Headache Diaries

Since I'm going back to the drawing board, I'm realizing I need to keep a consistent headache diary to help me figure out what the heck is going on.

Knowing I have a tendency to forget to take my diary with me when it's in notebook form, I first looked at apps for my phone.

I lost interest pretty quickly, but the one I did actually look into (Headache Diary Lite) kind of sucks. When inputting the info for a new headache, it asks for specifics like time, type, duration and severity, which is great. But then it asks what the root cause was, and gives options like alcohol, allergies, menstruation, etc., to choose from. Isn't the point of a headache diary to track pretty much everything you do in a day to figure out what might be causing them? If I already knew what the root cause was, I wouldn't be needing a diary in the first place!

So, I'm sticking with old school pen and paper diaries, and so far being much more diligent about it than I have in the past. So far, each entry goes a little something like this:

• What all did I eat today (preferably in order)?
• Did I wear my splint (mouthguard) last night?
• How many hours of sleep did I get?
• How many ounces of water did I drink today?
• Did I work today? For how long?
• Did I get a headache / migraine? When, how severe was it, and what did I take?
• What other things did I do out of the ordinary today?

The headaches I generally wake up with haven't been the same these past few days, so I haven't noticed any patterns yet, but I'm sure I will soon.

The other great thing about keeping a list of everything I've eaten is that I'm now very aware of all the crap I put in my body everyday, and can start motivating myself a little easier to eat better. It's making shedding that pesky winter weight much easier!

Do you keep a headache diary? What kinds of things do you include in your entries?

Nightly Experiment, Day 3

I'm proud of myself.

Over the first half of vacation, I had headache issues, which I attribute to minor jet lag, weird sleep patterns, and adjusting to a new environment.

But, by Day 3 or 4 of vacay, I felt awesome. Even my hair was enjoying the humidity. I was even able to go two whole days without taking any sort of pain reliever - that's a record!

I did end up taking a couple Excedrin TH this morning, but knowing I could go pain-free for a couple days has been a confidence booster. Maybe this will be the boost I need in the right direction.

Nightly Experiment, Day 2

I caved last night and had 4 mini Cadbury Eggs around 9:00 or 10:00 last night, but I'd say that's a reasonable amount.

Today, I woke with a very minimal headache, and took half of one Excedrin TH. Here's hoping my body can wean off this crap like I want it to.

My next task will be to hydrate better, which isn't always easy at my job, considering I must have a doctor's note to drink water outside of my break :( Stupid...

Nightly Experiment, Day 1

Better late than never, right? :)

I was successful in cutting sweets after 8:00pm last night. This was comparatively easy since I worked until 10:00 last night. Then, I met the boyfriend and a friend at a bar and had some greasy pub grub, and noticed a headache, which had started earlier, getting stronger at the bar. I took one Excedrin Tension Headache, and went about life as usual, sans sweets.

I didn't wake up with much of a headache at all this morning, which is a great start. It's hard to say if it was just a fluke or actually because of diet changes, but we'll keep plugging away.

Unfortunately, I do not work tonight, and the mini Cadbury Eggs on the coffee table are calling my name. We'll see how long I can fight the fight...