How to keep
a migraine diary.

1. Choose a format you can return to.

Paper or an app can both give you a place for your observations. Choose the one you are most likely to use. A printed diary works well if you prefer writing by hand. A phone diary can keep your entries and calendar together.

Our free headache diary PDF is a straightforward daily sheet. The migraine diary template gives you more space, while the monthly tracker is designed for an overview. If your clinician has given you a particular diary, use their instructions.

2. Record what you know about an attack.

Useful details to keep together include the date, when an attack began and ended, the location and intensity of the pain, symptoms you noticed, and what you were doing around that time.

• Timing: start and end times, or your best estimate of duration.
• Pain: where it hurt and how intense it felt using a consistent scale.
• Symptoms: what else you experienced, in your own words.
• Context: possible factors such as sleep, stress, meals, or weather that you want to remember.
• Medicines: what you took and when, following your existing care instructions.
• Notes: what helped, what changed, or questions for your next appointment.

You can leave a field blank when you do not know the answer. Label approximate times as estimates rather than trying to make the record more precise than your memory allows.

3. Use the same meanings from entry to entry.

Pick a pain scale and use it consistently. If you choose 1 to 10, keep that convention throughout your entries. Your clinician may suggest a particular scale or additional information to record.

Decide what an empty day means in your record. Did you have no attack, or did you simply not make an entry? A small note can make that distinction clearer when you look back. Record the details when you can, without making the diary another source of pressure.

4. Keep the wording simple.

You do not need medical terminology to record your experience. A short entry might say: “Started around 2 p.m. Pain behind my left eye. Felt nauseated. Missed lunch. Ended around 5 p.m. Times are approximate.”

This is a fictional example of a diary entry, not a patient history or a description of what migraine should feel like. Your own record may be shorter, longer, or entirely different. The detailed printable template includes a separate example page.

5. Bring the record and your questions.

Before an appointment, gather your entries or choose a relevant period in your app. Note any questions you would like to ask rather than drawing firm conclusions from a pattern on your own.

Calmira's doctor reports can bring your recorded history into a PDF. If you use paper, take the sheets themselves. Either way, your notes can support a more specific conversation about your experience.