[Adam Bathgate]

Hi there, so glad to have found this forum. I first experienced an orgasmic headache about 10 years ago and put it down to dehydration. I had been drinking beer in the sun on holiday and had too much. I was ill for a few days with dehydration type symptoms. 10 years on and last week I had a headache during orgasm, next day nothing and then the next morning, whilst masturbating I experienced a thunderclap headache. Wow, like being banged in the head with an iron. Like everyone else I thought my head was going to explode and that I had had an aneurism. I went to casualty which was a bit of a waste of time but the next day saw a consultant. He happens to be Clinical Lead at one of the top hospitals in the UK. He said that this should pass within the next few weeks but wanted to do an MRI scan to rule out an aneurism. What was very interesting was that he said that my upper back was very tight and I needed to lose 10 kilos. I'm not overweight but I don't have a washboard stomach either. He is right though in that I normally do get very tight in my upper back shoulders and normally relieve this by getting massages at least once a month. I asked if I should abstain from sex for a few weeks and he said no, but I think he said that because he didn't want to create issues around sex for myself and my wife. He seemed very confidant that it would go away in a few weeks and would be unlikely to reoccur. I do have a big demanding job, but I have never felt that stressed by it. I am though re-evaluating my lifestyle but am really keen to know whether others have had stress in their shoulders, upper back and whether there is a correlation between that and a coital thunderclap. I see there are references to chiropractic resolutions on this forum.  To all of you out there who have experienced it, wow!! We know it. Am determined though not to feel sorry for myself. It would be really good to see some feedback from people who have had it and who have seen it pass or stay: I suppose that most people who sawit pass may not revisit this forum again, so no doubt any responses may not be statistically indicative. 

[GU3ST_883764]

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences. Glad I'm not alone but would rather we'd all have gotten to skip over this part of our journeys.

I'm a male in my late 20s with high blood-pressure and from reading the posts it seems those are great ways to attract this thing. While they do run in the family, I do not have a big history with headaches. I do have arrhythmia, common with high BP, which I treat with Metoprolol Tartrate.

I really can't describe the pain, surprise and fear much better than previous posts... it was soo alien. I felt a slight twinge high in my back a couple of times as "the needle approached red" but shrugged them as muscle cramps. It began at orgasm and matched its intensity through to the end. It started at the back-right base of my neck, arced over the right of my crown before sort-of exploding just shy of my right temple. Nearly passed out. I could tell then it was not a muscle and, like many others here, the thought was immediately there, "I'm experiencing an aneurysm... this is my legacy..."

Sorry, not trying to make light of your or yours' pain but this was 5 days ago and the throbbing still seems like it's around 50-60% of the worst and it's troubling (especially considering that it seems to be a blood-vessel). Excedrin Extra Strength does dull it a bit. Even though the throbbing was still present, my partner and I had painless orgasms the day before last but had to cut this morning's attempt short.

Now that I'm reading this it actually seems kinda reckless to "engage in" before the pain had even subsided, but will visit my doctor nonetheless. Will post again if I've had any revelations or to report that I've experienced my final climax and will be asking for detailed descriptions of yours

[Adam Bathgate]

OK, so it's been 10 days since I had a thunderclap and I am staying off sex for another 10 days. Looking at other posts there appears to be a very strong correlation between thunderclaps and (i) dehydration and (ii) tight and tense muscles in the neck and shoulders. I have had 2 one hour long massages and am due to have another one tomorrow. My neurologist (a top guy) says that marijuana is not a cause and does no harm (although it might cause other health issues etc). I have cut down alcohol (because of the calories) and am drinking lots of water. I had a migraine after the thunderclap, which reappeared a week later and was the day after I had a **** (orgasming without having any headaches): hence why I am staying clear of sex/wanking for another 10 days. My wife has been wonderful, which is always helpful. It would still be great to hear from people who previously posted years ago to discover whether it returned and what changes they made to their lifestyle if any.

[GU3ST_883764]

Thanks for the update, Adam, and I agree. Really seems like it could become chronic.

Also, should have mentioned that we were drinking heavy the first time (don't make choose between booze and sex!) and I've also had muscle tension for the past month just under where it started in my neck.

