Migraine Headache Diary

Many times I will recommend a migraine headache diary to my patients and although many think it is a good idea, some will shrug and say "Why bother?". That kind of tells me alot..as a migraineur you must be willing to participate in your own care or over time, not much will change.

A migraine diary is a great way to become more pro-active in your care. You can chart and track your headaches, mark what time of day it is, if there are any migraine food triggers, or perhaps if barometric pressure changes cause headaches. And remember, if you are a woman, track your monthly cycles as hormone headaches like menstrual migraine, are a big cause of headache in women.

There is an interesting result to stress called a let down headache. This happens after a week or so of go,go,go..then on Friday you get the headache.

Be sure also, to note how many hours or days your headaches last. If you have a treatment you have used, such as a medication, how many times did you have to use it? Was it sucessful?

Don't forget to note any atypical features to your headache. This is important to your provider to know if this is an emergency headache.

How To Document Your Headaches

A few people have set up computer systems, again using different colors to track their headaches over the course of a month. This is an easy way for me to see over the months how they are improving or perhaps getting a bit worse. Patterns and migraine triggers can be identified this way.

If you do well with writing things down download a headache diary here. If you are one of those people who likes to computerize things, there is a great website to log your headaches. It was developed by a man to help his wife with her headaches and is called HeadacheLog.com

Try to keep track of your headaches and migraines for at least 90 days to find patterns and triggers. Bring your results in to your doctor or provider to discuss what are the best headache treatments for you.

Download A Free Migraine Headache Diary Here