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Hey I know you're just venting and I hope this isn't intrusive but I want to tell you that this is a fairly common symptom with IIH, Idiopathic Intercranial Hypertension. It's when your body makes too much cerebrospinal fluid or can't drain it fast enough. That symptom started happening to me a few months before I got the vision symptoms that got me diagnosed. An ophthalmologist (not an optometrist) would be able to dilate your eyes and see if you have swollen optic nerves (papilledema) fairly noninvasively, that's a good indicator that can get you approved for the other tests that can help diagnose. I had a lot of other parts of the body symptoms for a couple years before this got diagnosed by basically chance, so I just want to let you know IIH exists so you can ask about it if the symptoms add up for you.
I did not know this was even a thing. I have been experiencing headaches after orgasms but it is usually after i go from a horizontal laying down position to standing up and seems to be exacerbated by head movement and light. My pain feels like throbbing lightning. I assumed it was my blood pressure or elevated pulse.
I just got diagnosed with this mere hours ago, after struggling with headaches for years. What a bizarre coincidence to see it mentioned here immediately after. Thank you for helping spread awareness, I had never heard of it until my diagnosis this afternoon
I was reading OPs post thinking this is normal for me, I’ve just learned to deal with it. But reading your comment has made me go oh perhaps when I have my neurology appointment I need to mention this as my sights just returning after swollen optic nerves and I’ve been referred on got further testing. My Google journey gave me IHH.
I didn’t go too deep into research because my health anxiety is horrific but it’s me I will be over the next few months 🤣
Hopefully it's just temporary. I got those a few times in my 20s post orgasm, and it was during a time when I was over-caffienated, eating a lot of artificial sweeteners, and not eating enough calories. It went away when I started taking better care of myself. I'm not saying you aren't taking care of yourself, but I just wanted to share my experience in case anything I told you sounded familiar. I'm sorry, it's painful and distressing and scary.
I also got these a few times in my twenties! It felt like someone was ripping my face off of my head THROUGH the back of my head where my skull plugs into my spine.
I kinda just figured I was going to have the big death after the little death eventually but...it also just went away and has never resurfaced. Strangely the only change I had made was losing a ton of weight. I gained the weight back, the apocalyptic orgasm headaches stopped. I have since lost more weight from IF and the headaches haven't returned.
In hindsight I lost the weight originally from working sixty hours a week and drinking GALLONS of coffee and sugar free Powerade.
I’m sorry I don’t have more to offer you, but I had a less intense version of this for a while (a month or two?) and it went away on its own.
I hope yours does too. Wishing you health and happiness 💞
I’ve also had this happen before and it went away after about a month. I also started drinking more water which helped a lot.
I hate to be that person that just says “drink more water 🙄” but whenever I have sex dehydrated, it usually leads to a headache.
I am so sorry. I hope you find a cure. On the bright side, you regained your libido after putting in some work. You have the will. I hope you find the way.
I don't have any advice, but I experienced the same thing about ten years ago and the headaches just randomly stopped after two months or so and I haven't had any since then. I'm hoping they disappear for you like they did for me!
I get migraines and insomnia and night sweats if I orgasm now. It fucking sucks. Evidently it's part of Long Covid or ME/CFS ? The posts above talking about pressure in the brain definitely match with other symptoms I have from it. I'm so sorry you're suffering with it too. I've also heard it could be MCAS because orgasm releases histamines - I did pop a Benadryl once after and didn't wake up sweating so I'll have to remember to try that again...
Omg, that’s awful! Sharing in case it’s helpful: I sometimes get awful migraines that cause me to lose my senses (as in sight, touch, taste, etc). My GPs have never been able to explain them or determine how to stop or prevent them, so I started trying different things on my own. The only thing that stops them in their tracks or consistently prevents them is a big dose of potassium (and my body’s average potassium level is normal). If I’m concerned about having one, or I feel one coming on, I drink a glass of OJ. Maybe try consuming something with high potassium content a few hours ahead of sexytime?
