Three facts and a question for you

Fact 1: I've started putting my goals and mottos for the 2013 Incredible Life Workbook on Pinterest. The boards are called 2013 Incredible Goals and 2013 Incredible Mottos. Don't forget about the Facebook group of those of us doing the workbook.

Fact 2: Registration for the Flourish Through Divorce online workshop closes this Saturday at midnight EST, and the first lesson goes out Sunday. Pass it on to anyone you think could use it.

Fact 3: My dishwasher is currently piping water into my basement instead of into the actual dishwasher.

Question: An anonymous questioner gets a migraine after she has an orgasm. And her doctor's got nothing. That is no way to live. Has anyone heard of this or have a solution to it? It sounds like either blood pressure or hormones, but then my medical degree is from Google. Anyone?

Comments

[Anonymous Non-Doctor Advice]

RE Fact 3: 1st thing that comes to my mind has to do with blood flow. "Migraine headaches result from a combination of blood vessel enlargement and the release of chemicals from nerve fibers that coil around these blood vessels. During the headache, an artery enlarges that is located on the outside of the skull just under the skin of the temple (temporal artery). This causes a release of chemicals that cause inflammation, pain, and further enlargement of the artery." Orgasm is a release of built up blood in the genital area (technically speaking) so maybe the release of blood so quickly causes the temporal artery to swell? Also I know this sounds completely random but is she clenching her jaw right before? Could cause temporal artery restriction.

[Catherine]

I used to get headaches from that; it turned out I was holding my breath for very long stretches of time and that resulted in the headaches when I finally released. (I also had high blood pressure that is now controlled by medication). Once I realized I was holding my breath, I had to spend a few months thinking about not doing that; now it's automatic.

[NA]

I wish I had some advice to offer, but all I have is sympathy. I had some terrible problems after childbirth (damage to the anal area), and there was a period when orgasms caused some terrible problems with my anal muscles. I was devastated and felt like I could never have a sex life again. After lots more healing, the problem eventually went away, but for a few months there I really didn't know how I could live life that way. I hope that your doctors are able to figure out the cause and treat it soon!

[Remy @MLISunderstanding]

This is a thing. I'm surprised her doctor didn't know or wasn;t able to find out with some basic research.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sex-headaches/DS00645/

Preventive medications
If you have a history of sex headaches and there's no underlying cause, your doctor may recommend that you take preventive medications regularly. These may include:

Daily medications. Beta blockers, for example, propranolol (Inderal, Innopran XL) — which are used to treat high blood pressure, coronary artery disease and migraines — may be taken daily to prevent sex headaches. They're recommended only if you have frequent or prolonged attacks.

Occasional medications. Indomethacin (Indocin), an anti-inflammatory, or one of the triptans, a class of anti-migraine medications, can be taken an hour before sex to ward off headaches.

(I am Google-educated as well. Usual caveats apply.)

[mo]

Could she go on preventative migraine medicine and see if that works? I take that (my migraines are more frequent) but they really have worked wonders! Side effects aren't bad - I was little extra tired at the beginning but now I've adjusted.

[Kate]

Could it be oxygen deprivation? Some of us breathe quite heavily, post coitus.

[cat]

Been there. The headache problem is not uncommon, though i would have classified muine as cluster headaches and not migraines.

There are breathing practices akin to tantra that help with this. slow, controlled breathing (rather than breath holding) during the ramp-up to an orgasm can also make the orgasm longer and more powerful (and reduce the likelihood of a headache). Start with self-practice (wink wink) and you'll get the hang of it.

Tristan Taormino has a great book on Kink that has a chapter or two on tantric breathing practices for orgasm enhancement. Focusing on the breath also has the nice side effect of keeping us from focusing on the socks on the floor.

[Anonymous for now]

I used to get the reverse as an orgasm was one way of getting shot of a migraine or at least reducing how terrible it was.

[anon today]

THis happens to me, too. Of course, I get migraines frequently, but sex/exercise is one of my triggers. It's the increased blood flow (in general) and heavy breathing that does it to me. Usually it's a cluster headache like @cat said, (which is like a quick-onset, super-bad migraine) and my triptan prescription doesn't work for that. I take narcotics for those. The preventative we have found that works really well is for me to orgasm first, then to go on to intercourse. That seems to dissipate the concentrated blood flow, and steady my breathing gradually, as well as keeping me lying down for a while after orgasm. I do not orgasm from intercourse-only stimulation, so there's that. If I get up right away after orgasm, I will ALWAYS get one. It's such a PITA, let me tell you.

Also, @Mo, what preventative do you use? I have not found an effective one yet.

[dspence]

I've gotten bad headaches after sex a few times. For me, it's usually triggered by straining for an orgasm, either by holding my breath or tensing my body.

[Andrea]

Fact 3. Is it possible that you have a sewer line back up from your house to the street? Is it only the dishwasher that pumps water to your basement? We had an issue once where the washer dumped a waterfall ino our basement. Turned out that flushes, rinsing dishes, and showering we're all contributed to the problem. The backed up water would eventually pour into our basement and then it left room in the pipe for more water to back up. Of course we thought the problem was gone. Until the next waterfall. Slow llearners we were.

[Leonie]

I too, have a Google doctors degree. Have no idea about the post-coital brain aches, but glad other peeps have a clue!

[anon.]

My migraines used to arrive like clockwork every two weeks, when I ovulated and when I got my period. I'd conjecture that it's possible hormones might trigger them. Whether that's any help in treating them is another story.

I'll throw out my caveat here too: I'm a doctor, but not that kind of doctor, and my humanities degree doesn't qualify me to give out medical advice. But for what it's worth, I've have about sixteen years of excellent luck using feverfew to prevent migraine. It's got to be a good brand and standardized for parthenolide content. I take it as part of a vitamin regimen that included fish oil, magnesium, and B vitamins, to ward off migraines.

Definitely no way to live, and if you don't find help here, do see a neurologist, who should have more than a primary care doc to offer.

[Molly]

My guess is that the migraines are oxytocin-related. I am a lactation consultant, and we sometimes see migraines associated with the oxytocin governing milk letdown. Sadly, knowing this doesn't help much in figuring out a prevention strategy.

[Anon]

I also have the reverse situation- use them for migraine relief.

Weird.

[Sell Runescape Gold]

I agree with you , that’s a good idea.

[Sell Runescape Gold]

I think it would. But I'm also just realizing that I maybe already have enough fun in my life!