Heat helps ease the pain long enough for me to fall asleep some nights but its becoming impractical to sleep on a hot water bottle so I decided to make myself a microwavable head pack.
You can buy them in some stores however I couldn't find one without lavender in plus I love making things so its a double delight for me.
All you need to make one is a facecloth (or a strip of soft fabric like fleece) and dried rice. Its honestly that simple.
Fold the facecloth in half, right sides together (so the label is facing out). Pin two of the sides together and sew them shut. You need to leave one of the ends open so that you can fill the pad.
Turn the cloth right side out so that two of the seams are inside the pouch. It will look a bit like a wash mitt at this point.
Next fill the pouch 2/3's of the way up with the dried rice. You can add less if you want but you don't want the pad to be too hard as it would be uncomfortable around your neck. You want it to hug your neck, not bruise it.
Once filled, sew the end shut and hey presto ... You have yourself a heat pad.
Heating up the pad varies depending on how powerful your microwave is.
Mine is 700W and it takes 90 seconds to be nice and warm. My advice is to play about a little with the times. 20-30 second bursts till you find what works for you. (That's how I worked it out).