Symptom and Episode Diary

Who this is for

A diary of episodes, written in your own words. Each line records the date and time, what happened, how long it went on, what you were doing when it started, how it felt described however you describe it, and what you did next — so a pattern, if there is one, has something to show up in.

Anyone asked to keep a diary before an appointment or between them, people trying to give an honest account of something that only happens occasionally, and carers recording episodes for somebody who cannot write them down at the time.

What this helps you track

• What happened and when, written close to the time rather than remembered later
• How long each episode lasted, in your own measure
• What you were doing, eating or taking when it started
• Severity in your own words, on a scale you define rather than one we impose
• Whether each episode has been reported to a clinician

How to use it

1. Write your details and, at the top, whatever your clinician asked you to keep an eye on, in their words.
2. Start a line as soon as you can after an episode; the detail fades within hours.
3. Say what happened plainly, how long it lasted and what you were doing at the time.
4. Describe severity however you want to describe it — mild, bad, worst so far, unable to work — and use the same words each time so the entries compare.
5. Note what you did and whether anything made a difference, without drawing a conclusion from it.
6. Take the diary to the appointment; the browser and spreadsheet versions count your entries and how many have been reported.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Why is there no severity scale out of ten?

Because a number means only what you mean by it, and a scale of ours would not match the one your clinician uses. The column is free text: choose your own words and stay consistent, and the entries will compare with each other.

Does the diary say what my symptoms mean?

No. It records what happened and nothing else. There is no interpretation, no explanation and no guidance anywhere on the sheet — that conversation belongs with the person looking after you.

How much detail should I put in?

Enough that you could answer a question about that episode weeks later. Time, duration, what you were doing and what you did next carry most of the value; long descriptions rarely add to them.

Can somebody else fill it in for me?

Yes. Put their name in the notes so it is clear whose account each line is. A carer's observation and the patient's own description are both worth having, and they are not always the same.