You can take ibuprofen (Advil, etc.) and acetaminophen (Tylenol) together, and sometimes that knocks out a migraine for me. You can take 800 mg of ibuprofen, no matter what the bottle says (800 mg is the dose you get if a doctor prescribes it, so it's okay; just don't take it more often than every 6-8 hours).

So if it's all OTC stuff, you can take 4 ibuprofen and 2 extra-strength acetaminophen every 6-8 hours. Caffeine helps, too, which is in Excedrine Migraine formulation (which I think is caffeine, acetaminophen, and maybe aspirin).

Aimee also recommended putting your feet in a bathtub of really hot water while you have an ice pack on the back of your neck. The hot water draws your blood to your feet, which helps make your head stop pounding. It actually helps A LOT.

Suzi, I'm glad reassurance helped you get your lungs under control. I'm glad the ambulance guys were there for you.

Vortex, I'm so glad you went in when you did. And, like others, I'm waiting to hea what your doc had to say.

Suzi, good luck with the school stuff.

Steph, ibu is SO my friend. Thanks for the new info on dosage.

Burrell--and others suffering migraine. Whatever helps is a good thing.

Thanks Steph. I did go with all OTC, and I can see why if an 800 mg dose of ibu is called for, that helps explain why 400 mg didn't touch it. I did follow up with tylenol, and that finally seemed to help.

Aimee also recommended putting your feet in a bathtub of really hot water while you have an ice pack on the back of your neck. The hot water draws your blood to your feet, which helps make your head stop pounding. It actually helps A LOT.

That's great to know. Thanks!

Excedrine Migraine formulation (which I think is caffeine, acetaminophen, and maybe aspirin).

Yes, and it's worth noting that Excedrin Migraine and Excedrin Extra Strength and probably Excedrin Other Stuff Too are all identical under the hood - they market the exact same combination of drugs under a few different labels. (The only one I know for sure is NOT the standard coffee/tylenol/aspirin combo is Excedrin PM which subs in a sleep aid for the caffeine. Don't mix those up unless you'd rather just sleep it off.)

I find the caffeine really helps the drugs kick in, and it doesn't keep me from sleeping when I have a migraine.

My prescription migraine med is the ancient Fioricet (because my doctor doesn't want me taking Imitrex since it can cause cardiac issues, and I already have enough bad cardiac DNA to worry about), which is caffeine, acetaminophen, and a mild barbiturate. It works okay, but makes me dopey despite the caffeine.

Eventually the customers will realize that my connecting into their computer to do the work is not a nice thing I'm doing for them, it's something I do for myself because they're so stupid.

Caffeine's effect of constricting blood vessels can help alleviate headaches in and of itself.

So now you've gotten strong recommendations from everyone for all three colors for a metric shitton of different reasons. Possibly we are the opposite of helpful.

I like hearing all the differing opinions because my interior decorating as an adult has been haphazard and this is helping me think it through. I don't know that I have a particular skill or talent at it, mostly because this is my first opportunity to really decorate from scratch. I know I want bright colors, but I want those colors to go with each other and not clash or be too busy.

I have to make all these choices about what I want, which is fun but also overwhelming.

My decorating is white(ish) walls to reflect light, then lots of book cases filled with colorful stuff.