Migraine is a frustrating neurological disorder that can cause a great deal of pain and suffering for those in its grip. Many a times, it becomes quite difficult to diagnose a migraine as some of its symptoms are quite similar to that of other neurological illnesses such as stroke. For instance, not all types migraines are accompanied by headache but may include other symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, dizziness, increased sensitivity to light, sound and smell, numbness on one side of the body, temporary loss of vision, muscular weakness and temporary paralysis.

Keeping a migraine diary is one of the best ways by means of which you can prevent a misdiagnosis and get appropriate treatment at the earliest. This is considered to be one of the easiest and most effective ways of tracking the disorder and requires maintaining a record of the frequency ad intensity of headaches and accompanying symptoms. It also helps keep record of the number of episodes that occur in a month and makes it simpler for the doctor to analyze your present condition, responsiveness to treatments and potential triggers.

What should your migraine diary include?

Your migraine diary or chronicle must entail all details pertaining to the migraine attacks experienced by you. It must describe the various symptoms, frequency of attacks, date of attack, duration, intensity of the attack, type of pain, details of foods taken before the attack, medicines taken prior to the attack, menstruation details, stress factors and any other details you might think would be of any use to the doctor.

Benefits of keeping a migraine diary:

A migraine diary helps in accurate exchange of information.

Enables you to track which medications are good for you and which are not.

It helps the doctor diagnose the exact type of migraine you might be suffering from. For instance, if the migraine attack is not accompanied by pain, it could mean that you are suffering from silent migraine or ocular migraine.

A specific record helps you identify the possible precipitating factors of the attack such as intake of alcohol, wine, beer, chocolates, excess or lack of sleep, stress, psychological or physical strain, delayed or missed meals and weather changes etc.

This helps you prevent further attacks and makes you aware of what you must avoid in order to reduce the frequency of these attacks.