Tracking your pain

Tracking your pain can be helpful for several reasons. It can help you recognize patterns, and find triggers that increase your pain as well as things that decrease the pain or help prevent flare-ups. It can also help your doctor to better understand your situation and find the most appropriate treatment. Another good thing is that you don't have to worry about remembering what to tell your doctor during your appointment.

What exactly you should write down depends on your individual situation, but here are some suggestions:

Pain intensity (1-10), location (eg. lower back), duration (all day or only a few hours?) and description (eg. throbbing, burning, etc.
Other symptoms (nausea, lightheadedness, etc.)
Mental state (eg. anxious, happy, stressed, exhausted)
Medications taken
Coping methods (eg. breathing exercises, muscle relaxation, hot bath)
Sleep (how many hours? difficult to fall asleep? lack of sleep?)
Food and drinks
Bowel movement
Work
Physical exercise
Menstruation and ovulation

When you've tracked your pain for some time, look for patterns and possible triggers. Does your pain get worse when you eat something special? When you haven't gotten enough sleep? When you're stressed or anxious? When you've been too physically active (or inactive)? The next step is to see what has helped. Any special kind of medication? Distraction? Rest and relaxation? Physical exercise?

Try to make the tracking as simple as possible so that you don't have to spend too much time on it, or you will probably end up thinking it's too much of a hassle and stop doing it. There are several apps that you can download to make it even easier.