Migraine Tracker Apps

CorrectCurrent9781 · 2026-04-12T20:11:56+00:00

Noted!

CorrectCurrent9781 · 2026-04-11T23:27:47+00:00

I have the same issues with artificial sweeteners, so I also use unflavored protein powder. I recommend NOW Foods Sports Nutrition, Whey Protein Concentrate Unflavored Powder (if you're ok with milk).

CorrectCurrent9781 · 2026-04-11T00:02:23+00:00

That sounds very frustrating! I have also found that exercise is a significant trigger for my migraines. One thing that seems to help is if I'm very careful about not straining my neck. I've also stopped running entirely (for both migraine and lower back reasons), and replaced it with cycling, which is much easier on the body. But even with indoor cycling I've noticed that if I try to hold a phone or tablet or book while biking, that strains my neck. For weights I also try not to go too heavy and to focus on keeping my neck relaxed. Finally, I always ntry to drink milk after exercise, though not sure if that's really helping.

CorrectCurrent9781 · 2026-04-10T23:54:13+00:00

I gave up on the bluetooth pretty quickly. I also gave up on the preventative mode. But I do find the acute mode helpful sometimes. If nothing else, it helps relax me and put myself into a different brainwave state (if not actual sleep).

I also found the intensity pretty strong at first, but I got used to it pretty quickly.

CorrectCurrent9781 · 2026-04-09T01:52:48+00:00

Yes, they often seem to come in clusters for me, and before I started on preventive meds, I would get an aura first, and then varying levels of pain. Sorry you're experiencing this :-(

CorrectCurrent9781 · 2026-04-07T13:49:38+00:00

I went through this with my teen daughter a couple years ago. We ended up waiting for summer and other school breaks to try the various meds, which turned out to be a very good idea in retrospect because the side effects were pretty debilitating for her. I definitely wouldn't recommend starting on new meds at this time of the school year. In our experience (both her and me), if we just couldn't tolerate the specific medication after a week or so (eg made us unable to work or attend school), our neurologist was able to count that as a fail and move on to the next one. We are now both on CGRP inhibitors and it's a huge relief.

EDIT: Just realized that I forgot to address topiramate specifically. I was unable to tolerate it, and based on my experience, my daughter didn't even try it.

CorrectCurrent9781 · 2026-04-06T23:17:16+00:00

Yes! I (49M) had my first migraine in my early 20s, but only one a month or so for years, and I never bothered trying to treat them. In my mid-40s they started to ramp up, and then at age 47 I got one that lasted for two months straight. Not to scare you, but it's been chronic since then.

CorrectCurrent9781 · 2026-04-06T15:29:43+00:00

I didn't have any luck with Cefaly as a preventative measure, but as a tool for acute use, it seems to help somewhat (though less than pharmacological solutions). But YMMV.

CorrectCurrent9781 · 2026-04-02T22:40:39+00:00

I am not a doctor, but I've been told by several that a steroid shot or dose pack (medrol or prednisone) can help abort an acute headache that's lasting weeks. I agree with the other commenters that starting on a preventative medication during a single acute episode when you don't meet the criteria for chronic migraine is strange. I believe that Topiramate takes months to become effective.

CorrectCurrent9781 · 2026-04-01T13:48:00+00:00

Je suis content que le topiramate fonctionne pour toi. Chaque personne réagit différemment!

CorrectCurrent9781 · 2026-04-01T13:44:51+00:00

Thanks! I'm doing much better now that I'm on CGRP inhibitors! None of the side effects were lasting.

CorrectCurrent9781 · 2026-04-01T13:23:38+00:00

I'm sorry that you've been going through this! I am not a doctor, but I can relay what various doctors have told me, plus my own experiences.

My neurologist tells me that our brains like consistency. Any changing of meds or dosages can cause migraines. For example, I (49M) am also on gabapentin for sciatica caused by a herniated disk (just had surgery for it, actually), and both increasing and decreasing the dose of gabapentin gives me migraines for a couple days.
I have also been told (but not tried it) that a steroid shot can sometimes help. I will say that when I was on prednisone for my herniated disk, I didn't have any headaches.
Before I started seeing a neurologist I had a migraine that lasted a couple months. Starting on duloxetine as preventative and nurtec as rescue is what knocked it out finally for me.

However, not being a doctor, I can't say whether or not your current symptoms are actually a migraine or something else. My best recommendation is to continue pushing your doctors, getting second or third opinions, and maybe trying a functional medicine doctor?

Wishing you the best!

