I have to say, it makes me laugh every time I see one of those ridiculous Excedrin Migraine commercials. First of all, if you check the packages, Excedrin Migraine is the *exact same thing* as regular Excedrin. Second of all, anyone who suffers from true migraines (like me) can tell you that Excedrin isn't going to do anything at all to relieve the pain. BTW, you should be aware that Excedrin is nothing more than aspirin and acetaminophen in one tab.

As luck would have it, I seem to have fallen into the small percentage of people whose migraines are actually made worse by drugs like Imitrex. Nothing like sticking yourself with a loud spring-loaded needle full of supposedly magic drugs only to find out within 30 seconds that your blinding headache is now *ten times worse*...ack. My favorite part is how you can actually feel the Imitrex spreading throughout your body, making you sicker and sicker...luckily for me I haven't had a real attack in several years now (cross fingers, knock on wood and all that).

I say, there's truly nothing like pain so bad you can't stand any stimuli--pain that makes you vomit uncontrollably--pain that *no known drug* is proven to relieve. It is utterly incapacticating--which can drastically reduce your odds of survival at highly incovenient times, like in a survival situation.

But as for the Tylenol question--codeine is a regulated substance is most pharmacoepias, it being a narcotic, so use carefully and only as necessary/directed. I prefer to carry discrete meds rather than mixed so I only take exactly what I need. This includes things like multi-symptom cold/flu drugs. Most acetaminopen/pseuoephedrine/diphenhydramine/cough suppressant/expectorant tabs are small enough that it's not usually a problem to pack these separately.

The big problem when talking about higher powered stuff is that these things usually require a prescription, and do expire, requiring prescription replacement. This necessitates having a very understanding and discreet physician.

Unfortunately for me, that person was my father, who passed away last fall, but I like to carry aspirin, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and naproxen for minor pain, and various narcotic derivatives for major incidents (since usually they're the only things that really work, and I'm responsible enough to be trusted with them). Good narcotics are hydrocodone/Vicodin (a synthetic codeine deriv., I believe), Oxycontin (narcotic? not sure), morphine sulphate (very dangerous, only for dire emergencies, nothing like an opiate to really kill the pain--and you too, if you take a bit too much). Then there's your Perco-whatevers, too, which I also believe are narcotics.

There are some other new pain meds out there, but I've had some bad experiences with them (bad side effects), so narcotics seem to be the best option for me.

Oh yes, and caffiene is the only thing proven to keep you awake, so it's always a good idea to throw in a few caff tabs. It also helps with run-of-the-mill headaches.