Ask HN: Does anybody know of a great way to track migraines?

7 points by megadeer ↗ HN
I need a easy way to keep track of migraines. Currently just using a text file but it's a bit unmanageable. Does anybody have any recommendations?

13 comments

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I think the key question is what is special (if anything) about tracking migraines versus any other event. Have you looked at the many generalized QS (quantified self) applications and SaaS?
I guess you could move it up a notch and use a spreadsheet which would make graphing etc. much easier than a text file.
There needs to be an easy way to get the data into it though. lets say I have a migraine when out to dinner I can't really open a spreadsheet and edit it. Needs to allow me a easy way to add.
Try "baby esp" smartphone app. Designed for parents to track newborn eat/sleep/poop habits; may require you to mentally reclassify "migraine" to "breast feeding" or some other supported category. But gives easy recording tools, data on a central server, accessible from multiple devices, graphing, etc.
I usually just keep track of them in my head.
That gets difficult when you have 10-12 a day but the next day have 2 or none
I would use Reporter app if you're on iOS. Here is a recent Ask HN thread: What apps or tools do you use to track things about your daily life? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8146114

It allows you to quickly fill out customized surveys (Your questions would be like: "Are you having a migraine right now?") and export the data in JSON or CSV formats.

https://ifttt.com/sms

Send a text message to an IFTT (If This, Then That) number with #migraine as the message body. Append the date and time as a new row to a Google Drive spreadsheet.

I've been using Lift (https://www.lift.do/), but you may find the UX a bit cluttered for your use case (they're primary a habit tracking app). Nice UI though.
I use My Headache Log, an app for my Android phone. It is very comprehensive.