One of the most helpful tools for you and your doctors is a Headache and Migraine Diary. It will be useful to track triggers, the effectiveness of medications, and any patterns to your headaches. There are many ways to do this, but for the purpose of your doctor reviewing it, printed pages are usually preferable to a bound journal. It's also helpful for discussion if you can print two copies so you and your doctor can each be looking at a copy during discussion. Some doctors also like to keep copies in patient charts. I'm always careful to take copies of my diary pages that track from the time of my previous visit.
Especially if you're just starting to investigate your triggers, you may want to track additional information such as what you've eaten, the weather, your sleep patterns, etc. in a notebook on a daily basis for awhile.
I've put together some various diary options for you. Of course, you can't do much to print the version that you print, but any of the downloadable versions can be customized to better suit your preferences.
- To print a version directly from the our site, click HERE.
- To download in Microsoft Word format so you can print whenever you want or use it on your computer, click HERE. Save the file to your desktop or whatever folder you wish. This is a self-extracting file. Double clicking the file will extract it to the file diary-word.doc.
- To download in Microsoft Excel format so you can print whenever you want or use it on your computer, click HERE. Save the file to your desktop or whatever folder you wish. This is a self-extracting file. Double clicking the file will extract it to the file diary-excel.xls.
- To download in Microsoft Excel format, with tracking charts already started, so you can print whenever you want or use it on your computer, click HERE. Save the file to your desktop or whatever folder you wish. This is a self-extracting file. Double clicking the file will extract it to the file ha-mig-diary.xls.
Good luck! If you want to discuss your diary or other issues, drop by our forums.
