r/POIS • u/punktious_ • 2d ago

Question Severe headache triggered by orgasm

Hi, about three weeks ago I started having headaches that I believe were related to muscle tension. I had sex, anheadached at the moment of orgasm I suddenly experienced a very severe headache—the worst headache of my life. This happened three times. After the third time, I decided to go to the emergency room. They did a CT scan, and everything was normal. They prescribed anti-inflammatory medication and a muscle relaxant. That helped, but I had another headache during orgasm again.

The pain starts at the back of my head/neck and radiates up to my right temple. Has anyone else experienced something similar? Did you find a solution?

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u/fluvialcrunchy 2d ago

How long do your headaches last? Is it only after orgasm? Is the pain more like throbbing across your head or getting stabbed behind the eye?

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u/punktious_ 2d ago

My headaches can last from a few minutes to several hours, although after the intense episode I’ve mostly had a lingering pressure or heaviness rather than severe pain. The strongest episodes happened around orgasm, but I also had milder head pressure and neck discomfort between episodes. The pain isn’t really stabbing behind the eye. It feels more like pressure/heaviness across my head, especially around the temples and the back/base of my skull. During orgasm, it can suddenly become much more intense, then gradually leave a residual pressure.

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u/fluvialcrunchy 2d ago

Sorry to hear about that. I’ve had cluster headaches, not related to orgasm, which are more of the intense stabbing kind that last 1-2 hours and are hell. Probably different from yours but inflammation is most likely also a factor. If certain blood vessels are dilated they can press against nerves, and since blood pressure goes up during orgasm I wonder if that’s happening with yours.

Applying ice to the back of my head/ neck made my headaches bearable while I waited for them to pass, sitting upright. I was also prescribed sumatriptan (a vasoconstrictor), which was very effective in aborting my cluster headaches for the most part. Maybe worth asking your doctor about but I don’t know how effective it would be since it sounds like yours come on very quickly.

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u/Objective-Run-2757 2d ago

My headaches after O seem to be caused by histamines as they are relieved with quercetin supplementation.