Head pain during orgasm?

March 30, 2024 10:07 AM

I know, you are not my doctor. And I will be asking him, but not for another month. In the meantime, has anyone experienced this? Details:

I have a sharp pain in my head as I’m orgasming. I have a headache for the day following this experience. It happened about 4 months ago for the first time. A second orgasm a few days later resulted in even sharper pain (felt like an ice pick in my brain). I waited about 2 weeks and tried again, and everything was fine.

Until last night! I wasn’t putting any pressure on my neck or anything. Same pain in my brain, same headache.

If you have experienced this cruel fate, what helped/what caused it/what fresh hell is this?

posted by sugarbomb to Health & Fitness (10 answers total)

This is absolutely a thing. It's caused by the sudden spike in blood pressure. The lower your overall blood pressure is, the less likely the headache will happen though, so maybe watch your sodium intake and make sure you're staying hydrated. Definitely bring this up to your GP and see if you might want to start monitoring your blood pressure at home.
posted by ananci at 10:22 AM on March 30

It happened to me exactly once, it felt like I got clubbed suddenly on the back of the head. Extremely unpleasant, I almost couldn't stand up. It fortunately has not happened again.
posted by RustyBrooks at 10:59 AM on March 30

Are you on any medications? This happened to my friend shortly after she started Paxil.
posted by mermaidcafe at 11:07 AM on March 30

This has happened to me a few times randomly, and I also understand it is a normal occurrence. It's literally called a sex headache.
posted by kimdog at 11:24 AM on March 30

This just happened to a friend of mine last year. He said it was really awful. The doctor was concerned about an aneurysm. (It was not an aneurysm, fortunately.)

I would suggest calling your doctor's office Monday morning and seeing if they want you go to urgent care or the ER and not wait a month. If you do have an aneurysm, the risk is that you could have a stroke, and you don't want to mess around with that. Good luck.
posted by bluedaisy at 12:07 PM on March 30

This happened to my partner when he started an new antidepressant; he said they were the worst headaches he'd ever had. The headaches recurred with every orgasm for nearly 4 months, but gradually resolved. He did have pre-existing high blood pressure. The only solution during those 4 months was abstaining from orgasm. Talk to your doc, and specifically bring up any new meds you have recently started!
posted by wind_up_horse at 4:15 PM on March 30

While post-coital headache is a plausible diagnosis in itself, one can’t exclude a REALLY SERIOUS LIFE THREATENING CAUSE OF HEADACHE like an aneurysm/subarachnoid haemorrhage based on the fact that post-coital headaches exist, and this should be a matter for urgent medical review.
posted by chiquitita at 7:56 PM on March 30

Obviously it's something you should speak to your doctor about, just like any other sudden symptom.

Things to keep track of before your appointment: medications you are on and when you take them, your blood pressure and heart rate both on a regular basis and after this happens, any other headaches you might be having even if they are not similar, if you have eaten/exercised/done anything before sex. If you don't keep track of these things before your appointment the doctor is likely to just tell you to go home and track them and come back with something useful- save yourself time and money by doing it first.

I have chronic low and high blood pressure and my heart rate is all over the place; the only time I experience these types of headaches is if my blood pressure has spiked suddenly and is in a concerning range. That does not mean that is what is happening to you, but if it is it's important to know as you might need to make diet/lifestyle/medication changes to prevent cardiac issues.
posted by shesaysgo at 7:31 AM on March 31

If you can, I’d strongly recommend going to urgent care for this rather than waiting for a scheduled appointment.

I had a sequence of really horrible headaches back in 2018, first from orgasm, then from a sporting activity. Urgent care sent me quickly to the ER, suspecting a possible aneurysm or other nasty brain mischief.

After a lumbar puncture and an MRI, it was eventually determined my brain was probably fine and I was diagnosed with exertion headaches. But it was a scary process and I was happy to rule out the more dangerous possibilities.

FWIW, once diagnosed, the management of the problem has been easy. The neurologist gave me instructions to take up to 600 mg of ibuprofen before heavy exertion (or immediately after if forgotten), which generally prevents or mitigates the headache.
posted by learning from frequent failure at 7:55 AM on March 31

Ok, thanks everyone. I called my doctor and she saw me asap. She’s ordered a CT scan and I’ll update if that shows anything. I have low blood pressure and no recent medication adjustments, but those are good data points.

If you’re reading this in the future because you are experiencing the same thing: really, the only answer is go to a doctor stat.
posted by sugarbomb at 12:22 PM on April 3