Migraine Journals Can Lead to Early Treatment

Celeste has lived with migraine for more than three decades. Over the years, she’s developed a great relationship with her neurologist, and their communication has led to a place where she feels she has better control over her migraine symptoms.

An exercise essential to her journey involved keeping a migraine journal, as her neurologist recommended, to track the timing of her different symptoms, as well as the duration and severity of her migraine headaches. Because of the patterns they recognized through her journaling, Celeste can, at times, predict when a migraine headache is approaching before the pain begins. Celeste worked closely with her neurologist to create a migraine action plan based on her pre-headache symptoms, like neck and shoulder stiffness and light sensitivity. The plan guides Celeste on what to do when she feels a migraine attack coming on, including which medications to take and when.

Celeste isn’t the only one who’s found it helpful to keep a migraine journal. One research study showed that 72 percent of participants with migraine were able to predict their oncoming headaches with the help of an electronic diary for recording pre-headache migraine symptoms.¹ While not everyone experiences those early migraine symptoms, many people do. Existing studies have shown that between 38 percent and 77 percent of people diagnosed with migraine experience early, pre-headache symptoms.^2,3

Celeste says she feels that her neurologist is very receptive when she describes her life with migraine. She tells him about all her symptoms, not just the migraine headache. He then suggests changes to the treatment plan, including trying different therapies, if necessary.

Now, when Celeste feels the early symptoms of a migraine attack, she can often “nip it in the bud” and find relief if she gets medication on time and treats early, she says.

Tips for Comfort During Migraine Attacks

Although timely doses of medication play a central role in Celeste’s migraine action plan, she’s also found several other supportive measures to bring additional comfort, depending on which symptoms she’s experiencing.

When nausea is her most prominent symptom, Celeste finds peppermint tea to be soothing, and sometimes she also eats crackers. When sensitivity to light and sound are the main issue, she moves to a dark, quiet room so lights and noise don’t add to her discomfort. Like many other people living with migraine, Celeste sometimes experiences fatigue or lethargy as part of her migraine attacks, so she naps when possible at those times.

To learn about how Celeste manages her migraines at inconvenient times, watch this video.

Create an Action Plan With Your Doctor

You’ve seen how Celeste’s relationship with her neurologist has been key to forming a helpful migraine action plan so she can find relief from her migraine attacks. Together with your doctor, you can develop an action plan, outlining steps to take next time you experience a symptom that could be connected to migraine.

Watch Celeste talk about how she made the connection between pre-headache symptoms of migraine and early migraine treatment through her migraine action plan.	Watch Celeste talk about her strategy for handling migraine symptoms during inconvenient times.

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