[Adam Bathgate]

Hey wiseax, I wasn't saying that it really seems it could become chronic, I was saying the opposite! That it should just go away shortly. That's what the top Neurologist told me and that's what other forums have advised. I'm not having sex or beating off for 3 weeks, so one week to go. I went to an osteopath who was great. Am having sessions with him, reducing booze to lose wait and drinking lots of water. I have poor posture which the osteopath is fixing. Also having massages.

[GU3ST_883764]

Adam, ok I see what you were saying now. I was just thinking that after having one we could be more easily prone to having more and it would be interesting if previous posters could confirm/deny this. He's no neurologist but my physician agreed this could be the case as long as bad habits like drinking, smoking and, at least in my case, anything that increases blood pressure aren't kept in check... I feel silly for not realizing this sooner. Guess I was just hoping I wouldn't have to change my lifestyle.

My migrane is still rocking me even after abstaining from all sexual activity since last Sunday so I've cut alcohol entirely as of yesterday. I have a fairly bad tendency to abuse it and alcoholism runs deep in my family. Probably safe to say I have an addiction... not looking forward to the coming weeks. Not ready to toss smoking (I've only been smoking tobacco) just yet but time will tell if I'll have to. Blue-balls and sobriety are plenty enough to deal with for now and I'll need something to take the edge off anyways.

Good luck with the abstinence, posture, and head, Adam. I should really look into my posture, too (he said, doubled over his phone).

[Adam Bathgate]

As well as cutting down on alcohol, to about 3 units, 4 times a week, I'm also taking magnesium daily. I still vape weed though 4 times a week. Whilst some articles refer to marijuana as a potential cause, none of them are actual studies, and appear to just refer to it as a possible generic source. I think this could be self perpetuating, and until someone can point to an academic study or test the jury is still out

[Adam Bathgate]

So it's been 3.5 weeks since I had a thunderclap. I have now jacked off 3 times since then, latest today. All without any crap which is good news.. I did have a migraine after the first 2 but not the third although it wasn't immediately thereafter (several hours later) so the migraine may not have been related, although I don't normally get migraines. I have been drinking a lot of water, seeking an osteopath and masseuse, playing tennis, doing pilates, and cutting down booze to half a bottle of wine a night for 5 nights and taking magnesium. The booze reduction is primarily calorie driven for me. I have to say I do think  this is all to do with th neck and shoulders and having the right posture. I spend so much of my working time lazily hunched over a computer. I got something from the osteopath keeps body moving which is what it crucial so I'm told. So targeting muscle tension and posture and hydrating.

[Adam Bathgate]

seeing an osteopath and masseuse not seeking. obviously. How you doing WiseAx?

[GU3ST_883764]

Sounds like the changes are making a difference, Adam. Glad to hear it. Interesting how the causes of our thunderclaps seem rooted in different areas. Although back pain undoubtedly contributed to the problem, the intensity of my headache (and that feeling of an impending thunderclap) clearly rises and falls with my blood pressure while it seems that you're seeing marked improvement after focusing on posture and reducing muscle tension.

Once I cut out the booze my headache started to dull after 5-6 days and now (13 days) it's nearly gone. One orgasm since my last post and no thunderclap but my head didn't appreciate it much and throbbed for a couple hours after. Aiming to lower my blood pressure some more and kick the headache altogether before re-resuming sexual activity. I'm cautiously optimistic but wouldn't be surprised if symptoms were gone by the end of the week.

[Adam Bathgate]

I think it is blood pressure related, causing a rush of blood to the head, but I just wonder whether poor posture and straining the back and neck muscles causes something to happen in the arteries and to much blood goes to the head?? Have you tried magnesium? Are you drinking tons of water and focusing on steady breathing and not holding your breath? So have you cut out booze completely? How are you dealing with that? For me my best day happened about 22 days after my thunderclap and since then has been good. Thinking of having sex tonight but I might chicken out.....!!!

[Adam Bathgate]

My neurologist sent me to see a neurophysio who thinks that the reason this happens is due to being overweight and having poor posture. I haven’t had a thunderclap again and have been able to shoot my load without getting a headache but I do think it brings on a very slight migraine later in the day. She is using quite hard acupressure on a muscle either side of the neck. She presses down and a headache comes on and she keeps pressing until it disappears. Reckons this will prevent the migraines from reoccurring. I’ve increased my boozing but still drinking a lot less just to lose weight. Will post back again.

