Migraines are simply no fun, as anyone who has suffered from them will tell you. Migraines are more than just horrible headaches like some people think—they can leave a person completely debilitated. While symptoms do vary from person to person, here are the common five phases of a migraine:

1. Prodrome – you notice odd tastes or smells, and you have sudden mood changes. You may also feel tired or have muscle tension.
2. Visual/auditory cues – before the pain sets in, you may see spots, start to lose vision, or (rarely) hear odd noises or ringing.
3. Headache – in phase three, the pain hits. Most people experience headache on one side of their head, although some experience pain on both sides. This throbbing headache may also be accompanied by vomiting, nausea, and sensitivity to sound and light.
4. Headache ends – the pain eventually goes away if you sleep, even if you don’t take any medication.
5. Postdrome – after waking up, even though the headache is gone, most migraine sufferers have a lingering weakness, fatigue, and even lack of appetite.

For those who deal with migraines, there are several things that can help:
• Taking a nap in a cool, dark room with little noise
• Supporting the head and neck with firm pillows
• Using a cold compress on the forehead or back of the neck
• Taking migraine medication
• Studying what triggers migraines and avoiding that trigger
• Drinking a cup of coffee or other caffeinated drink
• Exercising regularly can help reduce migraines

Various over the counter and prescription drugs can also help relieve migraine pain. Taking anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen, aspirin, naproxen (Aleve) and ketoprofen (Orudis) can help relieve pain, but they should not be taken by those with a history of stomach bleeding or ulcers. They should also not be taken for a long period of time.

Tylenol or other medication containing acetaminophen is also helpful and can be taken in conjunction with any of the above anti-inflammatory medication. However, it should be noted that these over the counter medications may not work for everyone, and that doctors do not yet have a 100% effective treatment for migraines.

There are some prescription medications aimed at preventive migraines. People take these drugs during the prodrome stage or right when they feel the headache coming on. Some of these drugs are actually self-injected, while others are taken orally. Most are very quick acting. They include triptans (which treat the headache only, not other pains), cafergot, migranal nasal sprays, and midrin. Some nausea medications, including comprazine and phenergan, have also been known to have preventative properties.

In the event that these drugs don’t work, some painkillers can help. However, these drugs, which include fiorinal and Tylenol with codeine, can be addictive and should only be used as an absolute last resort.

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