Vertigo and Migraine: What to Log When They Overlap

Updated 29 Oct 2026

When vertigo and migraine both show up in your week, it is hard to remember later which came first, how long each lasted, and what happened the day before.

This guide explains what to log when vertigo and migraine overlap: the order of symptoms, early signs, possible triggers, medicines, and the signs that need urgent help. It does not tell you which one you have; that is for your clinician.

Why log vertigo and migraine together

The NHS describes vertigo as feeling like you or everything around you is spinning, enough to affect your balance, and notes it is more than just feeling dizzy (NHS vertigo). It lists migraine among the other things that can cause vertigo, beside inner ear problems and some types of medicine, and notes that sometimes the cause is unknown (NHS vertigo).

The NHS notes that if you have vertigo, a GP will ask about your symptoms to try to find out what could be causing them (NHS vertigo). A dated log of both vertigo and headache days gives that conversation something concrete.

For migraine, the NHS notes it can help to keep a migraine diary to work out what might trigger your migraine attacks (NHS migraine). One record for both saves keeping two.

If the cause is still open, see what to track while vertigo is still uncertain. In Vertigo Journey, the Daily check-in holds a score for each day.

How to log the order and length of symptoms

For each episode, note the time the spinning started and stopped, and the time any headache started and stopped. The NHS notes a vertigo attack can last from a few seconds to hours (NHS vertigo). It notes migraine attacks usually last between 4 hours and 3 days (NHS migraine).

Write which came first, the spin or the headache, or whether they came together. The NHS lists the main symptoms of a migraine attack as a throbbing headache, often on 1 side of the head and worse when you move around, feeling or being sick, and being very sensitive to light and sounds (NHS migraine). Tick which of these came with the spin.

Add a 0 to 10 score for the spin and one for the headache, and note whether you could keep doing what you were doing.

If you are unsure whether it was spinning or lightheadedness, see how to compare vertigo and lightheadedness. In Vertigo Journey, the Flare Tracker marks each episode with its date.

How to log early signs and aura

The NHS notes you may get symptoms at the start of a migraine attack, such as feeling very tired and yawning a lot, craving certain foods or feeling thirsty, changes in your mood, a stiff neck, and peeing more (NHS migraine). It notes early symptoms can start hours or up to 2 days before the head pain starts (NHS migraine).

The NHS also notes some people get warning signs before a migraine attack, called aura, such as problems with your sight like zigzag lines or flashing lights, numbness or tingling like pins and needles, feeling dizzy, and difficulty speaking (NHS migraine). It states aura symptoms should not last for longer than 1 hour (NHS migraine).

Note any of these in the hours before a spin, in your own words, with the time. Over a few weeks, the log can show whether early signs tend to come before vertigo days.

In Vertigo Journey, the Daily Journal holds a short note on early signs with the time.

How to log possible triggers

The NHS lists things some people find can trigger migraine attacks, including anxiety and depression, stress and tiredness, skipping meals or not eating regularly, too much caffeine, and not getting enough regular exercise (NHS migraine). For vertigo, it notes anxiety can make vertigo worse (NHS vertigo).

Log a few of these each day, not only on bad days: hours of sleep, meal times, caffeine drinks, a stress score, and any exercise. Days without episodes matter as much as days with them, because they give you something to compare.

Note what you were looking at as well, such as screens, bright light, or busy patterns. For that, see how to log visual trigger days.

After three or four weeks, look for patterns, and treat them as questions for your GP rather than answers.

In Vertigo Journey, Weekly Goals can hold one habit you are trying, such as regular meal times.

How to log medicines

Record each medicine you take for an episode, with the time and how you felt one or two hours later. The NHS lists treatment for symptoms of a migraine attack, including painkillers such as ibuprofen and paracetamol, medicines called triptans and gepants, and medicines that stop you feeling sick or being sick (NHS migraine). It notes that if you are taking painkillers, take them as soon as your headache starts (NHS migraine).

