[Oneeyedguy]

I am a 51 year old female, and I had the most frightening pain in my head two nights ago, which began very suddenly and severely, at the base of my head and spread throughout my head and settling in my temples, right before orgasm.  We stopped of course and I cried for a little while due to the pain which mostly subsided to a tolerable level fairly soon, and then I went onto the internet to search for what happened.  I called my ob/gyn the following day, since I'm 5-6 weeks postop from a partial hysterectomy, and this was my first time resuming intercourse with my husband...

I should visit this forum more often, but it's a double-edged sword, as well as getting hope and new ideas you're also concentrating on what is a painful problem, both physically and psychologically. Mimosa, your post from last year suddenly struck me - '5-6 weeks post-op'. Something tells me your procedure was keyhole surgery, am I right?

I'm convinced there's a link between keyhole surgery, where they pump CO2 into you, literally to make space so they can see what they're doing, and the heart problem I was banging on about in my latest posts. The CO2 technique is called pneumoperitoneum. It increases pressure both in your abdomen and your chest cavity.

Brief recap: Over 1 in 4 of us have a PFO = Patent Foramen Ovale. The FO is the hole in your heart between left and right atria that, when you were in the womb, allowed oxygenated blood from your mother to travel via the umbilical cord, up your main vein to the right side of your heart and then cross over to the left side, which is the side that pumps it round the body. This is necessary in unborn babies because your lungs aren't working yet, the pressure in those blood vessels is too high so blood can't flow round them & wouldn't pick up any oxygen anyway! When you're born, lungs start working, pressure decreases, blood starts flowing from right heart around lungs, picks up oxygen, back to left heart. Pressure is now higher on left side, this makes the FO close up and, in 3/4 of people, by your 1st birthday it's permanently closed. In the other 1/4, the FO is 'patent' - i.e. it's still openable, like a cat-flap, if enough pressure is put on it. Normally, left-side pressure is greater than right-side, so the cat-flap stays shut. But if anything happens to alter the pressures...

Now, my guess is that there's not a sharp division between the 1/4 with a PFO and the 3/4 without. The process of closure is going to be complete in some people, absent in others, and somewhere in between for some guys. The closure process has happened, but it's weaker than it should be. Now read these quotes from medical websites:

Here's what one paper http://m.ceaccp.oxfordjournals.org/content/11/5/177.full [nofollow] says about the use of laparoscopic surgical techniques - 'keyhole surgery' - which include pneumoperitoneum:

'Generally accepted contraindications include ... patients with known right-to-left cardiac shunts or patent foramen ovale.'

Here's another:

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=hBb_MOHScVEC&pg=PA144&lpg=PA144&dq=PFO+pneumoperitoneum&source=bl&ots=AqWsQ1opB1&sig=SAxTWJMg4s4OOKyB-edWZeLoKrk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=W5F3Uu-_FILB0QWhtoDoAg&ved=0CDoQ6AEwBA [nofollow]

'As a result of the pneumoperitoneum during laparoscopic procedures central venous pressure exceeds pulmonary wedge pressure, leading to temporary reversal of intracardiac pressure gradients between the atria. In consequence, the risk of intraoperative cardiac right-to-left shunting with consecutive systemic embolisation is increased, because a PFO, although normally closed, may open during this reversal of pressure gradients.'

OK, pulmonary wedge pressure = a way of measuring the pressure in the left atrium, which is the chamber of your heart that receives oxygenated blood from the lungs. And the 'embolisation' they're talking about is one way for blood clots in your veins to get into your arteries and travel to your brain or other organs; this paper was primarily about strokes. Basically, what this adds up to is, pressure in right side of heart exceeds pressure on left side, for as long as they're inflating your abdomen with CO2: several hours depending on the operation. This is common knowledge to anaesthetists, which is why they don't recommend keyhole surgery for people with known heart defects like PFOs.