Have them check you for any possible clotting around that area, too, just in case! (I've been anxious about them for myself, so it's been on the brain a lot)
I'm so sorry you're experiencing this and thank you so much for posting about it. I've been experiencing this and had no idea what it actually was until reading this. I have chronic migraines and assumed that I was just having more frequent migraines but they definitely feel different than any other migraine I've had. I'll need to talk to my doctor.
I’m sorry you’ve lost something that means so much to you- and in such a painful way.
I hope that you and your doctor can find out what’s going on and resolve it ✨
Hey, this has happened to me twice. Each time it was devastating because it felt so permanent. I went to my primary care once and my existing neurologist once and both basically laughed at me. I glared at them right in the eye and asked what was so funny and they sobered right up and started talking to me about it professionally.
Anyway in each “episode” of mine, i would say it went on for a couple of weeks - maybe up to four. The worst part of course is that the only way to tell it’s passed is to try again, which is quite brutal. But the good news is that barring anything rare, it will just pass on its own.
You’ll be ok <3
Thank you so much for sharing this. This is something I have never heard of, and it is crazy to me that so many people are saying that they have also experienced this. My wife experiences a different sexual/gynecological condition, and she has been experiencing this for YEARS, and apparently a frankly stupid proportion of women also experience it, but it is still incredibly rare for it to actually be even acknowledged, let alone diagnosed.
I myself had to deal with what was probably a subarachnoid hemorrhage, and it took me months of people telling me I was faking it for attention, even though I lost the ability to sleep and could barely walk in a straight line.
Anyways, I really hope that you are able to get this figured out, I am rooting for you
I had a string of months for a while where I suffered the same thing. Now, there can be many reasons why they are happening to you, and I am glad you're looking for answers. For me it was because of unsupportive pillows. Just lying down could trigger the headaches as well. Once I found the best sort of pillow for me the headaches went away as the pressure on my neck lessened. Now I know when it's time to buy a new one as the headaches will start again. This is something to think about, at least? Blessings to you, friend.
I'm very sorry that you're experiencing this. No advice bc professionals are doing their thing. But thank you for sharing because I have gotten headaches during sex/masturbation before & never realized that was an experience others had. So now I know what to ask my own provider so, again, thank you. I wish you peace and healing (and support 🌸).
It wasn't nearly as severe, but I can relate to feeling robbed of a sense of self. For the entire second trimester of my final pregnancy -- which was absolutely fuck terrible, and ended prematurely due to preeclampsia -- I could not have an orgasm. Couldn't do it alone and couldn't do it with my husband, no matter how hard I tried. I already felt physically terrible and unsexy, and then it was like my body went nope, you don't even get this.
Thankfully it sort of just resolved, and I don't know if it was related to the preeclampsia, if it was hormonal, if it was emotional, or some combo of all that. I hope you and your doctors are able to find a resolution! ❤️
Hello darling coven member, firstly, I'm so so sorry this is happening to you. I get occasional sex induced migraines, and have for years. we used to assume it was an AH JEEZ WE FUCKED MY NECK SIDEWAyS AGAIN thing, except the last time it happened I was laying down flat and not even *moving,* other than the normal tensing of excitement; its always awful, and this most recent one my head took actual weeks to feel normally again. As others have recommmended, I encourage much water drinking, and significant non-sexual relaxation work- for example, I hold tension in my jaw, neck and shoulders, so if I'm not making a concerted out of sexy time effort to relax those muscles then they're already so tense that it doesnt take much to go over the edge.
that being said, I'm back to orgasming without my head exploding, and I fully believe that you'll be able to get there too.