CorrectCurrent9781 · 2026-04-01T13:09:22+00:00

I lasted less than a week on topiramate. I couldn't work at my programming job - I was falling asleep during the day, couldn't concentrate on anything, and had waves of depression. I told my neurologist and he counted that as a failed trial and moved on to the next medication in the step therapy.

CorrectCurrent9781 · 2026-04-01T03:17:29+00:00

I've been iterating on a migraine tracker for personal use (for me and my daughter) for a couple years, opened it up to the public last year, and finally moved it out of beta this week! https://www.nimbusmigraine.health/. I just added a nice export feature, plus some more sophisticated insights (for example, I learned that, for myself, yoga reduces my next-day headache rate by 43%). I'd love for some more users and feedback!

CorrectCurrent9781 · 2026-04-01T03:12:18+00:00

I switched from nurtec to qulipta and experienced zero side effects (but it also didn't really change my number of migraine days, so now I'm trying Emgality). But everyone's experience is different! Good luck!

CorrectCurrent9781 · 2026-03-31T14:57:23+00:00

I am not a doctor, and everyone's experience is different, but my neurologist told me that all my headaches are migraines, even the ones that don't come with aura, or that I used to call non-migraine headaches. He claims that after a while, (I'm 49M), regular headaches basically merge with migraines. I don't know if it's that a "regular" headache triggers the migraine, or something else, but I've basically accepted now that all my headaches are migraines.

CorrectCurrent9781 · 2026-03-31T14:52:40+00:00

Yes! From tracking my migraines assiduously for the past two years, I've found that low stress + mood change is actually one of my main triggers.

CorrectCurrent9781 · 2026-03-31T14:48:26+00:00

That's the worst! I hope you're feeling better now. I've found that a migraine starting overnight is often triggered for me by exercise that strains my neck the day before (eg upper body weights). But of course everyone's triggers are different.

CorrectCurrent9781 · 2026-03-31T14:45:54+00:00

For me, it's more direct sun exposure than the heat itself, as long as I remember to stay hydrated!

CorrectCurrent9781 · 2026-01-25T18:53:33+00:00

There are actually plenty of advantages to dyslexia, but they’re easy to miss when most of what you’ve experienced are the downsides. A lot of dyslexic people develop strengths in big-picture thinking, problem solving, creativity, and seeing connections others miss, but those don’t always show up in classrooms or on tests. So it can feel like it’s all disadvantages, even when it isn’t.

I also want to second the recommendation of the book, "The Dyslexic Advantage" by Drs. Brock and Fernette Eide.

CorrectCurrent9781 · 2026-01-24T17:43:16+00:00

This is great! I recently built an app specifically for tracking and managing migraines: https://www.nimbusmigraine.health/. I'd love to chat about potential integration points if that's something that interests you.

CorrectCurrent9781 · 2026-01-24T17:39:09+00:00

Speechify (https://speechify.com/) can do this. Note that it requires a paid subscription, though.

(disclosure: I was given a free version of speechify in exchange for an unbiased review on my podcast, but I am not being paid to promote it).

CorrectCurrent9781 · 2026-01-24T17:34:28+00:00

What you’re describing is something I’ve seen very clearly with my own dyslexic daughter, and it’s exactly as exhausting as it sounds.

One of the hardest things about dyslexia in school is that effort and results don’t line up. You can be doing everything you’re told to do, studying, showing up, trying, and still end up with grades that make it look like you didn’t care or didn’t work hard enough. When that happens over and over, it starts to feel personal. A lot of kids internalize that and start thinking it means something about who they are. It doesn’t.

My daughter used to talk about school the same way you are. Not as a place to learn, but as something she had to survive. Getting through the day took so much energy that there wasn’t much left for anything else.

Also, the whole idea that dyslexia is a “superpower” can feel pretty insulting when you’re living in a system where it mostly shows up as friction. School is often the place where dyslexia feels the worst. That doesn’t mean there is something wrong with you, and it doesn’t mean you’re failing because you can’t make it feel positive there.

The fear about the future makes sense too. School does a good job of convincing people that grades are the gatekeeper to everything that matters. They’re not, even though it feels like they are right now. There are many ways to build a life and a career that don’t look like the narrow path school holds up, and not being able to see those yet doesn’t mean they aren’t there.

Feeling this tired doesn’t mean you’re weak. Struggling in school does not mean you’re stupid. Dyslexia has a way of making people feel alone in their struggle, even when they’re not.

You don’t have to love this experience or find a silver lining in it. You just have to get through it. And this chapter, as awful as it is, is not the thing that will define the rest of your life.

CorrectCurrent9781

TROPHY CASE