vision loss. “It comes on suddenly, you don’t feel it, and then it’s permanent,” he said. He described a 33-year-old client and a 48-year-old man from New York who lost vision in both eyes.
The lawsuit claims that the drug manufacturers, Novo Nordisk, which makes Wegovy and Ozempic, and Eli Lilly, which makes Mounjaro and Zepbound, knew about the potential link between GLP-1 drugs and blindness. According to the complaint, a 2024 study published in JAMA Ophthalmology found an association between GLP-1s and NAION, yet the companies chose not to list the condition as a rare side effect on U.S. labels. In Europe, however, the label for semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic, has been updated to warn about this rare condition, Goldstein said. “In Europe the label has been updated for semaglutide ... to warn about this rare condition in the U.K., the same thing,” he added.
Both Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly issued statements emphasizing that patient safety is their top priority. Eli Lilly said it actively monitors, evaluates, and reports safety information to the FDA for all its medicines. The company noted that it has ongoing discussions with regulators regarding potential safety topics, including ophthalmic issues. Its statement said: “Recent literature has concluded that the ‘evidence does not establish a causal relationship between GLP-1RAs and NAION.’ If anyone is experiencing side effects when taking a Lilly medicine, they should talk to their doctor or other healthcare professional.”
Novo Nordisk provided a more detailed response. The company confirmed that the FDA is currently conducting a comprehensive epidemiological study to evaluate the potential safety signal and has not revised the approved labels for GLP-1 therapies to include NAION as a potential side effect. Novo Nordisk emphasized that semaglutide has demonstrated a wide range of benefits beyond glycemic control and weight loss, particularly for people with cardiometabolic disease. The company stated: “Considering the totality of evidence from clinical trials, post-marketing reports, and observational studies, alongside the generally low incidence rate of NAION, Novo Nordisk believes that the benefit-risk profile of semaglutide remains favorable.” It added that it conducted a pooled analysis of all randomized, placebo-controlled trials of liraglutide and semaglutide involving more than 96,000 patients and found no increased risk of NAION associated with either therapy.
For Wirth, the consequences of losing her eyesight have been devastating. She had to quit her job and can no longer drive, relying entirely on her husband for transportation. Her depth perception remains so impaired that during car rides she frequently warns her husband he is driving too close to other vehicles, even when he is not. “So, I just smile and keep driving,” her husband said. Despite the hardship, Wirth still retains her sense of humor. But as a former nurse, she is serious about warning patients about the possible link between GLP-1 weight loss drugs and blindness. “If I would have read that there’s a possibility that I could lose my vision, I would’ve never taken this drug. I just, I mean your eyesight is not anything you can get back and it’s a permanent loss,” she said.
The lawsuit is one of two major GLP-1-related litigations before the same Philadelphia judge; the other involves claims of stomach paralysis from the drugs. It could take years for either case to reach a conclusion. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC responded to an inquiry by saying it may be important for GLP-1 users to see an ophthalmologist for a baseline and routine follow-up eye exam, in addition to seeing their regular healthcare provider. The FDA has not yet commented on the matter. Both companies continue to assert that the overall evidence does not support a causal link between GLP-1 drugs and NAION, and they maintain that their products’ benefits outweigh any potential risks.
Peptides referenced: Semaglutide, Tirzepatide, Liraglutide, GLP-1.
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