[Adam Bathgate]

How you doing WiseAx? Any improvement your side? How fit are you? Do you have poor posture?

[Adam Bathgate]

I said that I had been having acupressure which is not quite correct. The neuro physio has been "mobilising" my sternocleidomastoid muscles and as of last week started acupuncture there. During mobilisation she would be able to bring on a migraine by pressing down on certain areas and she would keep pressing until the migraine disappeared. I have not had a thunderclap for 2 months now, although I was getting a mild migraine after ejaculation, that would come on several hours later. This has now stopped. I am though prone to getting a migraine now from computer screens but find that if I take breaks I can avoid this. So, so far so good. Pretty much back to normal. For now!

[Justanaccount]

I'm having the same issue.

I never in my life had a migraine until a few days ago.


So recently I stopped drinking 2L of pepsi max a day. It's been about 10 - 12 days now.
I replaced it with black tea instead. So my consumption of caffeine has reduced from ~240mg to ~60mg.

A few days ago i light up a cigarette which I haven't done in about 2 years, I was always a social smoker, maybe 2-3 packets a year kind of thing.

I didn't feel too good afterwards, I figured my body isn't used to it. So I light up another one the day after, and immediately after that cigarette I had a dull and heavy feeling headache. That night I masturbated and I could feel the headache intensifying as I got closer to climax, thinking that it wouldn't be too bad as I've had something similar happen before, I was wrong.

As I ejaculated it was a huge thunderclap headache that made me hunch over immediately in pain. The worst part was as I experienced a second wave as I shot out twice (TMI? oops).

I thought I was having a stroke or something damaging to the brain. My whole head felt like it was tightening, and the back of my head had substantially more pain that the rest of my head.. I took ibuprofen with codeine and had to lie down for a couple of hours.

The next day I managed to have a regular orgasm, however the day after that I can feel the same onset of pain in the head when I was getting close to climax, I was 90% sure I would get the thunderclap sensation again as the head tensions got really strong.



I'm thinking it's a combination of a heavy reduction in caffeine, the two cigarettes I had, and the fact that I'm in front of the computer about 12 hours a day. I think I might be getting a bit of eye strain..

I see people talking about dehydration, but I drink LOTS of fluid every day so that's definitely not an issue (for me at least).

Like many of you who have posted, I am slightly overweight @ 88kg (193lbs) @ 183cm/6ft - although doubtful this is causation more than correlation.

[Adam Bathgate]

I have to say that it's been over 3 months now and I haven't had a reoccurrence of a thunderclap. My advice for anyone who has one is to see a neurologist and get a scan, lay off ejaculation for around 3 weeks (if you possibly can) get acupuncture on your neck by someone who knows what they are doing and get back and shoulder massages and see an osteopath. What I do find now is that I am more sensitive to getting a migraine from computer screens and so I have had to reduce my screen time significantly and take breaks from the screen every 30 minutes to avoid one coming on. I'm going to get a screen plastic film filter to see if that helps. Although I significantly reduced the amount of booze I consumed I'm back to previous levels when I party, but am still drinking less otherwise (but probably more than most!). And I'm still drinking loads of water. Good luck all. Do please also post your own feedback. There are so many people who have posted here but no one seems to return, which hopefully is good news

[Thunderclapper]

Hi peeps, I'm a male in his 20's, made this account specialy to reply in here to help you.

I'm in good shape, didn't experienced any health problems before and suddenly I got in the hospital for quit some time due to experiencing what now appears to be thunderclap headaches.

They investigated me for a week (top neurologist), did a lot of scans, they even went with a camera inside my brain. It appears I have Reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome, thunderclap is caused by this syndrom. Good news: it's "Reversible".

Smoked Marihuana , smoked tobacco, drank a lot of alcohol (binge drinking) during weekends, with from time to time (really not often) other things. I turrned my lifestyle around and decided to quit it all together, realizing you only have one body and health, which I want to last for a wile . This was the best thing that happened to me, it really turned my life upside down, you always think your invinsible till you experience something traumatic like this.

Doctor prescribed me pills which contain something that's normally used for heart deseases, it lowers your blood pressure and opens your vains,  it's called Isoptine. I'm 1m80 and weigh about 68 kilograms, after some testing 2 pills of 5 mg (total of 10mg) which I take in at 08:00 - 12:00 - 16:00 helped. Started with 4 pills of 5 miligram but this was a bit heavy for me. The pharmacist basicly makes these pills out of another medicin so you need to look what suits you best. After 3 months the vains in your brain which are narrowed become normal again like nothing happened.

