Medical Matters

By Erica Vinogradov, FNP-C Family Nurse Practitioner

5 Tips for Keeping a Symptom Diary

Recurring headaches, frequent bouts of digestive discomfort, pain that won’t go away, sleep problems, asthma attacks, period pain — when uncomfortable or disruptive health issues linger, it can really impact your day-to-day life.

Pinpointing the source of the issue and how best to resolve it can be challenging. It’s why these things can persist for months…or come and go, flaring up seemingly without warning.

One tool your doctor may suggest is keeping a symptom diary.

“A symptom diary is a log of a person’s symptoms and other particular details surrounding those symptoms,” explains Erica Vinogradov, a family nurse practitioner at Houston Methodist. “It’s a focused, information-gathering exercise that helps organize these details in a way that can be useful when talking to your care provider.”

One benefit of a symptom diary is it can help you learn the potential patterns and triggers associated with your specific issue.

Here are five tips for keeping a symptom diary:

1. Put pen to paper or try an app

Writing your symptoms in a diary can be somewhat therapeutic, like journaling for mental clarity.

Or you might prefer the convenience of using an app. There are many symptom diary and symptom tracking apps

2. Know what information to include

The key details of a general symptom diary include:

• The date

• Symptoms experienced

• Timing of symptoms

• Duration of symptoms

• Symptom severity

• Potential triggers

• Medications or remedies used

• How you responded to treatment

3. Be consistent

“We’re looking for patterns, and the higher quality the information, the better,” says Vinogradov. “Try to record every single day and include the same information every time — being as clear, concise and organized as possible.”

Don’t leave any fields blank, as this can leave room for misinterpretation.

4. Be honest

Don’t omit, downplay, or exaggerate symptoms.

“There are studies suggesting that daily documentation of symptoms might increase a person’s perception of the severity of the symptom,” adds Vinogradov. “This gets back to consistency. Try to document your symptoms without bias each day.”

5. Share your symptom diary with your primary care provider

At your next appointment, let your provider know you’ve been tracking your symptoms via a diary and provide the information.