A GLP-1 side-effect journal is a daily note of which symptoms you had, kept next to your injection dates. In GLP-1 Companion you tag symptoms from a list of nine, set a 0 to 10 food-noise score, and the Journal lists every day in order with your shots in the same record. It records what you enter and does not interpret it. Anything severe or worrying needs your prescriber, not an app.
What to record
Keep it small enough to do every day. Three things cover most follow-up questions:
- Which symptoms. The app lists nausea, fatigue, constipation, diarrhea, heartburn, headache, dizziness, injection-site reaction and sulfur burps. Tap the ones that apply.
- How strong food thoughts were. The food-noise slider runs from quiet to constant. Many people find this is the first thing that changes.
- What you ate and drank, roughly. Protein in grams and water in milliliters, using the quick-add buttons.
The daily entry also has a trigger-foods field. Type the food that seemed to set things off, such as "fried chicken" or "ice cream", and it is saved with that day.
A sentence of free text helps when something unusual happens: "woke at 3am with heartburn", "could only manage soup". You do not need paragraphs.
Why dates matter more than detail
Because the shot is weekly, symptoms often follow a weekly rhythm too. A journal that sits beside your shot history lets you see that rhythm without doing any analysis: the shot was Wednesday, nausea is tagged Thursday and Friday, nothing from Saturday onward. If the same thing happens for three weeks, that is a clear, factual pattern to describe.
It works the other way as well. If a symptom shows up on days that have nothing to do with the injection, that is worth knowing before you blame the medicine. The printable injection-week planner lays the days after a shot out as a simple grid.
Writing notes that stay descriptive
The most useful notes describe and leave the explaining to your clinician. Compare:
| Less useful | More useful |
|---|---|
| "The new dose is making me ill." | "Nausea Thu to Sat after first 1 mg shot. Ate about half normal. Fine by Sunday." |
| "Terrible week." | "Constipation 4 days. Water around 1 liter most days." |
| "Arm reacted." | "Red itchy patch, left arm, appeared next morning, gone in 2 days." |
The second column gives when, how long and what else was going on. Those are the questions you will be asked.
The check-in prompts
The days right after an injection are the easiest to forget to log. Two and three days after each shot you record, the app sends a short "How are you feeling?" notification. Tapping it opens the day's entry. You can ignore it on a good day; the gap in the Journal says the same thing. The reminders guide lists every notification the app sends.
Taking the journal to an appointment
Scroll the Journal with your clinician, or summarize it beforehand. The appointment notes builder is a free page that turns your main points into a printable sheet, and the appointment preparation guide suggests what to bring. With Pro you can also export your daily logs as a CSV file.
Free version and Pro
| Free | Pro (one-time purchase) |
|---|---|
| Log shots with date, dose and injection site | Full history beyond the most recent 30 days |
| Daily protein, water, food-noise and symptom notes | CSV export of your own records |
| Weigh-ins and a trend chart | Weekly comparison and shot-day insights |
| A first weekly meal plan | More meal plans and a grocery list |
Symptom tags, food noise and the Journal are free. The free version shows the most recent 30 days; Pro keeps the whole history visible and adds shot-day insights drawn from your own entries.
Common questions
Does the app tell me whether a side effect is normal?
No. It records your entries and shows them in date order. Whether something is expected, and what to do about it, is for your prescriber or pharmacist.
Can I add a symptom that is not on the list?
The tags cover nine common ones. For anything else, describe it in that day's notes so it stays against the date.
What is food noise?
It is a common phrase for persistent, intrusive thoughts about food. The slider is a personal 0 to 10 rating of how loud that felt today. It is not a clinical measure.
How far back can I look?
The free version shows the most recent 30 days. Pro shows your full history and can export it.
Is the journal private?
Entries are stored on your iPhone. There is no account, and symptom notes are not sent to Apple Health.
GLP-1 Companion is a personal tracking tool. It is not medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, and it is not affiliated with any medicine manufacturer. Brand names belong to their owners. Always follow your prescriber and the leaflet that came with your medicine.
Keep a dated symptom record beside your shot history: Download GLP-1 Companion.