An Overview of Keeping a Migraine Diary
One of the ways to help prevent migraines is to understand your possible migraine triggers. In order to do this, healthcare providers often recommend using a migraine diary (also known as a headache diary). This is a tool that allows you to clearly capture, in a standardized way, how often you get migraines, how severe they are, and the possible relationship to physical, emotional, or environmental factors.
Each time you have a migraine, write down the time of day, the point in your menstrual cycle (for women), where you are at the time, and what you were doing when the migraine started. Besides helping you understand possible triggers, a migraine diary will also help your healthcare provider better understand your migraines. This will also allow
migraine treatments to be tailored to your particular situation.
The following is a sample migraine diary that you can use to track your migraines.
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Date
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During Menses? (Yes/No)
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Time Began
(a.m/p.m.)
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Severity
(Score)*
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Psychological and
Physical FactorsA
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Chemical Exposure B
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Describe Location/
Type of Pain
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Medication Taken, Dosage
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Time Ended
(a.m./p.m.)
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Relief
(Score)**
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| Severity Scale * |
Relief Scale ** |
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1
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2
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3
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4
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5
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6
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7
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8
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9
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10
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1
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2
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3
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4
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5
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6
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7
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8
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9
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10
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None
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Mild
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Can't work
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Worst, can't do anything
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Getting worse
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Same, unchanged
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Better
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Totally better
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A. Psychological and Physical Factors
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B. Chemical Exposure |
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1 – Emotional upset (family or friends)
2 – Emotional upset (occupational)
3 – Business failure
4 – Business success
5 – Vacation days
6 – Weekend
7 – Strenuous exercise
8 – Strenuous labor
9 – High-altitude location (flight)
11 – Serious crisis
12 – Postcrisis period
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13 – New job/position
14 – Moved/housing change
15 – Menstrual days
16 – Physical illness
17 – Oversleeping
18 – Weather
19 – Fasting
20 – Missing a meal
21 – Lack of sleep
22 – Studying
23 – Television/VCR >2 hours
24 – Other:___________________
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A – Ripened cheeses (or pizza)
B – Herring
C – Chocolate
D – Red vinegar
E – Fermented foods (pickled or marinated, sour cream, yogurt)
F – Freshly baked yeast breads, cakes
G – Nuts, peanut butter
H – Monosodium glutamate (Asian food)
I – Pods or broad beans
J – Onions
K – Canned figs
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L – Citrus fruits
M – Bananas
N – Pork
O – Caffeinated beverages (including sodas)
P – Avocado
Q – Smoked or cured sausage, cured cold cuts
R – Chicken livers
S – Wine
T – Alcohol
U – Beer
V – Drugs (specify):_________________
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