So it seems pretty plausible to me that one way for orgasm headaches to suddenly start happening in the middle of your life is this:

* You have, unknown to you or anyone else, a borderline PFO
* You have a keyhole operation, they blow you up with CO2 for several hours and the pressures in your heart are reversed
* This opens up the PFO, you're now not borderline, your FO is definitely P, as it were.
* Next time you do anything that reverses the pressures (known medically as a Valsalva manoeuvre) - heavy coughing, sneezing, vomiting, straining during defecation, having an orgasm - the PFO opens readily, whereas before the operation it was a bit stronger and stayed closed.
* The crossover of venous blood directly into the arterial system, bypassing the filter of the lungs, causes severe headache, possibly because of high concentrations of hormones - e,g, norepinephrine - present during the build-up to orgasm.

Of course, the trigger for the weakening of the FO might not be keyhole surgery, it might be exercise - which might explain why there's a mixture of relatively fit, young people on this forum, along with relatively unfit, middle-aged folk like myself. Or constipation, or coughing, or anything that reverses the pressures enough, for long enough.

Since my last post I've had mixed fortunes - several periods of remission followed by 'back to square one', all unrelated to anything I can identify, it's depressingly random but the remissions are good, I try to take full advantage of them, even if orgasms themselves are a risk for re-occurrence! I'm pretty convinced that the sequence I've described above is what happened to me. I've no idea if a PFO is capable of healing in an adult, if I refrain from anything that could 'open the cat-flap' for long enough. More research needed, and a friendly doctor. Maybe we need to set up a proper self-help group, or a campaign for research? I've no idea how to do that.

[Catherine3130]

Wow.. gotta love google.  I am completely intrigued by this (and oddly enough, thankful I'm not the only one experiencing this.) 

About 2 months ago, I took it upon myself to enjoy the new showerhead we just installed and I think it was a record orgasm .. maybe a minute/minute and a half before the intensity grew .. the headache in my temples blew me away.. I thought it might have been because of the sudden intensity/speed of reaction/etc.  This particular headache lasted about 2 days.. dull, not as sharp around the temples and by the eyes, but still there.  After a few days, I thought I'd try it again (geez...why??) and same reaction.. after having that orgasm and feeling like my brain was going to explode or I was going to pass out from the pain, I decided I was done with the shower for awhile..     

A few days after that, I was with hubby and as I was getting close to orgasm I could feel the dull headache feeling starting to come back but nothing over the top painful as what had happened in the shower, so I thought it just might just be the "quick to orgasm" intensity of the shower.. but no... after weeks of nothing but a dull pain here and there, I am now at the point where it has happened the last 4 times hubby and I have been together.  Even taking headache medicine prior doesn't help.  The sharp pain subsides hours after, but the dull headache remains for up to 3 days (that's the longest thus far)!!   

This is becoming an annoying situation that is truly making me have second thoughts on having sex.. something I really, really enjoy and would do daily if I could.. how in the world do I get rid of this?  Is this just something I'm going to have to live with?  So sad.  :-'(

[Catherine3130]

Hey just thought I'd share my two cents on here. I'm a seventeen male, and about a week ago, maybe a tad more, I experienced this horrible horrible head pain that built up as I neared orgasm and then just exploded well when I exploded lol. Anyway, the initial pain evaporated into a steady throb that lasted a couple of days, while I iniitially didn't associate the pain and orgasm, thinking it was just a coincidence. Evidently a few days later I go at it again and wouldn't you know, I'm dying at orgasm. So I do my due diligence and search the web for others suffering from the same problem and I found this site among others. I tried some of the above techniques posted over a few days, abstaining from any sex or masturbation while hoping this would cure the problem. Something that I did find and I'd like to mention before I post what seems to have cured me is that I could work through the pain if I started and stopped, and there wouldn't be such a large explosion of pain, but that wasn't going to cut it. Now, on to the cure. I ran across an article last night about someone associating the pain we've all been experiencing with dehydration. Now for me I'm not always diligent about getting water, and for circumstances I won't go into I wasn't doing the greatest of jobs of staying hydrated leading up to my first experience with this head trauma. Needless to say I tried drinking the recommended amount of daily water (16floz minimum, 32 if you can manage), both last night and this morning, and later today I tried masturbating again and wouldn't you know it, no head pain! Anyway I haven't tried it again but if you are like me and haven't been doing as well in drinking water everyday try giving it a shot and seeing if that fixes the problem for you like it seems to have fixed it for me. Of course it could've been the abstinence but it can't hurt to try. Good luck and I'll try to post an update after a few days pass to see if these headaches come back.

