Keeping a headache diary can help you and your physician understand your personal triggers. In a headache diary, you record information like how often you get headaches, how long they last, and whether certain foods or situations seem to bring on your headaches. The diary helps you see your personal headache patterns. Then you can decrease your headaches by reducing your triggers and taking medications if needed.

Tracking Your Headaches

1. The date and time each headache started and stopped.
2. Any factors that seem to trigger the headache: food, smoke, bright light, stress, activity.
3. The location and nature of the pain: throbbing, aching, stabbing, dull.
4. The severity of the pain (1 = very mild; 4=moderate; 10=very severe).
5. Other physical symptoms: nausea, vomiting, visual disturbance, sensitivity to light or noise.
6. If you are a woman, note any association between headaches and your menstrual cycle or use of birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy.
7. List any treatments: e.g. acetaminophen (Tylenol), sleep medicine, etc.