Count your painkiller days each week. The NHS advises trying not to take painkillers for more than 2 days a week, as this can cause you to get more headaches and make migraine harder to treat (NHS migraine).

For vertigo, the NHS notes antihistamines can sometimes help with vertigo symptoms, and that some types of medicine can cause vertigo, so check the leaflet to see if it is listed as a side effect (NHS vertigo). Do not stop or change a medicine on your own; bring the log to your clinician.

In Vertigo Journey, My Meds keeps each medicine with its start date.

When to get help and what to bring

The NHS advises calling 999 or going to A&E if you have vertigo and double vision or loss of vision, hearing loss, trouble speaking, or leg or arm weakness, numbness or tingling (NHS vertigo). It advises an urgent GP appointment or NHS 111 if you have vertigo and a severe headache, are being sick or feel very sick, or have a very high temperature (NHS vertigo). In the US, call 911 or go to the ER for these signs, and use urgent care or your primary care doctor where the NHS mentions a GP.

For migraine, the NHS advises calling 999 for a headache that came on suddenly and is extremely painful, problems speaking or remembering things, losing your vision or blurred or double vision, or weakness on 1 side of your body or face (NHS migraine). It advises an urgent GP appointment or NHS 111 if a migraine attack has lasted longer than 72 hours or aura symptoms last longer than 1 hour at a time (NHS migraine). Get help first; log it later.

The NHS advises seeing a GP if you have vertigo that will not go away or keeps coming back (NHS vertigo), or migraine attacks more than once a week (NHS migraine). Bring a short summary: weeks logged, episodes per week, the usual order, early signs, and medicines.

In Vertigo Journey, the Doctor Report builds a dated summary for a saved doctor.

How Vertigo Journey can help

A notebook can hold one bad afternoon. The harder part is keeping spin, headache, early signs, and medicines in one dated record.

Vertigo Journey is a personal vertigo tracker from Health Journey Labs on the App Store and Google Play. It records attacks, possible triggers, medicines, and visits in one dated history. Below is what you can use and how each part helps:

• Daily check-in — A short guided pass across symptoms, mood, nutrition, sleep, exercise, meds, and external factors, including spin intensity, duration, triggers, nausea, and balance limits, so links you would not remember on your own show up side by side.
• Daily Journal — Freer notes, including voice when screens feel unsteady, that add detail a score alone cannot show.
• Flare Tracker — Mark an episode clearly worse than usual, so you can tell a one-off spike from a repeating pattern.
• My Meds — Medicine names and timing, so you can line up a start date or dose change with episode frequency and duration.
• My Labs — Result dates for hearing tests, imaging, and other workups, compared with how you felt in the weeks before and after.
• Weekly Goals — Set one small aim, such as balance exercises, and see whether it held and whether episodes changed.
• Learn — Short education topics on vertigo themes such as positional triggers, balance, sleep, and visit preparation.
• AI companions — Clara and specialist companions already see your logged history, which helps with visit wording or questions after a new diagnosis.
• My Care Team — A profile for each clinician, plus upcoming appointments and notes for each visit, used before, during, and after appointments.
• Doctor Report — Two views: the Appointment Planning Report helps you prepare what to ask, and Generate Report, opened from a saved doctor, builds a dated summary of your recent progress for that doctor.
• My Assessments — Structured check-ins that add context about you across weeks.
• Food Tracker — Meal and drink lines when salt, alcohol, or caffeine is something you and your clinician are watching.
• Period Tracker — Cycle dates, so you can see whether episodes or headaches cluster at a certain point in the cycle.
• Weight Tracker — Weight entries when weight is part of what you and your clinician are watching.

Everything you log builds one history. Guided forms include the key questions, and you can add custom symptoms when you need your own labels. Vertigo Journey is free to download.

Sources

• NHS — Vertigo
• NHS — Migraine

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