I was sooooooo reluctant to go on a prophylactic, but verapamil, a calcium channel blocker (40 mg at night, every night) did reduce the headaches.

If I still get one, Imitrex works pretty well for 90% of the time. It is a dangerous drug, however, as it can cause heart attack, stroke or even bowel ischemia. These risks are reduced if you take 50 mg instead of 100 mg. So, I'll first do 50 and go up if necc. But the last time I took it I had gut cramping and so I am really trying to avoid it.

Sometimes I will throw in a little sudafed, but I think this is dangerous too.

Other things include Vicks in my nose, peppermint oil near the parts that hurt, taking a hot bath and then lying with my head on a heating pad (caution: fire hazard, though it has never happened to me), taking my phone off the hook, eating whatever it is I crave, and chanting to myself over and over: oh please God make this stop.

I was recently diagnosed with Hashimoto's Encephalopathy, which actually may be the cause of my headaches. It's treated with steroid pulses. When I am between pulses and get a headache now, I'll take just 5 mg of prednisone and it usually does the trick if the other things don't work.

I hope you get relief from your pain. It sounds like we are all different here, so I hope you find what works for you!