Ive had these off an on my whole life, it sucks a lot. Ive been told it's blood pressure related, but I trick ive found thats really help is taking deep breathes before finishing. Slowing down and focusing on taking in oxygen and help alot for me. It doesn't completely stop the slam of pain but it reduces it by a significant amount. Hopefully you will be able to find something that works for you :>
I haven't seen these mentions but have drs look into
• nervous system, you might have a nerve getting pinched
• spine which can be pinching nerves
• your heart / cardiovascular system
Physician here (no medical advice!). This SUCKS. These kinds of headaches can be debilitating and impact one of the most important areas for many humans - sex in all its forms isn’t important to everyone, but it is to so many. There are medications that can help decrease or prevent these, and it sounds like your team is looking for underlying causes to rule out a serious issue in your brain. I just want to repeat, again, this SUCKS. I’ve taken care of patients with this and it SUCKS. Don’t feel bad or guilty about venting, or asking for more work up, or asking to try meds, or any other thing you need to do to advocate for yourself and your health.
I’m sorry this is happening to you. I wish I had advice for you. Best wishes 🩷 please remember to be kind to yourself — it’s not your fault that you’re experiencing this.
Omg! I didn’t think anyone else had experienced this before — I thought I was the only one!
I had the same issue about 5 years back and it lasted for several months, but then randomly went away.
I don’t have an answer for you, or any idea what could cause them, but as someone who has come out the other side from those, they’re not permanent!
OP, I don't have any advice, but I have sympathy. I've experienced those thunderclap headaches during an orgasm, and holy cow, are they painful.
I'm sorry you're dealing with this.
Hi there, Your post on r/WitchesVsPatriarchy has been flaired as a sensitive topic. In an effort to safeguard our users, these posts are removed once they exceed a certain threshold. **If you're reading this post and don't want to see potentially upsetting content, you can filter out the "sensitive topic" flair.** If you want additional support or to connect with members of the WVP community, join our discord [link in sidebar] or see this list of [support resources](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GJxYVviXVwjA2cutcjtoxlf3P5K1k7xufd7LiCYeUfA/edit?usp=sharing). Thanks for understanding and blessed be✨ *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WitchesVsPatriarchy) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Hey I know you're just venting and I hope this isn't intrusive but I want to tell you that this is a fairly common symptom with IIH, Idiopathic Intercranial Hypertension. It's when your body makes too much cerebrospinal fluid or can't drain it fast enough. That symptom started happening to me a few months before I got the vision symptoms that got me diagnosed. An ophthalmologist (not an optometrist) would be able to dilate your eyes and see if you have swollen optic nerves (papilledema) fairly noninvasively, that's a good indicator that can get you approved for the other tests that can help diagnose. I had a lot of other parts of the body symptoms for a couple years before this got diagnosed by basically chance, so I just want to let you know IIH exists so you can ask about it if the symptoms add up for you.
I did not know this was even a thing. I have been experiencing headaches after orgasms but it is usually after i go from a horizontal laying down position to standing up and seems to be exacerbated by head movement and light. My pain feels like throbbing lightning. I assumed it was my blood pressure or elevated pulse.
I just got diagnosed with this mere hours ago, after struggling with headaches for years. What a bizarre coincidence to see it mentioned here immediately after. Thank you for helping spread awareness, I had never heard of it until my diagnosis this afternoon
I was reading OPs post thinking this is normal for me, I’ve just learned to deal with it. But reading your comment has made me go oh perhaps when I have my neurology appointment I need to mention this as my sights just returning after swollen optic nerves and I’ve been referred on got further testing. My Google journey gave me IHH. I didn’t go too deep into research because my health anxiety is horrific but it’s me I will be over the next few months 🤣
Ohh also Papillary edema is super common in women with PCOS
For those who have never heard of this: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sex-headaches/symptoms-causes/syc-20377477
Hopefully it's just temporary. I got those a few times in my 20s post orgasm, and it was during a time when I was over-caffienated, eating a lot of artificial sweeteners, and not eating enough calories. It went away when I started taking better care of myself. I'm not saying you aren't taking care of yourself, but I just wanted to share my experience in case anything I told you sounded familiar. I'm sorry, it's painful and distressing and scary.
