I just had the WORST hangover this morning. Had some vodka last night, but not too much, but I think my increasing tiredness since daytime made it easier for me to fall asleep after drinking. After going to bed, at about 2am, I woke up at 5.30am. I had an intensive pain in my head, almost as if something was clawing its way out. It was so bad I nearly resorted to painkillers, which I hadn't consumed years. I had to force myself to sleep while the pain continued.
Now I've had hangovers before, but that was just one surreal, very painful experience that I'd never want to go through again. Usually hot tea works when I've got the hangovers, but just now's was so bad, anything I drank was nearly regurgitated. Do you guys take anything for your hangovers? Any home recipe? I'd like to be prepared just in case something this bad happens again next time.

Drinking two pints of water before you go to sleep after a night of heavy drinking apparently helps allot. eating fresh fruit etc should probably also help. Oh and while it doesnt help me with headaches for some reason I always want a fresh fallafel sandwich the day after heavy drinking you could try that.
I fortunately (perhaps unfortunately) never ever get hangovers. A rather odd trait I picked up off of my grandfather. He never had a hangover in his life and neither have I yet.

That doesnt solve anything. I frankly could not go about my daily life whithout at least the knowledge i can get a drink later.

I also don't drink alcohol. At all, unless under protest at family gatherings, but even then I avoid it when I can.
Instead, I occasionally get stung by a sugar buzz and don't sleep as well as I should.

I'm impressed you can manage family gatherings sober. well done sir.

when drinking hard
drink lots of water
if you don't go to bathroom every 30 minutes you don't drink enough water.
don't mix too much of different alcohols. beer goes with everything but tequila shot then rum and whiskey in span of 20 minutes is wrong.
additionally have a proper meal 3 hours before drinking.
problem solved.

Greasy food usually works wonders when you're sick as does milk. Oddly enough, slightly burned toast seems to work well to settle my stomach
Try doing some light exercise to get the blood flowing faster, watching really good porn might have a similar effect, if it doesn't at least you've seen good porn
From friends who actually do drink, the important things I've been told is have a lot of water before bed and NEVER drink on an empty stomach or it drastically increases the effect

They hardly ever end well, put 40 to 60 people in a garden, feed them undercooked BBQ meat, plenty of booze and watch them begin to snap on how they never get a visit and how dare one of them does better than another.
The door to my room has a lock on it :) That lock has saved me many a time from being dragged into the mob.

I empathise. I have a very small family and we rarely see each other but have been to more than a few family parties due to girlfriends. *shudders at the memmories* I'm talking the kind with cheap nasty buffets and a DJ who rambles incoherently down the microphone every now and then and you get cornered by manky drunk middle aged women dribbling half chewed sausage out of their mouths telling you how pretty you are. The fact it wasn't my family was only a small concolation at the time... Ugh sorry I'm just going to go be sick at the memmory now.

Oooh I remember hiding from family gatherings well. Not long before my nan died she had a heath scare that looked very serious so the entire family gathered here in case it was the last opportunity, a good 25 people in a 4 bedroom house and here's me an antisocial claustrophobe.
About the only reason I went out in the first place other than to be polite is to get a bit of the caramel tart that always accompanies family events. You know how in cartoons someone will put down a dish of food for a dog and before they've put the bowl down there's this blur and the enmpy bowl is left spinning on the floor? Thats pretty much exactly how caramel tart goes with my family.

drink a lot of water before sleeping and also eat something right before you pass out, helps out hang-overs a lot. as for already hung over, just keep drinking water and try to find something to eat... i prefer greasy food, but some people can't handle greasy food hung over and throw up, so its personal preference

Quality of alcohol matters a lot when it comes to hangovers. Cheap vodka can be especially bad. I've also heard that mixed drinks are worse, especially fizzy ones (though nothings better than a rum and coke, if you ask me). Here in Korea, you can buy hangover medicine, but I've never tried the stuff. The alcohol here usually isn't strong enough to give me a hangover. Also, I have heard to never drink hard liquor after you drink beer. Theres an expression that goes along with this, but I can't remember it off the top of my head.

I am not saying that you shouldn't drink at all. Just not too much.

Cadbury's creme eggs and coke.