Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ozempic increases risk of debilitating eye condition: studies

sdu.dk

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 107 posts

Re: Ozempic increases risk of debilitating eye condition: studies

#21

Post by beardedwizard »

mikaraento wrote: post #10
beardedwizard wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

this part was both clear and unclear to me - does it exclude patients using it for weight loss or not?

They didn't study patients using semaglutide for weight loss only. I guess a Bayesian would increase their estimated probability of such a problem also for the weight loss case, but not by as much (as diabetes predisposes people to other ailments).

What you are saying makes sense. Subjectively I feel like they could have done a better job at making this distinction clear given the explosive use for weight loss - but maybe it's just because my interest in this is outside of diabetes.

Re: Ozempic increases risk of debilitating eye condition: studies

#22

Post by nohuck13 »

compiler-guy wrote: post #3

Important to note that this side effect is still very rare and that we still use drugs with similarly serious and rare side effects. The authors of the study do not recommend abandoning these drugs, rather we should understand and manage the risks.

The base rate is 1.5 to 2.5 cases per 10,000 people per year, according to the article.

Re: Ozempic increases risk of debilitating eye condition: studies

#23

Post by gojomo »

Such a curiously-worded headline, to refer to Ozempic specifically – quite a recognizable & understood term at this point! – as just some "Danish diabetes medicine".

I almost expected the source to be some group with a resentment towards Denmark – maybe Greenland separatists? – but no, it's just a Danish university that doesn't want to say 'Ozempic' in the headline directly.

Re: Ozempic increases risk of debilitating eye condition: studies

#24

Post by beardedwizard »

monero-xmr wrote: post #16
bshepard wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Human civilization is built on the creation of shortcuts. Insulin is a shortcut for T1 diabetics to avoid death.

Perhaps a better phrasing would be, "There is no free lunch." If you prefer to take Ozempic rather than monitoring caloric intake and exercising, then there are consequences. But if the consequences are worth it, is up to the individual.

Someone reading this might assume its zero sum to you - as if people on Ozempic have not already been exercising and monitoring caloric intake without the associated weight loss/health results they desire - and have only chosen it because they don't want to try something else.

I'm sure you aren't trying to come across as fat shaming, but the reality is of course not zero sum. Diet and exercise doesn't magically work for the entire population.

Diet and exercise definitely worked for me but im not willing to be a sample size of 1 in the face of so many others with legitimate stories.

Re: Ozempic increases risk of debilitating eye condition: studies

#26

Post by AnthonBerg »

nwienert wrote: post #12
monero-xmr wrote: post #9

If you literally cannot stop yourself from being obese any other way, then Ozempic and similar may be a good choice. But the side effects are large. You can never, ever stop taking it. We don't know what being on it for decades causes. There are anecdotes that it numbs you out emotionally. There are no shortcuts in life. There is always a tradeoff.

1) Side effects not much more than the most tame of drugs, like aspirin. This one, if it exists, is incredibly rare. 2) You can stop taking it, obviously. Just like any medicine, the effects will wear off, but there's no rebound effect or risky side effect from coming off. You simply return to your previous state. 3) There's more positive anecdotes than negative basically wherever you look. I have a friend who took i…

The most interesting aspect of GLP-1 agonists is indeed the reduction of inflammation.

All the effects on the mind like reduction of addiction, compulsions, craving have a direct basis in neuroimmunobiology. Neuroimmunopsychiatry.

As I see it, it’s a productive and reasonably accurate view to look at things in the way that inflammation is suffering. Neuroinflammation and suffering being one and the same.

In addiction, in craving, there is neuroinflammation. In getting the fix there is a reduction of inflammation.

Neuroinflammation also makes us angry; it’s behavior-modifying from a social point of view too.

Re: Ozempic increases risk of debilitating eye condition: studies

#27

Post by harvey9 »

jdietrich wrote: post #18
compiler-guy wrote: post #3

Important to note that this side effect is still very rare and that we still use drugs with similarly serious and rare side effects. The authors of the study do not recommend abandoning these drugs, rather we should understand and manage the risks.

Also important to note that these studies are observational and do not prove causation. While the authors attempted to correct for covariates, it is highly likely that the patients who received semaglutide were generally sicker than those who did not. While further study is necessary and some degree of caution may be warranted, it is still entirely plausible that semaglutide has no causal influence on NAION.

Threshold for semaglutide use seems pretty low. And the article mentioned that its 'usually' diabetes patients which I took to mean it even included users who were overweight but not diabetic.

Re: Ozempic increases risk of debilitating eye condition: studies

#28

Post by [deleted] »

monero-xmr wrote: post #9

If you literally cannot stop yourself from being obese any other way, then Ozempic and similar may be a good choice. But the side effects are large. You can never, ever stop taking it. We don't know what being on it for decades causes. There are anecdotes that it numbs you out emotionally. There are no shortcuts in life. There is always a tradeoff.

[deleted]

Re: Ozempic increases risk of debilitating eye condition: studies

#29

Post by daedrdev »

monero-xmr wrote: post #9

If you literally cannot stop yourself from being obese any other way, then Ozempic and similar may be a good choice. But the side effects are large. You can never, ever stop taking it. We don't know what being on it for decades causes. There are anecdotes that it numbs you out emotionally. There are no shortcuts in life. There is always a tradeoff.

Clinical trials started in 2008. Thats decades for something major to appear. There are minor things, but people can simply stop taking it. Given the weight lost causes years of healthy lifespan to be gained, it would take a monumental problem that would have been seen by now to make it not worth it for a lot of people who can't lose weight on their own.

Re: Ozempic increases risk of debilitating eye condition: studies

#30

Post by KittenInABox »

Barrin92 wrote: post #19
bshepard wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Human civilization is built on the creation of shortcuts. Insulin is a shortcut for T1 diabetics to avoid death.

Civilization is built on long term sustainable practice, shortcuts in response to the lack of such practices is how civilizations burn down. Obviously T1 diabetics need to take medication because there's not much else they can do whatever side effects that has, but the topic is obviously relevant and posted here because these drugs are currently being used/abused for weight loss. Given that sustainable, side effect f…

> Given that sustainable, side effect free ways to lose weight exist (with many additional benefits)

Just because it exists doesn't mean it's statistically applicable to a population of people. I've yet to see real evidence that on a population scale, sustainable and side effect free ways to lose weight exists at a statistically significant level. If you're 100+ lbs overweight and you lose it all without any medical intervention for over 5 yrs you're basically a statistical freak.

Post reply on HN