Woman details losing vision in 1 eye after taking GLP-1 as hundreds of patients sue drug companies

The useful part

Hundreds of Americans are suing the makers of popular GLP-1 weight-loss and diabetes drugs, saying they weren't adequately warned of the potential danger of vision loss. She's been diagnosed with a rare eye injury known as NAION, the acronym for nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, which has been described as a " stroke of the optic nerve." There's no known treatment for the condition. The nurse practitioner in rural Georgia, who was taking the blockbuster GLP-1 medication Wegovy to lose weight, said her only symptom was a sudden loss of vision in her right eye.

How it works

• "I woke up one morning and I was like, 'What is wrong with my eye?'" Wirth told NBC News correspondent Stephanie Gosk.
• … There was no warning sign at all." She described it as initially "missing a wedge" out of her right eye.
• Now, her vision in that eye is like looking through glasses that have been smeared with petroleum jelly — Wirth can still see light, but can't read and doesn't have depth perception, she noted.
• Wirth stopped driving, had to retire early and is now more dependent on others.

Details worth keeping

"I was fine when I went to bed, and I woke up, and the vision was gone.