Call emergency services immediately for
Swelling of the face, lips, tongue or throat; difficulty breathing or swallowing; a widespread rash with dizziness or faintness. These suggest a severe allergic reaction and need emergency care, not a message to a portal.
Also emergency: chest pain, sudden severe headache unlike any you have had, weakness or numbness on one side, difficulty speaking, or fainting. In the United States, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.
Contact your care team promptly for
Severe or persistent abdominal pain, especially radiating to the back or accompanied by repeated vomiting. Persistent vomiting or diarrhoea with signs of dehydration. Severe pain in the upper right abdomen. Vision changes. Signs of infection at an injection site — spreading redness, warmth, swelling, discharge or fever.
None of these are things to research first and act on later.
Worth raising at your next contact
Side effects that are tolerable but not improving after a few weeks. Constipation not responding to fluid and fibre. Fatigue that is interfering with work or training. Injection sites becoming firm or lumpy. Anything that makes you inclined to skip doses.
This category is where most useful protocol adjustments come from.
The rule that covers the rest
New, severe, or persistent. If a symptom is new and you cannot explain it, or severe regardless of explanation, or persistent beyond the window you were told to expect, it is worth a conversation.
Clinicians would far rather field a call about something minor than review something serious that waited two weeks.
Keep your own records
Note what happened, when, at what dose, and how long it lasted. A clear account makes the clinical decision faster and better.
Tell your regular physician what you are taking, including supplements. Anyone treating you for anything else needs the full list.