Red Flags: When to Call Your Doctor About a Medication Problem

It’s easy to assume that if a medication is prescribed, it’s safe to keep taking - even if you feel off. But some side effects aren’t just annoying. They’re warning signs. And ignoring them can turn a manageable issue into a life-threatening emergency.

In Australia, about 1 in 15 hospital admissions is linked to medication problems. That’s not rare. It’s common enough that doctors and pharmacists now train patients to spot the difference between a mild reaction and a true red flag. The key isn’t to panic over every little change - it’s to know when to act fast.

What Counts as a Red Flag?

Not every weird feeling means something’s wrong. Nausea after antibiotics? Common. Dry mouth from antihistamines? Normal. But if you start feeling like you’re going to pass out, or your face swells up, or you break out in blisters - those aren’t side effects. They’re emergencies.

Here’s what you need to watch for:

• Difficulty breathing - wheezing, gasping, or feeling like your throat is closing. This can happen within minutes of taking a new drug.
• Hives or a sudden rash - especially if it spreads fast or itches badly. Red, raised patches that look like bug bites? Don’t wait.
• Swelling of the face, lips, tongue, or throat - even if it’s mild. This often comes with trouble swallowing or speaking.
• Dizziness or fainting - especially if you’re over 65. Dizziness increases your risk of falling by 200%, and that fall could break a hip or cause internal bleeding.
• Severe nosebleeds or bleeding that won’t stop - common with blood thinners like warfarin or apixaban. If you’re bleeding more than usual, call your doctor.
• Blisters on skin or inside mouth - this could be Stevens-Johnson Syndrome or toxic epidermal necrolysis. These are rare, but deadly. They start with flu-like symptoms, then blisters form. Stop the medication immediately and go to hospital.
• Confusion, hallucinations, or seizures - especially if you’re on antidepressants, pain meds, or epilepsy drugs.

These aren’t "maybe" situations. If you have any of these, don’t wait until your next appointment. Call 000 or go to the nearest emergency department.

When to Call Your Doctor (But Not 000)

Not every problem needs an ambulance. But you still shouldn’t ignore it.

Call your GP if:

• A side effect lasts more than 48 hours and doesn’t improve.
• You’re having trouble sleeping, eating, or doing daily tasks because of how you feel.
• You’re on a chronic medication - like for blood pressure, diabetes, or depression - and you’ve started feeling worse, not better.
• You’ve developed a new symptom that doesn’t match what your pharmacist told you to expect.
• You’ve stopped the medication because you were scared, and now you’re not sure if you should restart it.

Here’s a real example: A 72-year-old woman in Melbourne started taking a new blood thinner. She noticed her gums bled a little when brushing her teeth - normal at first. But after three days, she was bleeding every time she ate, and her stool looked dark. She called her doctor. They checked her INR level. Her blood was too thin. The dose was adjusted before she had a major bleed.

That’s the point. You don’t need to wait for disaster. If something feels off, say something.

What’s Just a Minor Side Effect?

Let’s be clear: most side effects aren’t dangerous. They’re just unpleasant.

These are usually fine to keep taking the medication for:

• Mild nausea or upset stomach - especially with antibiotics or painkillers.
• Constipation - common with opioids or iron tablets.
• Diarrhea - happens in 1 in 4 people on amoxicillin.
• Drowsiness - especially with older antihistamines or some antidepressants.
• Headache - can happen with many drugs, including blood pressure meds.
• Mild rash - small, localized, not itchy or spreading.

Harvard Health says: if you’re not having trouble breathing, swelling, or blisters, you should keep taking the medicine unless your doctor tells you otherwise. Stopping medication on your own is one of the top reasons treatment fails for chronic conditions like high blood pressure or diabetes.

Keep a Side Effect Diary

Doctors can’t fix what they don’t understand. And most people forget what they felt like three days ago.

Write down:

• What symptom you had (e.g., "dizziness when standing up").
• When it happened (e.g., "30 minutes after taking my pill at 8am").
• How long it lasted (e.g., "2 hours").
• How bad it was on a scale of 1 to 10.
• What you were doing when it happened (e.g., "walking to the kitchen").

A 2022 Lancet study found that patients who kept this kind of diary helped their doctors diagnose medication issues 65% faster. That’s not a small boost. That’s life-saving.

Keep the diary on your phone or in a small notebook. Bring it to your next appointment - even if you think it’s nothing.

What to Do If You’re Unsure

Here’s the simplest rule: When in doubt, call your doctor or pharmacist.

You don’t need to be certain. You don’t need to know if it’s serious. You just need to say: "I’m on this medication, and I’m feeling this. Should I be worried?"

Pharmacists in Australia are trained to handle these questions. Many offer free medication reviews. If you’ve been on the same drugs for more than six months, ask for one. It takes 20 minutes and could catch a dangerous interaction.

And if you’re ever unsure whether to call 000 or your doctor - call 13 HEALTH (13 43 25 84). It’s a free 24/7 service staffed by nurses who can help you decide what to do next.

Why Reporting Matters

Every time you report a side effect, you help someone else.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) runs a system called the Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting Program. It’s how drugs get warnings updated or pulled off the market. In 2023, over 12,000 reports came from Australian patients. That’s how they found out that a common arthritis drug was increasing heart attack risk in older adults.

You can report online at tga.gov.au. You don’t need to be a doctor. Just your name, the drug, and what happened.

It’s not about blaming anyone. It’s about making medicines safer for everyone.

Don’t Guess. Ask.

Medications save lives. But they can hurt too - if we don’t pay attention.

You’re not overreacting if you’re worried. You’re being smart.

The goal isn’t to avoid medicine. It’s to use it safely. And that means knowing when to speak up.

Next time you take a pill and feel something strange - don’t shrug it off. Write it down. Call your doctor. Or if it’s sudden and scary - call 000.

Your body is telling you something. Listen to it.