Using Symptom Diaries to Better Understand Symptom Patterns

What is a Symptom Diary?

Symptom diaries can be a valuable tool for helping clients and dietitians better understand symptom patterns over time. Symptoms are recorded using dedicated apps, or with pen and paper, or even noted on a phone. They are kept alongside a food diary recording meals.

Recording symptoms over days and weeks provides insight into when symptoms occur, whether they change throughout the day, and how frequently they are experienced. This can help identify associations between symptoms and factors such as particular foods or times of day. 

It can also be useful to record other factors that may influence how someone feels, including stress levels, sleep and whether they have been unwell. Looking at these alongside symptom patterns can provide a broader picture of how food and other aspects of health may be influencing symptoms, helping to guide dietary management approaches.

Symptom diaries can also complement structured assessment tools such as the Structured Assessment of Gastrointestinal Symptoms (SAGIS). These tools give clients an opportunity to reflect on how their symptoms have changed since their previous appointment, while providing dietitians with useful information to discuss during consultations.

Over time, this process can help clients recognise changes in their symptoms and provides an important opportunity to reflect on their progress.

References:

1. Koloski, N.A., Jones, M., Hammer, J. et al. The Validity of a New Structured Assessment of Gastrointestinal Symptoms Scale (SAGIS) for Evaluating Symptoms in the Clinical Setting. Dig Dis Sci 62, 1913–1922 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-017-4599-6