Edited for a little update:
Two more masturbation sessions completely headache free! I'm happy to report that water really seems to have done the trick. I've been keeping up with daily consumptions of 16 or more floz, and I've seen a complete disappearance in the incredibly painful "sex headaches". So take it from me if you're going through the same thing I have: try drinking some water!

Good luck all!

OMG!  I am going to try this starting today *facepalm*.. why didn't I think of this?!?! Thank you SOOOO much!  ♥ 

[rigatone]

Hi folks,
I'm so glad to have stumbled on this site whilst researching my headaches. They are definitely Thunderclap headaches and the pain only occurs before orgasm. I had never experienced this before (I'm a 37 year old guy). Since being officially single 9 months ago I've went to the gym less and less. I haven't put on excessive weight but I know my fitness levels must be embarrassing. Anyway, I'd given a lot of thought to what caused this. A couple of weeks ago I was with a girl and without being overtly graphic, she squeezed her legs unbelievably tightly against my head and later when I neared orgasm the most tremendous pain rushed up from the base of my skull, went round my head and like everyone else shocked me with its intensity. I could barely move for ages and it slowed to a dull throb but didn't leave.

Fast forward a few weeks and it happens pretty much any time I masturbate. I haven't been to the doctor yet but without misdiagnosing myself I'm pretty convinced my sexual encounter caused this. Coupled with the fact my job is spent sitting in front of a pc and I wouldn't be surprised if something is out of alignment with my neck/shoulders/head region.

I intend going to the chiropracter first. If he can diagnose anything I'll know my gut feeling was right and will follow any advice they give me. If not, then I'll go to the doctors.

Thanks for so many people writing about what can be an embarrassing topic to raise. It's comforting to know other people have faced this and overcame it, although its such a grey area I can see why it's hard to diagnose!

I'll post an update when after the chiropracter but needless to say, I'm going to do gentle exercise again, drink plenty of water and try to keep my breathing relaxed. I'm in Scotland so I'm off to avoid beer and head up a hill with my telescope to watch the aurora borealis.

Good luck to anyone else who is suffering too 

[rigatone]

Oh and read comments by Kush on p5. His advice seems to resonate with what I think may work. I would also maybe add if I have a few beers then the pain isn't so bad so it could well be that at the moment towards orgasm the nerve is affected by something being out of synch.

Cheers

[Vcfan1523]

Hey all, 23/m here, I had my first terrible "thunderclap" headache around a week and a half ago but unlike most people on here mine first happened while working out. I heard a pop and had excruciating pain right on the bottom right side of my skull, the pain only lasted a few minutes and then went away so I didn't think much of it. The next day during sex right before climax it happened again but this time much worse and it lasted a couple hours.

Now anytime I'm nearing climax or try and workout this happens, I'm just wondering if anyone else on here also gets these thunderclap headaches while working out as well?

[ohmyackinghead]

Man oh man the one good thing about this thread is I'm not alone. I'm a 44yr old male, married 25 yrs to the same wonderful lady. This past Monday we had the afternoon off together to spend some time alone. Well bam I had a thunderclap right at the time of orgasm. Whoa was that a scary experience. I've never had any headaches so I didn't know how to handle it. Oh my lord it was terrible. Once I semi recovered from it I jumped on the Internet to see how much time I had left. Damn this is scary. My headache resided some and with the help of ibuprofen I made it till today and broke down went to the ER. All that showed up on the cat scan was sinusitis. Oh we haven't tried sex again since I'm to scared. Doc give me some antibiotics and pain meds but now what. He did say if it happens again come in immediately don't wait. If there might have been a small bleeder they wasn't able to pick it up it had been to long. My blood pressure was not high. I'm going to take the antibiotics and man I hope thats what the problem is. Has any one been cured of this other than by time ? Thanks for reading and letting me know I'm not alone. I've not had any issues with other physical exertion and headaches yet.