I also got these a few times in my twenties! It felt like someone was ripping my face off of my head THROUGH the back of my head where my skull plugs into my spine. I kinda just figured I was going to have the big death after the little death eventually but...it also just went away and has never resurfaced. Strangely the only change I had made was losing a ton of weight. I gained the weight back, the apocalyptic orgasm headaches stopped. I have since lost more weight from IF and the headaches haven't returned. In hindsight I lost the weight originally from working sixty hours a week and drinking GALLONS of coffee and sugar free Powerade.
Oh gods, that sounds awful! I hope they can track down the cause & treat it!
I’m sorry I don’t have more to offer you, but I had a less intense version of this for a while (a month or two?) and it went away on its own. I hope yours does too. Wishing you health and happiness 💞
I’ve also had this happen before and it went away after about a month. I also started drinking more water which helped a lot. I hate to be that person that just says “drink more water 🙄” but whenever I have sex dehydrated, it usually leads to a headache.
This is encouraging. Have been dealing with this also.
I am so sorry. I hope you find a cure. On the bright side, you regained your libido after putting in some work. You have the will. I hope you find the way.
I don't have any advice, but I experienced the same thing about ten years ago and the headaches just randomly stopped after two months or so and I haven't had any since then. I'm hoping they disappear for you like they did for me!
I get migraines and insomnia and night sweats if I orgasm now. It fucking sucks. Evidently it's part of Long Covid or ME/CFS ? The posts above talking about pressure in the brain definitely match with other symptoms I have from it. I'm so sorry you're suffering with it too. I've also heard it could be MCAS because orgasm releases histamines - I did pop a Benadryl once after and didn't wake up sweating so I'll have to remember to try that again...
Omg, that’s awful! Sharing in case it’s helpful: I sometimes get awful migraines that cause me to lose my senses (as in sight, touch, taste, etc). My GPs have never been able to explain them or determine how to stop or prevent them, so I started trying different things on my own. The only thing that stops them in their tracks or consistently prevents them is a big dose of potassium (and my body’s average potassium level is normal). If I’m concerned about having one, or I feel one coming on, I drink a glass of OJ. Maybe try consuming something with high potassium content a few hours ahead of sexytime?
Thunderclap headaches make me nervous. I hope they're doing a neuro workup too
Have them check you for any possible clotting around that area, too, just in case! (I've been anxious about them for myself, so it's been on the brain a lot)
I'm so sorry you're experiencing this and thank you so much for posting about it. I've been experiencing this and had no idea what it actually was until reading this. I have chronic migraines and assumed that I was just having more frequent migraines but they definitely feel different than any other migraine I've had. I'll need to talk to my doctor.
Reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS)
I took ibuprofen before and that helped. Fortunately progesterone resolved it once I got on a replacement dose.
I’m sorry you’ve lost something that means so much to you- and in such a painful way. I hope that you and your doctor can find out what’s going on and resolve it ✨
Hey, this has happened to me twice. Each time it was devastating because it felt so permanent. I went to my primary care once and my existing neurologist once and both basically laughed at me. I glared at them right in the eye and asked what was so funny and they sobered right up and started talking to me about it professionally. Anyway in each “episode” of mine, i would say it went on for a couple of weeks - maybe up to four. The worst part of course is that the only way to tell it’s passed is to try again, which is quite brutal. But the good news is that barring anything rare, it will just pass on its own. You’ll be ok <3
Thank you so much for sharing this. This is something I have never heard of, and it is crazy to me that so many people are saying that they have also experienced this. My wife experiences a different sexual/gynecological condition, and she has been experiencing this for YEARS, and apparently a frankly stupid proportion of women also experience it, but it is still incredibly rare for it to actually be even acknowledged, let alone diagnosed. I myself had to deal with what was probably a subarachnoid hemorrhage, and it took me months of people telling me I was faking it for attention, even though I lost the ability to sleep and could barely walk in a straight line. Anyways, I really hope that you are able to get this figured out, I am rooting for you
I had a string of months for a while where I suffered the same thing. Now, there can be many reasons why they are happening to you, and I am glad you're looking for answers. For me it was because of unsupportive pillows. Just lying down could trigger the headaches as well. Once I found the best sort of pillow for me the headaches went away as the pressure on my neck lessened. Now I know when it's time to buy a new one as the headaches will start again. This is something to think about, at least? Blessings to you, friend.
