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Symptom Journaling

The journal records how you feel and when your symptoms start. You can compare those times with the pressure chart and discuss the record with your healthcare provider. The app cannot determine whether pressure changes cause your symptoms.

There are two ways to log: the quick log button for the moment it happens, and the journal for the full picture.

Quick Log​

The red lightning button on the main screen logs a symptom for the current hour with one tap.

iPhone

  • Each tap raises the intensity of that hour by one step, up to five.
  • Long-press the button to remove what you logged in the current hour.
  • The button is only shown on today. Use the journal to add entries for other days.
  • The first time you tap it the app asks which symptom the button should log. Change it later under Settings > Quick Log, where you can also hide the button.

Android

  • One tap creates a mild entry at the time selected on the chart.
  • Tapping again within 30 minutes raises the intensity of that entry instead of creating a new one.

You can also log from the Apple Watch, from the Symptoms widget on the iPhone Home Screen, from the Log Symptoms button in Control Center or on the Lock Screen, or by asking Siri to "log my symptoms in Pressure Pal". The widget and the Control Center button save the entry without opening the app, and it appears in your journal the next time you open Pressure Pal.

Journal​

The white button opens the journal, four short steps:

  1. Time: when it started, and optionally when it ended. You can pick any date, so you can add an attack you forgot to log.
  2. Intensity: Mild, Moderate or Severe (see the scale below).
  3. Symptoms: pick as many as apply. Recently used symptoms are shown first.
  4. Notes: anything else, for example what you took, what you ate, how you slept.

Symptoms list​

The app comes with 37 symptoms: brain fog, exhaustion, fatigue, headache, joint pain, nausea, pounding pain, pulsating pain, throbbing pain, worse pain if moving, vomiting, muscle aches, aura, sensitivity to light, sensitivity to noise, neck pain, giddiness, nasal congestion, insomnia, depressed mood, anxiety, sensitivity to smell, heat, tinnitus, blurred vision, moody, diarrhea, confusion, vertigo, high heart rate, dizzy, lightheaded, motor weakness, numbness, speech difficulty, ataxia and double vision.

On iPhone you can add your own with Add Symptom in the symptoms step. Custom symptoms are saved to your account. The Android version uses the built-in list only for now.

There is no separate field for medication yet. Put it in the notes; it shows up in the report.

Editing and deleting entries​

Tap an entry in the list under the chart to open it. From there you can change any of the four steps or delete the entry. Entries are kept even if you cancel your subscription.

Intensity Scale​

Our traffic light system simplifies pain assessment:

  • Mild - Low-level discomfort that doesn't significantly impact daily activities
    Examples: Mild headache, slight joint stiffness, minor pressure sensitivity

  • Moderate - Noticeable pain that interferes with activities but remains manageable with rest or medication
    Examples: Persistent headache relieved by painkillers, joint pain requiring modified movement

  • Severe - Debilitating pain preventing normal functioning
    Examples: Migraine requiring bed rest, acute joint pain preventing standing

Why We Use a Traffic Light System​

The traffic light system was chosen over traditional 1-10 scales based on clinical research showing improved pain reporting accuracy. This approach reduces cognitive load during pain episodes by offering clear visual categorization, while maintaining clinical relevance. Studies demonstrate three key advantages:

  • Universal comprehension across age groups and education levels, particularly beneficial for users with numerical processing difficulties
  • Faster assessment - patients make severity determinations 40% faster compared to numerical scales
  • Better adherence - 78% of users maintained consistent journaling vs 54% with 0-10 scales in clinical trials

Apple Health​

On iPhone you can connect Apple Health from Settings. Logged symptoms that have a matching Health category (headache, nausea, dizziness and others) are written to Health as well.

Seeing your history​

Today's entries are always visible. Scrolling back to earlier days on the chart, and the All Recorded Data list in the menu, need a paid plan.

Export Reports​

Paid Feature

Report export is available with a paid subscription.

Choose Export Report from the menu to create a PDF or CSV of your entries for any date range. See Reports.