What to record about nausea, fatigue and other GLP-1 side effects so the pattern becomes visible — and so your provider gets something useful to work with.

Why a log beats memory

Ask anyone six weeks into GLP-1 treatment how the nausea has been and you will get an impression, not an answer. Impressions are shaped by the worst day and the most recent day, which are rarely the same day and rarely representative.

A log turns that into something you can actually read. It is also the difference between telling a provider "the nausea has been bad" and telling them "nausea reaching 4 out of 5 on the two days after each shot, starting when we went to 1 mg, easing by day four." The second one is a conversation about your treatment. The first is a conversation about how you feel today.

The five fields worth recording

What. Name the symptom plainly — nausea, fatigue, headache, constipation, reflux, dizziness.

When. The date and, roughly, the time of day.

How bad. A 1-5 scale. The number matters less in itself than the fact that you use it consistently, which is what makes two entries comparable.

How long. A few hours, all day, several days.

What else was going on. A dose increase, an unusually large or fatty meal, a skipped meal, poor sleep, less water than usual.

The field most people miss

Record which day of the shot cycle you are on. Nearly every GLP-1 side effect pattern is tied to the cycle — symptoms cluster in the first day or two after an injection and ease as the week goes on. Without the day number, a list of symptoms is just a list. With it, the shape appears almost immediately.

What to look for when you read it back

Does it track the cycle? Symptoms concentrated on days one and two behave differently from symptoms scattered evenly.
Does it track the dose? Compare the weeks after a dose increase with the weeks before.
Is it easing? Many side effects settle over several weeks at a stable dose. A log shows that; memory usually does not.
Does anything not fit? A symptom with no relationship to the cycle or the dose may have nothing to do with the medication, which is worth knowing too.

When not to wait for the pattern

Tracking is for understanding the ordinary ups and downs. It is not a reason to sit on something that worries you. Contact your provider promptly about severe or persistent abdominal pain, repeated vomiting, signs of dehydration, or any symptom that is getting worse rather than settling — and follow the guidance that came with your specific medication.

This guide is about record-keeping, not medical advice. Your provider is the one who decides what your symptoms mean and what to do about them.