Headache diary: what to record before a migraine appointment
Record headache days, symptoms and medicines. The HSE suggests at least four weeks of notes, but you should seek care before then if you need it.
A headache diary helps your GP assess recurring headaches by showing their timing, symptoms and response to medicines. Record when an attack starts, how long it lasts, what else you feel and what you take. The HSE recommends keeping a migraine diary for at least four weeks. Start while arranging your appointment and bring the record you have; warning signs need urgent assessment, whatever the diary shows.
Before starting
When a headache needs urgent help
A sudden, exceptionally painful headache or new weakness or speech difficulty needs emergency help, even if you have had migraine before.
Contact your GP if attacks are frequent, symptoms are severe or painkillers bought without a prescription are not helping. Describe any change in the usual pattern. Your GP may need to examine you or arrange further assessment before discussing a longer-term treatment plan.
Source: HSE — Migraine overview, reviewed 16 August 2024; checked 27 September 2026.
A useful daily record
What should a headache diary include?
Use the same headings each day: timing, symptoms, medicines and their effect. Keep the record for at least four weeks if possible.
The HSE also asks you to note what you were doing when symptoms began and when you had your last period. Four weeks is a useful recording period, not a waiting period for care. If your appointment is sooner, take whatever you have already recorded.
- Date and timing: when the headache started and stopped, or whether it continued into the next day.
- Pain: where it was, whether it throbbed or felt tight, and how much it affected normal activity.
- Other symptoms: nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light or sound, or visual or sensory changes.
- Medicines: name, dose, time taken and whether they helped, including over-the-counter products.
- Context: sleep, missed meals, menstruation and anything unusual that day.
- Impact: missed work, cancelled plans, time in bed or difficulty caring for someone.
Mark headache-free days as well as attacks. That makes it easier to count how many days were affected during the month. Short notes made at the time are more useful than trying to reconstruct several weeks from memory.
Source: HSE — Diagnosing migraine, reviewed 16 August 2024; checked 27 September 2026.
A fictional entry
One entry can be this simple
One short entry can capture the information your GP needs. The example below is fictional.
Tuesday: headache from late morning to early evening; throbbing on the left; nausea and light sensitivity; stopped working for two hours. Slept poorly and missed breakfast. Recorded the medicine name, actual dose and time taken; partial relief.
In your own diary, write the exact medicine name and dose instead of “usual tablet”. Leave uncertain details blank rather than guessing. A notebook, calendar or private phone note is enough; choose something you can use during or soon after an attack.
Keep the record private. If you use an app, check how it stores and shares health information. Bring a summary or selected screenshots to the appointment instead of giving unrestricted access to your phone.
Observation, not proof
A possible trigger is not automatically the cause
Repeated patterns can help your GP, but one headache after a food or a poor night’s sleep does not establish the cause.
Migraine can cause nausea and sensitivity to light or sound as well as head pain. Some people have aura, with temporary visual or other neurological symptoms. Describe what happened, when it started and how long it lasted. New weakness or speech difficulty belongs in the emergency advice above, not a home assessment of aura.
Record possible triggers alongside headache-free days. This gives your GP a clearer picture than a list of suspected foods alone. Regular meals, adequate fluids and a consistent sleep routine are sensible starting points; avoid major dietary restrictions based on a single entry.
Source: HSE — Migraine overview, reviewed 16 August 2024; checked 27 September 2026.
An important distinction
Count the days you use headache medicines
Count the days you take headache medicines as well as the number of doses. Frequent use can itself make headaches harder to treat.
Include prescribed migraine medicines, pharmacy painkillers and combination products. Write down the dose, when you took it during the attack and whether it helped. For a monthly summary, count each day on which you used a medicine, even if you took several doses that day.
The HSE warns that taking painkillers often over a long period can cause medication-overuse headache. Ask your GP or pharmacist for a review if you need them frequently, headaches are becoming more common or your usual treatment has stopped helping. Do not increase doses, combine products with the same ingredient or abruptly stop a regular prescribed medicine without advice.
Source: HSE — Diagnosing migraine and noting painkiller use, reviewed 16 August 2024; checked 27 September 2026.
Make the notes useful
Bring your diary and three practical questions
Bring a monthly summary: headache days, medicine days and the effect on work, sleep or other activities.
Take the diary, a medication list and the questions you want answered. Your GP will use your history and may check your vision, coordination, reflexes or sensation. There is no single test that confirms migraine in every person; a specialist referral may be needed if the diagnosis is unclear or treatment does not control the symptoms.
Ask what to do during an attack, whether preventive treatment is appropriate and when to review the plan. An online GP consultation can help review an established pattern, but new or concerning symptoms may require examination. Our guide to online and in-person care explains the distinction.
Source: HSE — Diagnosing migraine, reviewed 16 August 2024; checked 27 September 2026.
Care in Ireland
Choose the right appointment
Recurring headaches deserve an assessment when they interfere with your life or change in character.
Bring the record you have
You do not need a perfect diary before asking for help.
Clinical sources
Guidance behind this draft
Irish public health-service information checked on 27 September 2026. Clinical review of this draft is pending.
The HSE pages are adapted for Ireland from NHS material and were last reviewed on 16 August 2024. This article follows the HSE’s four-week diary advice and Irish care pathway; it does not prescribe an individual medicine plan.
Questions
Common questions about headache diaries
Do I need a migraine diary app?
No. A notebook, calendar or phone note can work if you use it consistently and can share a clear summary with your clinician.
Should I wait four weeks before booking?
No. Start the diary while arranging care and bring the notes you have. Seek urgent help for warning signs; do not wait for a full recording period if headaches need assessment.
Can my diary show whether I have migraine?
It can support assessment, but it cannot make the diagnosis. Your clinician uses the history, symptoms and, when needed, an examination or investigations.
