Suggestions for migraine tracking?

September 5, 2024 12:54 PM

Do you do journaling or similar to track your headaches? How? My doctor wants me to start tracking possible triggers and treatments for my migraines. She recommended the app Migraine Buddy, but when I have a headache the last thing I should do is dink around on a complicated app. Advice?

A paper notebook isn't the answer, because I often wouldn't have it on me. Is there a web-based equivalent of Migraine Buddy? Or if you use something like Google Sheets, how do you have it set up?

posted by The corpse in the library to Computers & Internet (8 answers total)

I actually used migraine buddy when my migraines were unmanageable. I get horrible visual auras and light sensitivity so I also thought I couldn't/shouldn't use it, but it was actually quite bearable. The trick is to get it all set up and look through it when you're NOT migraining. I don't know if you've checked it out or not, but I got it set up, and then when I felt something- ANYTHING coming on, I just quickly logged it. It helped me so much in so many ways. I ran it in dark mode and it was clearly designed to click a few buttons and be on your way.

1.) I was able to create a habit/awareness on when a migraine was coming on. I logged many a symptom that wasn't a migraine. But when it became one, I caught it. This helped me train myself to catch my migraines earlier.

2.) I did find patterns that I didn't think were there. Migraines much more likely in my luteal phase, when I hadn't had enough sleep, under bright lights, etc. I didn't realize until I started tracking that I needed a multitude of triggers to happen at once. Before I'd thought "it can't be lack of sleep because I tossed and turned all night 3 times last month and it didn't cause a migraine." But if I'm stressed, it's my luteal phase, I'm a bit dehydrated and the pressure in the air is high? BAM. Almost certainly.

3.) I did not crack the migraine code. I still get them. But I get them way less than I used to and I have much better coping skills because I don't feel as anxious that one is going to happen at the first symptom anymore.

Anyhow -- if you haven't installed the app to take a look at it when you're not in pain, I really would recommend it. If you're not comfortable doing that, I would absolutely recommend looking at it and recreating something like it in google sheets.
posted by pazazygeek at 1:36 PM on September 5 [1 favorite]

The health app on the iPhone can be a two step process to add the time (defaults to now) and severity. You have to set the headache as a favorite inside the health app first otherwise it takes fussing about.
posted by zenon at 1:39 PM on September 5

I used Migraine Buddy for three years (2018-2021). I liked it and didn't find it too complicated to use when I was suffering. The steps to log a headache were pretty quick. IIRC, I stopped because it too frequently sent red-dot notifications about news stories related to migraines, etc, that I couldn't opt-out of and didn't care about. It might not do that anymore, it's been years.

Now that you've reminded me of it, I'm tempted to try it again. I liked it overall.

When I stopped using the app, I just moved to a Google Sheet where I do a daily log of overall wellbeing, headache intensity, sleep quality and length, congestion, caffeine consumption, etc. And also columns for migraine symptoms like aura or fogginess. All the things that might be a precursor or aftereffect of the migraine pain itself. I haven't discovered anything surprising through that, just the obvious - lack of sleep or any substantial caffeine are my biggest triggers, and an aura or fog one day very likely means pain the next day.
posted by Fully Completely at 1:47 PM on September 5

I feel like I've tried all the migraine apps, but in the end I just ended up using a google sheet. I wrote down the time and date, a pain score, and whatever helpful notes I could think of at the time. I have chronic headaches and migraines and basically in some kind of pain 24/7, so I try to make a record every time I notice my pain levels (or any other symptom, like nausea or fatigue) has changed, either improved or gotten worse.

I was skeptical, and it hasn't helped me crack the code for triggers, but having the log has been immensely helpful when talking to doctors and even insurance providers for the pricey migraine meds (which they will only approve if unmedicated I have a certain number of migraines a month, and will only keep approving if the med brings them down a certain percentage). And it was enlightening to see the trends when a new med actually did begin to help!
posted by cgg at 1:59 PM on September 5

I track my chronic daily headache and just use a very simple google spreadsheet. For each day of the month, I have a column for pain level; for any meds I took; whether the meds helped; and a "notes" column where I write things like if there were storms coming through, or I had a big perfume exposure, or if I ate anything out of the ordinary, or had more or less caffeine that usual, or slept especially badly, and so on.

I've been doing this (treating a daily headache) for decades, and I've found that this level of detail is enough for seeing general trends, keeping track of what meds I'm using and how often; and spotting any obvious triggers.

I use Google sheets, because it's there, and I can access it on any device via the web browser, but mostly I make my notes as part of my evening routine every day.

Good luck!
posted by Well I never at 2:22 PM on September 5

Migraine Buddy lets you tap to indicate a migraine started, and then you can come back later and mark the details of the symptoms/how long it lasted. It will remind you to do so a number of hours later.
posted by brook horse at 2:37 PM on September 5

I cannot look at anything when I have a migraine so I start a video or voice recording on my phone and verbally describe everything, then add it to my period app or paper journal that I use for symptom tracking later when I'm more functional.

Something like, "Lunch was delayed by two hours, ate chicken and rice, 90 degrees outside, period is due tomorrow, started with visual field cut at 3pm, ongoing aura started at 4pm, hasn't stopped yet, pain started twenty minutes ago in right eye, took this and this medication."

It's messy but the visual component of migraines for me is so gnarly that I can't manage anything else. My period app is clue and I bought a paper symptom journal online that works fine.
posted by dearadeline at 7:18 PM on September 5 [1 favorite]

I used to superstitiously use paper calendars my dr gave me (just simple black and white printouts. Now I just add to my ical if I have a migraine and what meds I take. I think I already know my triggers so this may not work if you're trying to identify them but I will often add things like "hot day" "long hike" "airplane travel" "wine night before"
posted by bookworm4125 at 6:58 PM on September 8