claims that the drugs caused NAION<\/a>.<\/p>\nThe lawsuits allege that manufacturers failed to provide sufficient warnings about the potential risks, although a causal relationship between the medications and the condition has not been definitively established.<\/p>\n
Life after vision loss<\/p>\n
At the time of his vision loss, Engel was working for Howard County Highways as a heavy equipment operator and truck driver.<\/p>\n
He had worked in the field for about 40 years and held a commercial driver\u2019s license for nearly as long.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was extremely mechanically inclined with my hands and in my mind. I can\u2019t do that anymore, which is extremely upsetting to me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Engel worked as a heavy equipment operator and highway truck driver for 40 years before his vision problems forced him to stop. Fox News\/Engel family<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople want to be able to retire on their own accord when they want to, not when a medical catastrophic injury such as this \u2026 takes away your livelihood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beyond losing his career, Engel said even ordinary activities he once took for granted have become difficult.<\/p>\n
An avid reader before his vision loss, Engel said he can no longer read newspapers, magazines or books. Inside his home, he has learned to count steps to help navigate familiar spaces.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that coming in from our parking lot, there are 10 steps \u2026 nine going down into our basement, 13 going up into our bedroom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Engel said he now uses a white cane to navigate outside his home and relies on his family for help with everyday activities. His four grandchildren often guide him during family gatherings.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey will take me by my hand and talk to me: \u2018Pops, three steps straight. Then we\u2019re gonna turn right,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me personally, it\u2019s embarrassing. I\u2019m 64 years old. I shouldn\u2019t need \u2026 my grandchildren or my wife to help me get from point A to point B.\u201d<\/p>\n
His wife, Shelley Engel, said her husband\u2019s vision loss has affected the entire family.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has completely changed every aspect of our lives,\u201d she said. \u201cThere is not one piece of our lives that hasn\u2019t changed or been touched by this throughout our whole family.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Engel, some of the most painful losses involve the things he can no longer do with the people closest to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will never be able to see my wife\u2019s beautiful face again, be able to see children and grandchildren, be able to play ball with them,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd that is very, very upsetting to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wake up in the dark, I go to sleep in the darkness.\u201d<\/p>\n
A warning to others<\/p>\n
Engel said that if he had been warned about a possible link between Ozempic and vision loss, he would not have taken the drug.<\/p>\n
\u201cHad I known, had my doctor had any inkling that this could have happened \u2026 I\u2019m sure he would have asked me and I would have said absolutely not,\u201d he said. \u201cI will deal with the diabetes \u2026 I refuse to jeopardize my eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hundreds of patients are pursuing legal action against the makers of GLP-1 medications over vision loss. Christopher Sadowski<\/p>\n
The Engels said they are speaking publicly in hopes of preventing others from experiencing the same outcome.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo the research for yourselves to make sure that my catastrophic injuries do not happen to you or anybody else,\u201d Engel said. \u201cIf we can help one person, then that\u2019s a pleasure to Shelley and I.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s about information\u2019<\/p>\n
The family\u2019s attorney, Jonathan Orent, said the legal team is seeking a warning on the US Ozempic label similar to information provided to patients and doctors in Europe.<\/p>\n
Orent is co-lead counsel in nationwide litigation involving GLP-1 drugs, including lawsuits alleging vision loss linked to Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s amazing what just a simple warning can do,\u201d he told Fox News Digital. \u201cThat\u2019s really what this case is about. It\u2019s about information.\u201d<\/p>\n
Company response<\/p>\n
Novo Nordisk, the Denmark-based company that makes Ozempic, has disputed that the medication causes NAION, stating that the available evidence does not establish a causal relationship between semaglutide and the eye condition.<\/p>\n
\u201cA causal relationship between GLP-1RAs, including semaglutide, and NAION cannot be confirmed based on the totality of data,\u201d Liz Skrbkova, head of US Media and Stakeholder Relations for Novo Nordisk, told Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n
The company pointed to an analysis of its randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials that found very few confirmed cases of NAION and no increased incidence among patients taking semaglutide.<\/p>\n
Novo said it continues to monitor NAION as part of its routine drug-safety surveillance.<\/p>\n
\u201cNovo believes the personal injury lawsuits filed in the US are without merit, and we are defending them in court,\u201d Skrbkova said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Maryland man claims that a popular weight-loss drug caused his total vision loss, leaving him legally blind.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":884249,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[985,3436,97,249,3458],"class_list":["post-884248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-diabetes","tag-glp-1","tag-health","tag-ozempic","tag-weight-loss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=884248"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884248\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/884249"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=884248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=884248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=884248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}