[cosmos35]

I use to have them, bloody awful until I found out I had High Blood pressure. I started meds and now completely disappeared never had one since. Get you BP checked guys and gals as this could be your cause.

[theratz]

I also have them....

I'm a 24 M, the first time I experienced that I was 18. This lasted 2 weeks, and stopped.

Now I have a huge comeback, I can't do sex with my hand or with my GF, this is the worst pulsating headaches I never had of MY ENTIRE LIFE. This will do 2 weeks I have this now... Yesterday was my worst experience ever.

I tryed:
- 2x 500 mg paracetamol --> Did nothing
- 3x 200 mg ibuprophen   --> Did nothing

Tonight I'll try
2x 250mg Naproxen.

If this doesn't work, I'll go see a doctor and ask him if he could prescribe me some Indometacin. This is a powerfull pain reliever.

The pain come gradually before I orgasm, no warning, in 10 seconds it go from no pain to intolerable pain, 9 on 10.

[theratz]

2x 220mg naproxen worked to fix temporarly thoses tunderclap headaches.

Just take them with food 2 hours before you plan sex.

[clique]

Good day to you all,

Thank you for all the posts and information on this forum - it makes me a little easier to know I am not alone with this issue.

I am a 58 year old male with no major health issues.

The reason I am posting is that I have only experienced this at high altitude.
My wife and I live at sea level and once a year for two weeks we travel to ski fields in Colorado where the altitude is around 10,000 feet.

Last year was the first time I experienced this and I put it down to exertion.
This year it happened again and once again I thought of exertion as the cause, however this morning I was very slow and with no straining at all the same symptom occurred - at the moment of orgasm a blinding sharp headache that is quite debilitating.

I am thinking this is oxygen related for me and I will be abstaining for the rest of our stay. I will test my theory on our return home.

Thanks

[the5thforce]

likely dehydration causing the muscles in your head to cramp after you clench them too hard, drink more water.

keep in mind your brain tissue has almost no pain sensing nerves, so unless you have meningitis or severe brain inflammation, your headaches are almost always externally/muscle based, neck strain can also radiate into the head(if you whiplash too hard during orgasm)

[clique]

Yes agree - that dehydration and exertion leading to muscle cramps could contribute, however the last time was slow and little effort was expended.
I live normally in a very warm and humid climate - so hydration is always carefully monitored.
I do understand your comments re the brain having no pain receptors and appreciate that the pain may be in the muscle tissue may be where the pain is centered - its just strange that for me the symptoms have only occurred at high altitude.

[clique]

Further to my post ... we have returned to sea level and we have enganged in sex twice with no headaches ... I would conclude that in my case altitude/lack of oxygen must be a contributing factor.

[jun]

this one WORKED: eat a few enzymes daily (or often) like KIMCHI, SHRIMP PASTE, SQUID, and the like. this will retain the needed tryptophan in the gut which are needed in high amount after ejaculation, to induce sleep. you'd know it's working when you always feel sleepy. try it. the effect is immediate. back of neck pain subsides effectively. don't eat too much in one serving, which might cause skin itching/allergies................ good luck!

