Making A Symptom Log

[Paloma]

In my never ending quest to get my disorganized brain...esp the mischievous memory...corralled, I thought I would try some sort of daily log that covered meds, activity, symptoms etc so I could start to see patterns, have something to show my T and basically remember what the heck I did each day.

Does anyone have any experience with doing something like this? Ps I am not very competent setting stuff up on the computer.

 

[bonnecanyon]

Hi Paloma

That's a great idea! I try to write little notes on my business calendar along with appointments, but I think a more detailed log would reveal patterns that might be helpful to me and my T. I've noticed that my ups and downs last about a week, but I think it would be interesting to pinpoint and document exactly what situations may have happened the day before to trigger the "up" or "down" in the first place.

BC

 

[Paloma]

That's kinda where I am going with this. I am trying to get on more of a preventitive track and be more proactive and less reactive. A bit more structure. It would help me be less compartmentalized and more integrated if I could figure out how to establish more memory...track the day to day and hopefully start figuring out that I am heading for a train wreck before I am triggering all over the place like fireworks.

 

[shiraz]

When I was not doing well with memory, I started writing down all my daily tasks in a book with phone numbers and actions/outcomes. I used it to help me keep track of activity which included others, but soon realised that it had a use with tracking symptoms too.

I started an excel doc which tracked my sleep, mood and symptoms each day in a graph format. This really helped me to be cognicent of 'what' was happening in my life each day and 'how' I was responding to it. I started taking it to therapy as well, as it was great reference for my current state.

I don't use them now that my memory has improved -but it was well worth the effort when I needed it.

 

[This Ends Now]

I have been using my paper journal as a symptom log. I found it has been helpful in tracking my ever shifting feelings. It has been tremendously helpful in letting my doctor know how I am reacting to the medicines and how severe my symptoms are. It has also helped me identify many of my triggers so I could work on deactivating or avoiding them as appropriate. I have found it is also useful to go back and see how I have viewed similar situations while in different emotional states.... this has helped me start to integrate some of the very different parts of me into one cohesive unit of self... or at least recognize the signs of starting to shift or flip out.

I love Shiriz's idea of putting the data into an excel document and seeing a graph of my symptoms. I will have to tinker around with the specifics on how to do that but it seems like a very useful tool.

 

[Manic11]

I do this for different things! It really helps to keep track of things. I didn't see the point in one until I did it.
My doctor would ask me if I've had any pain in a certain area and I would say no then only to find out later on that I was, I just thought it was a cramp.
I keep track of my anxiety, triggers, etc through a journal as well.

I hope it works out for you just like it has helped me.
Manic