Migraines affect approximately 12 percent of the U.S. population. Despite their prevalence migraines may go undiagnosed and untreated.
Migraines are as unique as the people they affect. Historically, chronic migraines have been difficult for physicians to diagnose due to the various types of headaches, triggers and a lack of reliable testing measures for assessing the disability of headaches.
Thankfully today, patients and doctors have two reliable tools for describing pain, diagnosing migraines and analyzing treatment—the Headache Impact Test (HIT-6) and headache diaries.
The HIT-6 is typically the first step in diagnosing headache pain and disability.
Using your migraine diary, you will keep track of your migraines by noting symptoms, medications or treatment used and providing your doctor with a comparison of pain, from one headache to the next. Include specifics about each headache, such as:
Using the HIT-6
In 2011, researchers tested more than 2,049 headache patients using the HIT-6. The study concluded the HIT-6 is a reliable tool for migraine diagnosis, serving as a launching point for treatment and effectively bridging the gap between patient and physician. HIT-6 is a brief questionnaire used to determine how severe your headaches are and assess the impact they’re having on your life. Patients answer six questions related to the frequency and intensity of headaches as well as the work, emotional and cognitive effects of their headaches. At the end of the test, you’re assigned a score that falls into one of the following categories:- Little or no impact (49 or less)
- Some impact (50 -55)
- Substantial impact (56-59)
- Severe impact (60-78)
Take the HIT-6™ Headache Impact Test
Describing Your Pain with a Headache Diary
Once your physician is aware of your HIT-6 score, you can start talking about initial treatment options. A crucial part of treatment and analyzing its effectiveness will involve keeping a migraine diary or journal. A variety of headache tracking apps are available to make recording your headaches even easier.
- Possible triggers, like light sensitivity, food or smells
- Intensity scale
- Location of pain
- Duration of headache
- Warning signs
- Medication use and effectiveness
- Time of day and what the weather was like