Printable migraine and headache diary
Updated October 20, 2026 by madebykamal
Print the diary to log each headache on one line: when it started and ended, pain from 0 to 10, symptoms, medicine and whether it helped, possible triggers, and whether it made you stop and lie down or miss work. The monthly calendar shows the whole month on one page and counts headache days and medicine days at the bottom. Both are free PDFs in US Letter and A4.
General information, not medical advice. How these guides are made.
Migraine and headache diary
One line per headache, eleven to a page, landscape.
Monthly headache calendar
The whole month on one page, with the month's totals at the bottom.
Free to print and copy, no sign-up. Open a PDF and print it at 100 percent on a landscape page.
Why keep a headache diary
The American Migraine Foundation says the goal of a headache journal is to record information that will be valuable to you and your doctor later, and that over time patterns may begin to appear that help you and your doctor understand your triggers and track how different medications affect you. Sharing it with your healthcare provider helps improve your treatment strategy.
Halo: Migraine Tracker
Migraine tracker and headache diary
On a computer? Scan this with your iPhone camera to open it in the App Store.What to write on each line
Fill a line in as soon as you can after a headache starts, and finish it when it ends.
- Date, and the time it started and ended.
- Pain from 0 (none) to 10 (the worst you can imagine).
- Symptoms such as aura, nausea, and sensitivity to light or sound.
- Whether it made you stop what you were doing and lie down.
- Each medicine you took, the dose and the time, and whether and when it helped.
- Possible triggers: sleep, food and drink, stress, weather, and your period if you have one.
- Whether you missed work, school or plans.
Using the monthly calendar
On each headache day, write the pain level and the letter of each medicine you took, using the key at the bottom of the page. At the end of the month, count the days with a headache, the days you took any medicine and the days you had to stop and lie down.
Those counts are what headache classification uses. In the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD-3), chronic migraine means headache on 15 or more days a month for more than 3 months, with migraine features on at least 8 of those days. Medication-overuse headache means headache on 15 or more days a month in someone with an existing headache disorder, with regular overuse of acute headache medicine for more than 3 months. Only a clinician can apply these criteria, but the calendar gives them the numbers they ask for.
Keeping a log for a VA disability claim
Veterans keep migraine logs because the VA rating schedule (38 CFR 4.124a, diagnostic code 8100) rates migraine by how often prostrating attacks happen. It lists 50 percent for very frequent completely prostrating and prolonged attacks productive of severe economic inadaptability, 30 percent for characteristic prostrating attacks occurring on an average once a month over the last several months, 10 percent for characteristic prostrating attacks averaging one in 2 months over the last several months, and 0 percent for less frequent attacks.
The diary's columns for whether an attack made you stop and lie down, and whether you missed work, school or plans, record the details that wording describes. This page explains the schedule's wording and is not legal advice; a veterans service officer can help with a claim.
Paper or phone
Halo keeps the same record on an iPhone: its Attack Mode logs onset, pain and medication in under ten seconds on a dim, silent screen, and it makes a PDF for your neurologist with your attack calendar, frequency trends, medication response, trigger map, MIDAS score and notes. Halo is a personal tracking log, not a medical device.
Questions people ask
Is this headache diary free to print?
Yes. Both the diary and the monthly calendar are free PDFs in US Letter and A4, with no sign-up. Print them at 100 percent on a landscape page and make as many copies as you need.
How many headache days a month is chronic migraine?
In ICHD-3, chronic migraine means headache on 15 or more days a month for more than 3 months, with migraine features on at least 8 of those days. A monthly calendar makes those days easy to count for your doctor.
What should a migraine log for the VA include?
The VA rating schedule rates migraine by how often characteristic prostrating attacks occur and, at the highest level, by severe economic inadaptability. A log that records the date and length of each attack, whether it made you stop and lie down, and whether you missed work documents those points. A veterans service officer can advise on a claim.
Related
- Headache and Migraine Diary: What to Write, With a Template
- Does Barometric Pressure Cause Migraines?
- Halo: Migraine Tracker
Sources
- https://americanmigrainefoundation.org/resource-library/headache-diary/
- https://ichd-3.org/1-migraine/1-3-chronic-migraine/
- https://ichd-3.org/8-headache-attributed-to-a-substance-or-its-withdrawal/8-2-medication-overuse-headache-moh/
- https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/chapter-I/part-4/subpart-B/subject-group-ECFRe5d8bcc3c3e2e0f/section-4.124a