Each day, write down in your diary all of the
migraine triggers that may have occurred that day. Write down what you
ate and when. Highlight each food or drink that you suspect is a
trigger. The suggested format for your diary includes symbols to remind
you what food groups you need to include with each meal; the number of
symbols shows how many portions you should have. The symbols are: ♦
protein; ⋆; limited carbohydrate; ♥ free carbohydrates.
In the beginning, it is important to avoid as many of the food triggers
as possible. You should also include in your diary the amount of
exercise and relaxation time you have each day. It is helpful to
document migraine attacks on a calendar with every month on a single
page. You can circle the day of an attack with a different color
corresponding to the headache severity scale. This allows you to examine
trends related to the frequency of your migraine attacks and make
improvements in your migraine control.
How do I record my migraine attacks?
I recommend
tracking migraine attacks with the identified triggers each day. The
headache severity scale used in headache research is the most helpful
way to rate headaches. With this scale, attacks are scored according to
the level of disability. Headaches are rated on a 0–3 scale with 0 being
headache-free and 3 a headache that prevents all activity.
Triggers
A: Menstruation
B: Medical illness
C: Missing a meal
D: Too many carbohydrates
E: Dehydration
F: Stressful event
G: Food and drink
H: Schedule change or change in time
I: Sleep disruption
J: Change in eating habits
K: Weather change
L: Altitude change
M: Intense light, sound, or odors
N: Overuse of medications
O: Other medications
Headache disability
0: No headache
1: Headache with no effect on activity
2: Headache interferes with activity
3: Headache inhibits or stops all activity
