Headache DiaryA headache diary is simply a way of tracking how often and under what conditions your headaches occur. It can be use to: (1) Identify triggers Let's look at each of these in more detail. Identify TriggersTriggers are factors that tend to cause a migraine. While the trigger may not do so 100% of the time, it tends to occur, just prior to onset of a headache, more often than would be expected by chance alone. Of course, the more consistent the trigger, the easier it will be to identify. You can see a large list of potential triggers here. To identify triggers, a detailed approach is best. I recommend using a detail-capturing form like Diary A.Evaluate Treatment EffectsSometimes headache diaries are used to monitor the effects of acute treatments. For example, your doctor may have given you samples of three new medications. It is helpful to write down the intensity of your headache, associated symptoms, the effect of the medication on the headache, and any medication side effects you experience. This will facilitate your discussion of these drugs at a later visit with your doctor, or help you to evaluate what you think of the medications.Keep in mind that migraines can be variable, so that a treatment may work for some of your migraines and not for others. It is often helpful to treat at least two separate migraine attacks before coming to a conclusion about a particular medication. Diary A is useful for this purpose. Monitor Headache FrequencySometimes you are more interested in the total number of headache days you have experienced over a longer time. For example, you can initially monitor the number of headaches you have over the coarse of a month. Then, if your doctor starts you on a new migraine prevention medication, you can again count the number of headache days in a month. By comparing the two monitored months, you are better able to quantify whether the preventative is indeed helping.This is helpful for both patient and physician. Often patients will tell me "I'm not doing well" with regard to their headaches and then go on to describe in detail the headache they had four days earlier. When we look at their headache diary, we find they have had a 50% reduction in the number of headache days! Even if the newly started medication didn't' eliminate their headaches, it probably did help. This can be the difference between whether I recommend starting a new medication or simply increasing the dose of one that is, in fact, already helping. To monitor headache frequency over time, any calendar will do. If you want to print one, you can go to
this website.
Just type in your desired options in the large colored box and choose 'Get PDF'. The calendar can be printed from there. Return from HEADACHE DIARY to MIGRAINE HEADACHES
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