Hope I helped someone by taking the time to post this 

[FrostyFeet]

Hi, I am 25/M and I experienced my first thunderclap headache this week. I am fairly overweight weighing 220 lbs/183cm. It started when I finished my first ever reps of barbell squats ever in my life. There was a tremendous amount of pain in my occipital area for about 5 minutes and then it died down slowly over the day. Went home popped a paracetamol and went to bed. The next time I did a few reps of kettle bell squats and then BOOM, it happened again but this time only in the right side of my occipital area. I went to a physiotherapist who took an X-Ray of my spine and concluded that there was nothing to worry about. After all this mess, I had sex with my girlfriend and as soon I reached my orgasm my head literally exploded. Having read all the previous forum posts so far, it looks like some kind of pressure on the nervous system on top of my spine and below the head. Have scheduled an appointment with a neurologist this week and hoping for the best.

[Adam Bathgate]

I thought that I would send an update to my earlier posts as so few people have come back to update their posts which I hope is a positive sign. I had a thunderclap in March 2018 and whilst I was in a migraine zone for a number of weeks after that, I laid off ejaculation and the problem went away. I didn't reduce vaping of marijuana but I did reduce my alcohol in take for a bit which led to some weight loss! Fast forward to December 2018 and whilst I didn't have a thunderclap I did start to get a headache during sex: this was after I had been to 4 late night parties in a row where I had literally been out until 3am each night, drinking heavily and vaping very strong weed. I laid off ejaculation for a few days and there has been no return of symptoms. I still party, drink a fair amount and vape a lot of weed. But I have also lost more weight (I wasn't fat, but I wasn't slim either) and I continue to have a massage on a weekly basis, and see an osteopath and neurophysio who both do their think to relax a tight back. So so far so good! I hope this post gives hope to people! 

[mixtertee]

Grateful to have found this forum. I'm a 41 gay male and experienced my first "thunderclap" headache during vacation, about 10 days ago. It's summer now, and my partner and I were vacationing with his family at the beach. The weather was humid. I had gone out for a bike ride, which I don't usually do, but it wasn't especially strenuous. I came back to our room and we had sex. In the 5-10 seconds right before orgasm, I began to feel an unusual pulsing sensation in the back of my neck leading up to the backside of my skull, which, as I came, erupted into the most painful pounding headache I had ever experienced. It was distressing, for sure. The headache dulled and passed after about 20 or 30 minutes. The same results have accompanied almost every attempt at orgasm since. I've had a few successful sessions, but not without an extremely deliberate focus on breathing and working overtime to keep my head and shoulders relaxed - not a very "free" way to enjoy yourself. I also managed to give myself the worst headache yet, trying the "focus method", which then lasted for more than 24 hours. I tested my blood pressure during this time, and it was higher than it usually is, approaching hypertension...but has since settled back to normal as the headache finally dissipated. I researched sex headaches and read about them being one-time things for some people, and sometimes recurring for up to a year (no, thank you!). I also read that they could be indicative of more serious issues. And now I've found this forum, which has helped put my experiences in perspective after freaking myself out about those "more serious issues."

After the first thunderclap incident, I have also been having problems sleeping - hypnogogic jerks! Every time I start to fall asleep, I involuntarily jerk myself awake. I have managed to get some sleep and seem to be functioning fine otherwise, but the combination of the sleep jerks and the thunderclaps with the elevated blood pressure have been a lot to take over vacation... I am back from vacation now, feeling relieved to be home, and am seeing my doctor tomorrow. This forum has helped a lot to set my mind at ease and has got me thinking about other possible causes and solutions. I am hopeful about propanolol as a possible medical fix, but am also interested to read the posts here focused on dehydration and enzymes, which both sound like good things for me to explore (I drink a fair amount and have a long history of stomach issues). Also, acupuncture, which is something I've always wanted to try and really does seem like it could help with all of this. I will continue to experiment and post back here as my doctor and I hopefully find a solution that works for me and the circumstances I've described above. Thanks to all who have posted and shared their experiences. It really does help to feel not so alone with something like this.