When Neuropathy Is Caused by Weight Loss

Like most people, you may be wanting to shed a few pounds.

Especially if you also have type 2 diabetes.

But there’s one weight loss method you absolutely must avoid.

Because a new study in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology proves it causes Neuropathy.

And this is especially important if you already suffer from Neuropathy.

Like other forms of neuropathy, nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) happens when blood flow to nerves is reduced.

In this case, it’s blood flow to the optic nerve that carries visual information from your eyes to your brain.

It causes irreversible loss of vision.

For people with diabetes—who already face an increased risk of neuropathy in their retinas—previous reports that linked semaglutide with NAION are pretty alarming.

Semaglutide drugs (sold under brand names like Ozempic and Wegovy) have become hugely popular for treating type 2 diabetes and obesity.

It means that, on top of the blindness risk diabetes already poses, they are now increasing it with the very drug that is supposed to treat their condition.

This worry prompted researchers to take a deeper look.

They pulled data from 14 healthcare databases across the globe, covering over 37 million adults with type 2 diabetes.

They then compared people who had taken semaglutide with those on other diabetes medications between December 2017 and December 2023.

The scientists used two different methods:

1. A cohort analysis, which compared semaglutide users to people on other drugs.

2. A self-controlled case series, which looked at patients’ own data over time to see if the risk changed during periods when they were on semaglutide versus periods when they weren’t.

They also ran a second, more focused study using a separate database, looking at over 174,000 semaglutide users compared to a matched control group.

Their findings were pretty alarming:

1. The rate of NAION among semaglutide users was 14.5 cases per 100,000 person-years. In other words, 14.5 cases of unnecessary blindness per 1,000 people.

2. Compared with some other medications like empagliflozin, semaglutide was associated with a 127% higher risk when researchers used a very precise definition of NAION.

3. The self-controlled analysis showed semaglutide use increased the risk of NAION by about 32%.

4. The risk increased significantly over time—specifically after two years (2.39 times higher risk), three years (2.44 times higher), and four years (2.05 times higher).

5. People with both diabetes and high blood pressure had a higher risk.

6. In one analysis, the risk appeared greater in women than men, although previous smaller studies had shown the opposite.

7. The risk was especially high in those using Ozempic specifically, with some subgroups showing a risk more than six times higher.

This is not the type of neuropathy that we usually think or write about.

But since many people with neuropathy also struggle with diabetes or obesity—and might be tempted to take semaglutide—it is an important warning bell to ring, very loudly.

Fortunately, there is a pretty easy natural way to reverse Neuropathy.

Thousands of readers have already done so by applying the simple diet and lifestyle changes explained here…

And if you suffer from Type 2 Diabetes, here’s how to reverse it in 28 days and three simple steps…