Tracking Migraine: Log Attacks in One Tap, Find Your Triggers
Migraine is intensely personal. Your triggers, warning signs and attack patterns are not the same as anyone else's. A consistent diary is the single most useful tool for understanding them, and the one thing most people abandon because logging is a chore. Trace Health makes each entry a one-second tap, keeps everything private on your iPhone, and turns your history into a report your neurologist can actually use.
What to track for migraine
Log the attack itself and the symptoms around it. The pre-attack signs are often where the pattern hides:
- Headache, intensity matters: tap once for mild, again for moderate or severe
- Aura, visual disturbances that precede many attacks
- Light sensitivity and sound sensitivity
- Nausea and vomiting
- Brain fog, common in the prodrome and the post-attack "hangover"
Common migraine triggers and relievers to log
Alongside symptoms, log the daily factors most often implicated in migraine. Trace Health correlates them with your attacks over time:
- Caffeine, both excess and withdrawal are classic triggers
- Poor sleep and irregular sleep schedules
- Stress, including the "let-down" attacks after stress ends
- Skipped meals and hydration
- Alcohol, especially red wine
- Screen time
Seeing the pattern
Single triggers rarely tell the story. Migraine attacks usually follow a build-up of factors (poor sleep plus a skipped meal plus a stressful week). Because Trace Health charts your symptoms and lifestyle logs on the same timeline, recurring combinations become visible after a few weeks of one-tap logging. Most people need 2–4 weeks of consistent entries before their first real pattern appears; cyclical triggers can take longer.
Preparing for your neurologist appointment
Attack frequency, duration and severity over time are exactly what a neurologist asks about, and exactly what memory distorts. Trace Health generates a PDF report summarizing your attacks with clear frequency and severity data, so treatment decisions (including whether you're a candidate for preventive medication) rest on real numbers, not estimates from your worst week.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best way to track migraine triggers?
Log every attack and your daily habits (caffeine, sleep, stress, meals, alcohol) in the same app, every day, even attack-free days. After a few weeks, review which factors cluster before attacks. Trace Health does this correlation for you and keeps the daily logging down to single taps.
How long should I keep a migraine diary before seeing patterns?
Plan for at least 2–4 weeks of consistent logging; hormonal or monthly cycles need 2–3 months. Consistency matters more than detail, a one-tap log you actually keep beats a detailed journal you abandon.
Can I show my migraine history to my doctor?
Yes. Trace Health turns your logs into a professional PDF report with attack frequency and severity over time, the format neurologists need for diagnosis and treatment decisions.
Is my migraine data private in Trace Health?
Yes. There is no account, and your migraine history stays on your iPhone by default, with optional private iCloud sync. Your health data is never collected, shared or sold by Trace Health.
Start your migraine diary today. One tap per attack, one tap per coffee. Trace Health finds the patterns. Free, private, no account.