How (and why) to track your symptoms

Tracking is not about becoming obsessed with symptoms — it's about turning fleeting experiences into information you can act on.

What to track: symptom (e.g., hot flash, wake, mood dip, brain fog moment), timing, duration, intensity 1–5, and any context (what were you doing, eating, feeling). Cycle day if you're still cycling.

How often: daily-ish is ideal but weekly summaries beat nothing. Aim for consistency, not perfection.

What you'll see after 2–4 weeks: patterns. Vasomotor episodes cluster around certain triggers or times. Mood shifts often correlate with sleep or cycle. Brain fog often follows short nights. Patterns turn 'I feel awful' into 'here are three specific things happening.'

Why it matters for provider visits: 'I've been feeling off' is hard to help with. 'I've had 5–7 hot flashes daily for 6 weeks, mostly in afternoons, waking twice a night, and my mood shifts on cycle days 22–28' is a starting point for a real conversation.

Dot's memory features (opt-in) do a light-touch version of this in the background from your chats and check-ins.