Help with Migraine Diary?

I'm new to this forum. I want to start a migraine diary or log and I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions. My migraines have increased enough in frequency and severity now that I'm ready to get serious about them. (I'm currently on day 6 of what my doctor is saying is a cluster of migraines. I've been taking Vicodin for a few years and recently tried Maxalt and Imitrex with no success - since my attacks mostly start when I'm asleep and I can't catch them early.)  I want to start a diary to identify triggers and anything that helps. I'm thinking of carrying around a little pocket diary of some sort just for recording what I eat for meals, snacks and any possible triggers I might have encountered. Also, I'm thinking of creating an Excel spreadsheet with two sheets, one for recording each migraine along with duration and meds taken, the other for making any observations, like which triggers resulted in migraines, which did not. Am I missing any information or is there a better way of organizing it or tying it all together? I want to devote my energy into improving the migraine situation and not so much on creating a good system. What do some of you guys do that works for you?

 

Thanks very much.

 

2-Sox

Smurfy gave you good advice on the food trigger diary.

I maintain an excel spreadsheet to record my head pain; the columns I include are date, headache (Y/N); level (0 - 10 or 0 to 5 depending on your neurologist); when it started/duration; med(s) taken and quantity; and any notes you may want to include. I wrap the text on several of the columns..especially the notes.

I take this to every appointment as well as a sheet where I've compiled the data; since I report on the number of days that I've had a headache having a column that says Y/N makes it easy to count the days. I always have to report on the meds that I've taken and how much, so the quantity is important too. A section on the report asks for any new headache symptom or or pertinent information, so the note section helps a lot.

In the long run, this also helps spot trends and keeps a good drug diary of what works, what doesn't and any side effects that you need to remember.

Good luck,
Janice

Thanks all!  I created a spreadsheet just after posting and it looks like what you all are doing is very close to what I came up with. Looks like I AM on track.