I'm 52 and the migraines have lessened over the past few years, but when I was younger (ages 8 to 45) I had crippling migraines and cluster headaches. Blinding, nauseating, screeching pain that was sheer hell. Sometimes I look back and wonder how I managed anything during those headaches - and oftentimes, I didn't.

The 2 things that helped me were taking 600mg/Advil the moment I had an inkling of an impending migraine and Imitrex nasal spray. I understand that now there are Imitrex pills. Imitrex is not a pain med...it works to kind-of circumvent the migraine before it really hits full-on. Imitrex was prescribed to me by a neurologist, to whom I had been referred for the severe headaches.

There are meds that are not pain pills. Really, you should check with your doctor.