Why is it important to keep a headache calendar or headache diary?

If you dream of taking control of your headaches and gaining a better understanding of your symptoms, then a headache diary may be the tool you've been looking for.

A headache calendar is a calendar overview of what type of headache you've had on a specific day, your pain intensity, and whether you've been taking medication. A headache diary is more detailed. A headache diary is a tool to note the date, symptoms, pain intensity, accompanying symptoms, medications, circumstances and other factors related to your headache.

Get an overview and better treatment with a headache calendar or diary

Thus, a headache calendar or diary are important tools that are used to provide overview and insight into your headache disorder. They help both you and your therapist so that the right treatment can be initiated and continuously evaluated.

A headache calendar does not require a lot of information to be useful in your treatment. If you have noted the type of headache you have had, the intensity of the pain, and what and how much seizure medication you may have taken, it is actually enough to give your therapist a good overview and the opportunity to evaluate your treatment.

For those with a headache disorder, keeping a calendar or diary can help to feel more in control. It provides both a good overview of good and less good periods and whether your consumption of painkillers is changing. By keeping track of how often you take painkillers, you can help yourself prevent medication overuse headache (MOH).

How to keep a headache calendar correctly?

• Make a note daily: Before going to bed, make a note of whether you have had a migraine or headache.
• Indicate pain intensity: Describe how the pain intensity has been during the day.
• Record medication consumption: Make a note of when you are taking painkillers, even for other pains such as back pain or toothache.

Unsure about the headache diagnosis? Let the Hemi app help you

Get the right diagnosis and treatment with the HEMI app

When your headache symptoms are complex, the Hemi app gives you the necessary tools to track, analyze and share your data with your therapists. With the Hemi app, you can ensure an accurate diagnosis and the best treatment for your headache or migraine.

Whether you go to your own doctor or are affiliated with a headache clinic, your headache diagnosis will be made based on the symptoms you can describe. Migraine, tension headache and other primary headache disorders cannot be ascertained by a scan, a blood test or the like. Therefore, your therapist relies on you to be thorough in your description of your symptoms.

Here, a headache diary can be particularly helpful. Experience shows that few people can give a detailed description of their symptoms, how many days they have seizures and have taken seizure medication, unless they have written it down.

A diagnostic headache diary is useful in cases where your doctor or therapist is in doubt about your headache diagnosis. It is typically completed over a month and is more detailed than a calendar. It consists of 13 questions about your headache symptoms before and during a seizure, as well as the duration and what medication you may have been taking.

Two good pieces of advice:

For those of you who are already undergoing treatment, it is always a good idea to talk to your health care provider about what they need to make a diagnosis.

For those of you who have not yet received treatment, you can read the neurologist's advice on: how to get dressed for your first doctor's call about your headache.

Your digital headache diary: Always at your fingertips in the Hemi app

Hemis digital headache diary is simple to fill and continuously counts your headache and migraine days as well as your pain medication consumption, so you keep a good overview.

We have chosen to call it a diary, since you can personalize it and add those details that you find important. We know that many people are interested in being able to, for example, be aware of seizure patterns and possible triggers. This could be, for example, whether the seizures typically occur around your period, in connection with special events, changes in your sleep patterns, or the like.

Whether you just want to use the app as a headache calendar and record the basics, or if you want to be more detailed is up to you.

Get the full overview

With the Hemi app, you can:

• Easily record headaches, medications and significant circumstances.
• Get an overview of medication and headache days for the last 30 days, 90 days or the past year.
• Get the opportunity to download and share your headache calendar as a PDF.
• Learn about headache disorders, breathing exercises, and read other people's stories about headaches.

The Hemi app brings together everything you need to take control of your headaches — in one place, always at your fingertips.

Descargar the headache diary here.

The most important thing to keep in mind

A headache calendar or diary isn't just a simple tool — it's an important part of your long-term treatment. By consistently recording your symptoms, medication consumption, and other relevant factors, you and your therapist can gain insights that can improve your treatment over time.

Remember that it is about creating an overview that can help you gain better control over your headache and ensure a more targeted and effective treatment in the long term.

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