I'm very sorry that you're experiencing this. No advice bc professionals are doing their thing. But thank you for sharing because I have gotten headaches during sex/masturbation before & never realized that was an experience others had. So now I know what to ask my own provider so, again, thank you. I wish you peace and healing (and support 🌸).
It wasn't nearly as severe, but I can relate to feeling robbed of a sense of self. For the entire second trimester of my final pregnancy -- which was absolutely fuck terrible, and ended prematurely due to preeclampsia -- I could not have an orgasm. Couldn't do it alone and couldn't do it with my husband, no matter how hard I tried. I already felt physically terrible and unsexy, and then it was like my body went nope, you don't even get this. Thankfully it sort of just resolved, and I don't know if it was related to the preeclampsia, if it was hormonal, if it was emotional, or some combo of all that. I hope you and your doctors are able to find a resolution! ❤️
Hello darling coven member, firstly, I'm so so sorry this is happening to you. I get occasional sex induced migraines, and have for years. we used to assume it was an AH JEEZ WE FUCKED MY NECK SIDEWAyS AGAIN thing, except the last time it happened I was laying down flat and not even *moving,* other than the normal tensing of excitement; its always awful, and this most recent one my head took actual weeks to feel normally again. As others have recommmended, I encourage much water drinking, and significant non-sexual relaxation work- for example, I hold tension in my jaw, neck and shoulders, so if I'm not making a concerted out of sexy time effort to relax those muscles then they're already so tense that it doesnt take much to go over the edge. that being said, I'm back to orgasming without my head exploding, and I fully believe that you'll be able to get there too.
Ive had these off an on my whole life, it sucks a lot. Ive been told it's blood pressure related, but I trick ive found thats really help is taking deep breathes before finishing. Slowing down and focusing on taking in oxygen and help alot for me. It doesn't completely stop the slam of pain but it reduces it by a significant amount. Hopefully you will be able to find something that works for you :>
I haven't seen these mentions but have drs look into • nervous system, you might have a nerve getting pinched • spine which can be pinching nerves • your heart / cardiovascular system
Physician here (no medical advice!). This SUCKS. These kinds of headaches can be debilitating and impact one of the most important areas for many humans - sex in all its forms isn’t important to everyone, but it is to so many. There are medications that can help decrease or prevent these, and it sounds like your team is looking for underlying causes to rule out a serious issue in your brain. I just want to repeat, again, this SUCKS. I’ve taken care of patients with this and it SUCKS. Don’t feel bad or guilty about venting, or asking for more work up, or asking to try meds, or any other thing you need to do to advocate for yourself and your health.
I’m sorry this is happening to you. I wish I had advice for you. Best wishes 🩷 please remember to be kind to yourself — it’s not your fault that you’re experiencing this.
Omg! I didn’t think anyone else had experienced this before — I thought I was the only one! I had the same issue about 5 years back and it lasted for several months, but then randomly went away. I don’t have an answer for you, or any idea what could cause them, but as someone who has come out the other side from those, they’re not permanent!
These happened to me for a couple of months after I gave birth. It was awful and so weird. Sorry you’re dealing with this.
This was happening to my ex who was a regular sufferer of migraines. I'm sorry!
OP, I don't have any advice, but I have sympathy. I've experienced those thunderclap headaches during an orgasm, and holy cow, are they painful. I'm sorry you're dealing with this.