My Migraine Support Plan: Reduce Decisions Before an Attack

By Kristen McClure, MSW, LCSW · Flourishing Women LLC

Audience/tags: ADHD women; migraine; self-accommodation; capacity; medical communication.

Reviewed: September 30, 2026.

Make this plan when you have enough capacity to think. Skip anything that is not useful. Keep the finished version in one easy-to-find place.

This is an original educational worksheet, not a validated assessment or a medication prescription. Use your clinician's instructions for treatment.

Understand

Migraine can affect thinking and sensory tolerance before or after head pain. The purpose of this plan is to reduce decisions and make support easier to reach.

If symptoms are sudden, new, severe, or different from your usual pattern, seek medical guidance rather than assuming they are migraine. Call 911 for a sudden worst-ever headache or new stroke-like symptoms.

Notice: What changes first?

My familiar signs might include head pain, nausea, light or sound sensitivity, fatigue, or difficulty concentrating.

My usual early signs: __

What becomes harder during an attack? __

What remains difficult after the pain eases? __

Leave a question mark if you are unsure. A possible pattern is something to discuss, not proof of a trigger.

Explore: Where is the friction?

Choose the one issue most likely to interfere with getting care or support.

I cannot find my supplies.

I forget the instructions or have too many decisions to make.

Light, noise, scent, or screens are difficult to tolerate.

Work, caregiving, or household demands make it hard to pause.

I have trouble contacting my clinician or getting refills.

Something else: __

One change that would help: __

Try: Prepare three supports

My medical plan

Where my clinician's written instructions are: __
Where prescribed supplies are kept: __
What the instructions say to do if the first treatment does not help: __
Who to contact if symptoms or medication effects change: __

Do not add or change a medication dose here without your prescriber's guidance.

My environment

One thing I can reduce or change: __
Where I can recover with less sensory input: __

My responsibilities

What can wait: __
Who can help, and with what: __
A message I can save in advance: “I am having a migraine and need to pause . I will update you when I can.”

Reflect: What made care easier?

After an attack, record only what is useful.

Date:

What I tried: __

What helped or created more friction: __

One change for next time: __

A question for my clinician: __

If your clinician asks for a diary, agree on a small set of fields such as headache days, medication-use days, and how daily activities were affected. A sustainable record is more useful than a detailed tracker you cannot keep.

Three questions to take to an appointment

“What is my written plan for an attack, and what should I do if the first treatment does not help?”
“Should we consider prevention, and could any of my current medicines be affecting headache, sleep, appetite, or concentration?”
“Who will coordinate my ADHD and migraine care, and which changes should prompt urgent help?”

Related teaching and sources

ADHD and Migraine in Women: What We Know and What May Help

This worksheet adapts general headache-diary and appointment-preparation principles into an original support-planning exercise. ADHD-specific effectiveness has not been established.