[Colin Johns]

Hey all, I am new to this site... I came across this site doing a search about sexual headaches on Google. I have never had any migraines or horrific headaches until the last couple weeks of having sex. A couple weeks ago my gf and I were having sex and before "release" I get a wicked uncontrollable migraine/headache. Where it starts in my neck area and goes up all over my head, specifically frontal lobes. It lasts quite a while too. I got an MRI (brain scan) and MRA and everything came back clean as well as a CT scan... Blood work was normal too.. It's so irritating because i have tried intercourse and sex with my gf and regardless right before orgasm , BAM! Thunderclap headache.... Has anyone experienced this? If so, what do you do... I've been reading it goes away after a while... I had it once in like 2009. Thought nothing of it... Now years later, it's back... And I've read people can have them once and then years later it can strike again...lucky me, right? Said no one ever... I also have TMJ I believe, where , my jaw pops on the right side... I'm seeing s dentist tomorrow about it and a neurologist on Thursday... But maybe TMJ is putting pressure on my Head? The interesting thing is that the right side of my Jaw is where the jaw cracks, pops... But it's the left side that is giving me the starting issue during the sexual headache... It's the left side my head, and eye that throbs... It's been about a few weeks and my gf and I had sex a few times, each time having s migraine outta no where... She even "did her thing" while I lied there, and the thunderclap still came on.... I am 31/M and sorry if this is not in the right forum/thread... I figured "this can't be true" would be a good spot for it lol. Oh and I was just prescribed a medicine I took tonight, which helped prevent th thunderclap quite a bit... (Wanted to try with the med) still got the headache but it was subjected to only one area, left of my jaw under my ear... So it was nice it wasn't all over... The medicine is like, barbiturate with Tylenol and something else .. It's BAC which stood for something. I think it's similar to the medicine ketoric. (Misspelled) I've been hearing a lot about propranolol. So maybe that's next..

[jun]

hi.

Maybe this is caused by too much caffeine.  Tryptophan coming from the gut cannot pass into the brain.  so maybe eat kimchi, which is a food full of enzymes to make the gut healthy and retain the tryptophan needed to induce sleep.

[Elizabeth35]

I had a thunderclap headache a few weeks ago. Just as many described here
it felt like vice grip around my skull and ended up at the bottom back of my skull, it started at orgasm and lasted a minute or so after.  I went to the doctor a few days later and they did a CAT Scan and a exam, everything came backnormal.  I haven't had a TC headache since, but I sometimes awake with a stiff neck and wonder if it was from that expereince.Ill also get a tiny headsche behind my nose and eyes (very slight headache. But I would get a stiff neck before the TC headache because of the pillows and the way I sleep. Now Im just paranoid-I think. I'm debating on whether I should have the spinal tap done, fearing maybe the CAT scan missed something.

Im glad I found this forum so I can compare experiences.

I also experience severe headache, particularly at the lower back side of the head and neck. It usually begins with sexual  excitement and then it peaks at ejaculation. I had taken many drugs like beta-blockers and sometimes anti-migraine drugs. But I didn't find them that effective. It was the physiotherapy treatment that I had taken from Physiomed in Toronto put a stop to it. Do you experience the headache accompanied by vomiting, nausea or any other symptoms? Then it should be investigated.

[Trevor The Great]

I just experienced this and it scared the bejesus out of me. im a 26 year old male. long story short, i was rubbing one out on my couch in a kind of awkward position. i passed out drunk on my couch the night before and woke up with a stiff neck. anyways, im laying on my back with my head positioned up, putting some pressure on the back of my neck, and the very second i blew my load, i felt an extreme pain shoot through the back of my neck and it went right to the back of my skull. it was one of the worst pains i had ever felt. on a scale of one to 10, it was a 10. luckily it only lasted for about 10 seconds, but it felt like my head was going to explode. i 100% thought that i had a vein just explode in my head, and i was thinking that i might possibly die for a few seconds. i freaked out, i was covered in sperm, and i didn't want to have my parents find me dead on the couch with my penis in my hands, and spunk all over my chest, so i quick ran to the bathroom with the panic of atleast trying to die in a non embarrassing way, ya know? it slowly went away after about 20 or 30 seconds, but it left me with a small headache. i took some advil, it went away, but when i was running on the tredmill today, my head started to hurt about 2 or 3 minutes in....So, does anyone know what i should do? should i rest for a few days? im concerned that i might have given myself some brain damage or something.

[MayoFlyFarmer]

I cannot BELIEVE this thread is still active 12 years later....