The main groups of side effects
The UK label lists nausea, constipation, diarrhoea, vomiting, indigestion and abdominal pain in its most frequent category. Other reported effects include reflux, bloating, dizziness, headache, tiredness and hair loss. How likely and how important each one is depends on you and your other treatment.
Low blood glucose matters most when you take Foundayo with insulin or a sulfonylurea. Low blood pressure matters if you take blood-pressure medicines. Have these medicines reviewed when you start Foundayo. Do not stop them on your own.
When to act straight away
Severe abdominal pain that persists may mean pancreatitis and needs immediate medical assessment. Stop Foundayo if pancreatitis is suspected. Severe or ongoing digestive symptoms need a review before any further dose increase. Vomiting and diarrhoea cause dehydration and kidney injury.
Call 999 for severe allergic symptoms, difficulty breathing or passing out. New severe problems with your sight need urgent assessment. Do not write them off as ordinary side effects. The label covers evidence from Foundayo itself and reports linked to the wider GLP-1 class, and the two carry different levels of certainty.
Describe the symptom in detail
Tell your clinical team when the symptom began, how severe it is, whether a dose increase came first and what you still manage to eat or drink. For abdominal pain, give its location and how long it lasts. For diarrhoea or vomiting, give how often and whether fluids stay down. A brief timeline is far more useful than "the tablets make me ill".
Something else may cause a new symptom. Infection, another medicine or a separate illness all look alike. Equally, do not brush off a serious symptom because digestive side effects are common. Severity and the signs alongside a symptom decide what it means.
Report a suspected reaction once you have care
You report suspected side effects to the MHRA Yellow Card scheme. You need no proof of cause. Each report feeds safety monitoring after approval. Yellow Card is no substitute for medical care or emergency advice.
Keep the medicine name, form, strength, batch number and dates where you have them. Mention your other medicines and health conditions. A suspected reaction affects what you are prescribed later, so check your GP and the prescribing service hold a clear record, especially if the NHS and a private service share your care.
Frequency and seriousness are separate. A common symptom turns serious if it stops you drinking. A rare event needs urgent action because of its consequences. Read the leaflet's frequency list and its list of symptoms needing immediate help side by side.
Questions for your appointment
Ask whether your diabetes or blood-pressure medicines change the safety plan and what monitoring you need. Agree whom to contact about ongoing digestive symptoms and how a suspected reaction will be recorded across your care providers.
Sources
Your own medicine leaflet and prescriber come first. A source from another country does not mean the same rule applies in the UK.
- Foundayo UK Summary of Product Characteristics medicines.org.uk
- Foundayo UK patient information leaflet medicines.org.uk
- MHRA UK authorisation announcement gov.uk
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