For short periods of time, prescription medications (such as narcotic pain medications or muscle relaxants) may be helpful to alleviate pain or related complications.
It can take anywhere from 4-10 hrs. now if your head gasket is warped you will have to take it to have it milled that takes from 1 day to several days. if not you can just buy a completely new one that fits perfectly for about $150.
If a head has been milled and one or more head bolts may be dangerously close to bottoming out, the problem can be corrected by either using hardened steel washers under the bolts to raise them up, or by using a copper head gasket shim in conjunction with the new head gasket to restore proper head height.