Describe exactly what changed, when it started and how it developed. Do not label a new neurological symptom as migraine aura without assessment, especially when it is sudden or different from your usual experience.
Seek help before making a record
NHS guidance lists visual changes, tingling and difficulty speaking among possible aura symptoms. These descriptions overlap with symptoms that can have other causes. Sudden weakness, speech difficulty, loss of vision, confusion or an unusually sudden severe headache needs urgent emergency assessment; do not wait to see whether a timer matches an aura description.
If you have an established migraine plan, follow its instructions for new or changed symptoms. A previous migraine diagnosis does not automatically explain every later episode. This guide helps communicate observations after immediate care needs are addressed; it cannot distinguish migraine from stroke or another condition.
Separate the observation from the name
Use your own words before a diagnostic label: shimmering edge, dark patch, pins and needles, or trouble finding a word. If you cannot describe it precisely, a rough drawing and a note about the uncertainty can help. Do not repeat a symptom to make a clearer recording.
Write whether you noticed the change suddenly or gradually, and what happened next. Keep headache onset as a separate time. If no headache followed, say that rather than supplying one to make the experience fit an expected pattern.
| Detail | What to preserve |
|---|---|
| First change | Your words, without a diagnosis |
| Beginning | Time or approximate time; sudden/gradual if known |
| Development | What changed next, including a different symptom |
| End | Time noticed resolving or duration unknown |
| Headache | Separate onset, or none noticed |
| Difference | How this differed from previously assessed episodes |
Build a sequence without false precision
Suppose you remember a visual change before lunch and tingling afterwards but did not check a clock. Record that order with approximate times. Do not turn a remembered sequence into exact minute-by-minute data. A blank end time is more honest than using the moment you opened the app.
If several symptoms overlapped, show the overlap in words. A single duration field can conceal that one symptom ended while another continued. Bring the original note so a clinician can ask about the sequence rather than only seeing a total.
Illustrative retrospective note: “Visual shimmer first noticed around lunchtime; later felt tingling; exact onset and end times unknown; headache began afterwards.” This example does not establish aura or imply that waiting through these symptoms is safe.
Ask what belongs in your personal plan
At follow-up, ask which symptoms the clinician considers consistent with your assessed condition, which changes require emergency help, and what details would be useful in future. Request clarification of any unfamiliar term written in the report.
Use the headache-description tool or appointment PDF to organize a short account. The basic diary guide covers other headache context. Migraine Tracker+ records observations and reports; it does not determine the cause of a neurological symptom.
Sources & checks
- NHS: Migraine ↗
Possible aura symptoms and emergency warning signs.
- Current App Store listing: Migraine Tracker+ ↗
Public US listing checked September 30; recording or sound features only, not evidence of health benefit.
Checked against these sources on 2026-09-30. Examples and worksheets are original illustrations, not real patient histories or clinical validation. This is educational content, not individual medical advice or a clinician-reviewed treatment plan.
Our editorial process · Suggest a correction
