If your migraines are rare, you might wonder whether tracking is worth the bother. The short answer is yes, and possibly more than for someone who gets them often. Rare migraines are the hardest to figure out, simply because there is so much time between them. The app remembers what you would forget.
Why tracking still helps
When a migraine only comes once or twice a year, by the time the next one arrives you may not remember much about the last one. Was it after a big meal? Was the weather changing? Had you slept badly? Without notes, the dots are very hard to connect.
MigraineMe quietly keeps a record of your days. When the next migraine eventually comes, you can look back at the week leading up to it. Over years, even just a handful of migraines can reveal a pattern that would otherwise be impossible to spot.
You do not need to log every day
For someone who gets migraines often, daily logging makes sense. For you, a lighter routine is perfectly fine. The app will not nag you. It will be ready when you need it.
A reasonable approach:
- Log every migraine as it happens. This is the most important thing. Because yours are rare, it is worth using the full wizard so each one is captured properly.
- Add a note about the day or two before. What did you eat? How did you sleep? Anything unusual?
- Pop in once a month just to keep things ticking along.
What to log when a migraine does come
When you do get one, please try to log:
- The day and roughly the time it started.
- How bad it was, on a scale of 0 to 10.
- How long it lasted.
- What you took for it, if anything.
- Anything unusual in the last 48 hours: a long drive, a glass of wine, a poor sleep, a stressful day, a weather change.
The more detail you give in that moment, the more useful the entry becomes years later.
On iPhone and Android
The steps to log a migraine in full are the same on both:
- Open MigraineMe.
- Tap the Log tab at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap the big Log Migraine card. The wizard opens.
- Choose the start time on the timing step.
- Set the severity.
- Work through the other steps, adding a few notes about the days before on the notes step.
- Tap Save Log at the end.
If a migraine hits and you cannot face the wizard, the Migraine button in the Quick log strip on the Home screen saves a one-tap entry immediately. You can open it later from the Journal and fill in the details.
Looking back over the years
After a few migraines logged, open the Journal tab, or the Migraines card on the Monitor tab, to see them over time. Even three or four entries can start to suggest something. For example:
- All in late summer? Could be related to heat or pollen.
- All on Saturdays? Could be a let-down migraine after a busy week.
- All after travel? Could be sleep disruption or dehydration.
You might also notice patterns with food, alcohol, or your monthly cycle.
Should you bother with wearables?
If you only get migraines twice a year, a wearable is probably not essential. The most useful thing you can do is log the migraine itself, in detail, when it happens. That said, if you already have a fitness watch or sleep ring, connecting it costs nothing and adds context.
A final reassurance
Rare migraines are not a sign that you should not use the app. They are exactly the reason a tool like this exists. Your memory cannot hold a year of context. MigraineMe can.
Any questions, please write to help@migraineme.app.
