Make a Symptom Timeline
A symptom timeline is a dated record of a health problem: when each symptom started, how it changed, what you tried and what happened around the same time. When something started is often the first thing a doctor asks, and over weeks or months it is easy to lose track of whether the headaches started before or after the new medication, or how long a flare-up actually lasted. Laying it out on one date axis answers those questions at a glance.
Preceden will not tell you what your symptoms mean. What it helps with is getting the order of events right before an appointment.
What to record
Start with what you can put a date on, even roughly:
- Symptoms. When each one started and, if it has stopped, when it stopped.
- Episodes. A migraine, a fall or a bad night, each on the day it happened.
- Medications and treatments. When you started and stopped each one, and any change in dose.
- Appointments and tests. Visits, scans, blood work and their results.
- What else was going on. Travel, an illness, a new job, a change in diet or sleep. These are often what a pattern turns out to line up with.
Building one in Preceden
Create a timeline, then rename the starting layers by clicking their names in the list below the timeline and use the Add Layer button above the timeline to add more. A layer for each kind of entry works well, such as "Symptoms", "Medications", "Appointments & Tests" and "Life". Add a Layer covers the details.
Add each entry as an event and choose its layer from the Layer menu. A few date habits help:
- For a symptom that is still going, set the end date to Present. The bar keeps running up to today without you having to come back and extend it.
- For a single episode, leave the end date blank and Preceden draws it as an icon on that day. To record several on the same day, add a time after the date, such as May 8, 2026 7:30am, and they line up in order.
- If you only remember the month, type just the month and year, such as March 2026. When you are unsure of the date itself, check Approx. next to it so the timeline marks it as approximate.
Supported Date Formats lists everything else Preceden reads.
Keep the details in the notes
The name on the timeline should stay short, so put the details in the event's Notes field: how bad it was, what helped, a blood pressure reading or what a test found. Notes appear when you hover over the event and in the list of events below the timeline, so they are there when you need them without crowding the chart. Format Notes shows how to add lists and bold text.
Look for patterns
With symptoms, medications and life events on their own layers, it is easy to see what overlaps: whether a symptom started a week after a new prescription, or whether flare-ups cluster around the same time each month. When episodes are close together, click and drag across a few weeks on the timeline to zoom in on them.
Bring it to your appointment
Save the timeline as a PDF to print or attach to a patient portal message, or share a link with a doctor or a family member who helps with your care.
Health details are personal, so it is worth knowing who can see them. New timelines are private until you change that. If you share a link, the Secret URL setting keeps the timeline hidden from anyone without that exact link, and Password Protected asks for a password as well. Adjust Timeline Visibility explains each option.
The free plan allows up to 10 events on each timeline, which is enough for a short illness. A record that runs for months usually needs more, and our paid plans lift the event limit.