I have chronic arthritus, and sometimes get terrible migraines. I use over the counter pain relief. advil, tylenol, or alleve. The thing is that I don't take them every time I get a little ache or pain. I try soime relaxation methods first or use a heat pad, sometimes a hot shower. If it gets real bad I would go se my doctor and try to find out if there are any other alternatives. I might if necessary use a prescribed narcotic painkiller for a limited time, but I would let my sponsor and family know what was going on. We didn't get clean to suffer unreasonably.
If your hubby is having frequent episodes with pain and can find a method of dealing with it that he is comfortable with, it certainly isn't as though he is using for the buzz.
Please pass along my congrats on his clean time.