Food and Lifestyle Journaling -Tracking Migraine Triggers

November 30th, 2011 - Posted by Melissa Halas-Liang, MA, RD, CDE

Keeping a food diary can reveal information that will be helpful in determining what triggers your migraines. Keep a designated notepad, food diary or app with you at all times. Write your symptoms down as they occur; do not rely on your memory.

Common Triggers

Management Essentials: Triggers
Alcohol
Caffeine
Exercise
MSG
Sleep Triggers (Part 1)
Weather Changes

From the Blog: Triggers

Use any format you feel comfortable with but be sure to include all of the following details:

Foods you ate- don’t forget to include foods you use sparingly (ketchup, soda, cream in coffee, salad dressing). If you’ve had leftovers, be sure to make note of it, as some have higher tyramine content and could be the cause of your migraine
Estimate portion sizes consumed
Time of day
Where you ate the food – at your desk, restaurant, home, car, employee cafeteria? This information may provide clues to triggers, such as whether there was fluorescent or flickering lighting at the employee cafeteria, or drinking coffee with a meal. It could be an environmental factor of an occasional food or beverage that triggers your migraine.
Who you ate with – alone, family, friend, co-worker?
How you felt at the time. Tired? Maybe you slept in or didn’t get enough sleep –this could be your migraine trigger – mood matters!! Were you feeling happy, sad?
What you were doing while you ate – reading a paper, watching TV, working at your computer or just eating?
Date and day of week – your weekday habits may be different from weekends.

Consider joining migraine.com to gain access to their migraine journal section. The migraine journal can become your document for tracking symptoms, triggers, & medicines. This will become valuable if you choose to seek medical attention to diagnose and treat your migraines.

Helpful Hints:

Be Honest!!
Make recording your symptoms easy, whether it’s on your iPad, smart phone, note pad or home made form – keep it with you.
Be timely – you will forget details later, so write them down as they happen. Stay motivated to document a quality data log.

By tracking and trending your foods, events, and symptoms, you’ll become a successful detective in determining your migraine triggers.