How to Use Your Headache Diary

Track your headaches over a three Month period to determine your headache patterns and whether lifestyle changes help you feel better.

To chart your headaches in the most effective way, use these easy codes:

• Rate the severity of your headache on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being most severe.
• Indicate the day and time your headache began.
• What was going on around the time your headache started? Record your headache triggers from the list of headache triggers. Insert number(s) into the Triggers column.
• Note how long your headache lasted.
• Use a symbol to indicate the pain relief remedies you tried. For example:
  M= Medicine I= Ice
  S= Sleep O= Other
• Add + if it helped or - if it did not.

The Road to Relief
Consistent use of this chart will help you determine the pattern of your headaches and recognize the triggers that bring on headache pain. These insights may enable you to make effective diet or lifestyle changes which will prevent headaches.

This completed Diary will also provide valuable information for your physician as you work together to relieve your headache pain.

To print out your headache diary, go to the next page.