“Migraine diaries” are considered to be an integral part of migraine treatment. In theory, this makes sense. Knowledge is power, right?
Problem is, most migraine diaries are too detailed to be useful, and as a result most people don’t end up using them for long, if at all. They typically ask you to record all sorts of minutiae that a) you don’t feel like recording in the midst of a migraine, and b) won’t ultimately translate into fewer migraines.
In my mind, headache diaries have one primary goal: to help you identify your most significant migraine triggers. Enter the trigger tracker worksheet (click the link to download it as a pdf). Using the worksheet is simple: each time you experience a migraine, you record the date and then answer a series of yes and no questions about the events leading up to the onset of the migraine.
In short order, you’ll likely start noticing certain triggers that are common to many of your migraines. These are the ones to go after first. This type of knowledge can be a powerful weapon in your migraine battle.
As you may well know, I advocate an ancestral diet as the most powerful weapon. However, if you’re still not quite ready to go all in or are following an ancestral diet and still having the occasional breakthrough, using the trigger tracker worksheet can really help.