Migraine Buddy: What Is It?

Migraines can be more than just painful; they can be a distraction that keeps you from living your best life. Health professionals, including those at the American Migraine Foundation, recommend keeping a migraine journal so that you can learn more about what triggers your migraine and what helps to relieve it.

Doing this manually becomes tedious, especially when you're already dealing with the onset of a migraine. Thankfully, there are apps available to make the process easier and more precise. 

What's a "Migraine Buddy"?

When you're sick, it's nice to have a buddy around to share some of the workloads. In the case of migraine, this person could write the entries in your migraine journal for you.

That's the idea behind Migraine Buddy, one of the most popular migraine-tracking apps available, and its competitors. This type of app is designed to record the circumstances surrounding your migraine in greater detail than you could on your own, so you and your health provider have a record of what factors play a role in your condition. 

Features of Migraine Buddy

Apps like Migraine Buddy aren't just about saving you from having to write or type a journal entry. While they can certainly do that, they offer many other features that give you and your doctor access to greater details about what triggers your migraines.

Many of these apps also offer tools for you to better understand how your migraines affect you and how other people are coping with their own chronic migraine. Some of the features available in Migraine Buddy include:

Symptom tracking

Your doctor can best help you determine the cause of your migraines and treat the issue if you provide a detailed report of the symptoms that may contribute to your headaches. Migraine Buddy lets you track whenever you aren't feeling well so you can have a record of symptoms to share with your doctor.

Trigger tracking

Discovering your migraine triggers means recording as much information as possible. Migraine Buddy gives you the tools to track nearly every aspect of your migraine. The wealth of data that is tracked can get overwhelming, so the app allows you to customize the amount of information you provide to keep your journal entries as streamlined and relevant as possible.

The app also automatically enters data such as the weather at the time of your migraine and provides a forecast to help you avoid weather triggers.

Treatment tracking 

Reducing migraine pain requires you to understand what does and doesn't work. Treatment tracking in Migraine Buddy allows you to compare treatments with the duration, severity, and frequency of migraines so you can learn which solutions are most effective for you. The software also helps you keep track of when you're supposed to take and refill your medications. 

Sleep tracking

Several separate apps allow you to track your sleep. Because your sleep schedule may play a role in your migraine triggers, Migraine Buddy has this feature built-in. The app will automatically track your sleep and use that information to help you discover any correlations between your sleep schedule and the onset of your migraines.

Social networking

Talking with others who have migraines serves two vital purposes. First, it allows you to connect with people who are having the same troubles as you, so you feel less alone in your situation. Second, it gives you insights into how other people are dealing with the problem so you can get ideas about what may help you and share what you've learned with others.

The social tools in Migraine Buddy allow you to connect with millions of other users to enjoy both of these benefits.

Pros and cons of Migraine Buddy

Pros

• Educational tools to help you understand the mechanics of migraines

• Syncing with local weather reports

• Comprehensive data tracking, as described above

• Many positive reviews

Cons

• Probably not ideal for people who only have a migraine once a month or less

• Some features only available with a paid subscription

Where can I download Migraine Buddy?

Migraine Buddy does not currently have a version for desktop computers, so you'll need to have a mobile device to use it. However, the software works with both Android and iOS devices. To get the version for your device, head to the app's store page on either the iOS App Store or the Google Play store.

If you need a similar app for other platforms, try searching your favorite store for "migraine tracker" to see if anything is available for your device.

Similar apps to Migraine Buddy

Successfully combating your migraine with a tracker app depends on finding an app that you'll be motivated to use regularly. While many people find Migraine Buddy the best app for the job, everyone has different preferences.

We've assembled a collection of similar apps for you to try. Most of them serve the same function as Migraine Buddy, though a few provide other ways of dealing with your migraine pain.

Migraine Monitor

Migraine Monitor is an app for Android and iOS that connects you and your healthcare provider. If your doctor is also using the app, they'll be able to see the updated information in real-time whenever you add an entry.

Migraine Monitor allows you to:

• Record your symptoms and triggers

• Keep track of medications and appointments

• Receive the latest news about migraine and headache treatments

• Chat anonymously with other migraine patients

The app keeps track of how long your migraine lasted, its severity, and the weather at the time.

N1-Headache

N1-Headache relies on a daily diary that takes only five minutes or less a day to update. The app will track your activities, mood, sleep schedule, and habits using your diary entries.

Within 90 days, the app's algorithms will provide you with a report of likely triggers and the progression in severity and frequency of your migraines that can be shared with your doctor. N1-Headache is available for Android and iOS.

Migraine Insight

Migraine Insight is an app for Android and iOS with a full-featured journal that allows you to quickly record your migraines. Its automatic tracking features record:

• The weather and barometer readings

• Your daily workouts

• The number of steps you've taken

• Your location

• Your sleep schedule

The app's pattern finder will provide you with insights into what might be triggering your migraines.

Bezzy Migraine

Formerly known as Migraine Healthline, this app differs from our previous examples in that it isn't designed to track your symptoms. Instead, it serves as a resource for building a community for those who suffer from migraines. You can keep up with the latest news about migraine treatments and use forums and live chat to discuss your condition with other migraine patients.

Bezzy Migraine is like a social network of people who get chronic migraines. It's available for both Android and iOS.

Branch Health: Pain Management

This app, available for Android and iOS, was originally called Ouchie. Rather than being specific to migraines, Branch Health allows you to track any chronic condition. You can track numerous details, including:

• The severity of your pain

• Your medication and treatments

• Mood

• Sleep patterns

Through the use of challenges and goals, Branch Health helps keep you motivated to take control of your pain. It also features educational content and a community of others going through the same thing. 

Blue Light Filter & Night Mode

The next app doesn’t track your symptoms or provide community features like the others, but we've included it as it may help alleviate a migraine trigger.

The creators of this Android app have realized that some people prefer dark mode as it reduces the chances of developing a headache. If you find that bright screens are a trigger for your migraine but still need to rely on your Android device for work or pleasure, this app may help.

Why Migraine Buddy?

When you first go to the doctor to discover the source of your migraine, they'll have a lot of questions about symptoms you may be experiencing and triggers that could be causing your migraine.

Tools like Migraine Buddy make it easy to keep track of that information, so you don't forget anything when it's time for your doctor's visit. In addition to helping your doctor, these tools assist you in discovering what your triggers are so you can learn to avoid them or work around them.

The lowdown

One of the best ways to learn about and avoid the triggers that give you migraines is to keep a careful journal of all the conditions at the time they occur. Migraine Buddy and similar apps provide tools to track this information in detail.

By finding the migraine-tracking app that best fits your needs and preferences, you can be opening up a wealth of data to help you and your doctor better care for your health and keep you pain-free.