I keep pulling a muscle during orgasm (I think)!

[Queenjames]

So strange, so annoying, and if I have to seek medical advice so embarrassing but... I think I keep pulling a muscle when I, er, orgasm 😬

It's happened three times now. Feels likes my pelvic floor muscle spasming or something, and it really hurts. Then after a day or two it goes like any other muscle pull. And then it has happened again!

Anyone else had this? It's come out of nowhere and I'd quite like it to not happen again! Dr Google has given a range of potential things but tells me it's probably not serious enough to talk to a doctor about it (thank God because I don't want to die, particularly of embarrassment) but it is annoying.

There was actually a post on here about something similar happening to someone but i cant find it and they thought their vibrator was at fault. Are you using a wand type device, perhaps the vibrations are too strong and causing the muscles to spasm?

No vibrations involved. Just what God gave me and which I've been using in exactly the same way since I was 13.

DEleted

Maybe a physiotherapist if you're not keen on the GP. I see a fab physio who's very easy to talk to & knows her stuff. I don't see how you're going to avoid any embarrassment whatsoever - and I very much doubt a physio would do an internal exam - but tbh OP you don't come across like the sort of person who embarrasses easily. Any health provider who looked down their nose even slightly when you come to them with a sex or masturbation problem would be bang out of order. They're natural functions! And anyway if this persists the GP is just a referral gateway to a specialist.
Best of luck with it, I've been in the "omg am I ever gonna be able to do this pain-free" headspace so I hugely sympathise.

Thanks. It's not that I am just particularly bothered about seeing a GP. I don't regularly see mine so it's not like I have a relationship with them that would be altered by the shock revelation that a 40 year old single woman occasionally masturbates. But I would just rather not because it isn't a natural conversation to have with an actual human face to face (as opposed to anonymously on here).

Don’t worry at all, it’s very common and down to a tight pelvic floor. Nothing complicated needed - just try to consciously relax there as much as you can, and get to avoid ‘bracing’ for the pain at orgasm or it will keep you in a cycle. Either way stop worrying and it will gradually pass

When I orgasm solo I get bad cramps but if I orgasm during sex I don’t. It’s very weird.

i used to get this… it was way more painful during sex and I’d end up vomiting after orgasm. It was an ovarian cyst!
Eventually burst and then never had the issue again.

Wow! Sorry to hear that. I hope I don't have that!

Could it be adhesions in your pelvic area? Have you had any surgery ( c section or similar) or endometriosis?

No, happily not, but sadly that's another thing it could have been but isn't.

The good news is that I am back to normal now in terms of how my muscles feel. The bad news is that I haven't tried again to see if it happens again so I presume the problem remains!

I've had similar off and on. Things that helped.

Abstinence
Trying different technique/position
Foreplay, eg reading racy stories so you are 'prepared'.

Fibroid etc (no, I know not everyone has the same symptoms, but some people find they make muscles cramp-when they're small, they don't necessarily cause the usual symptoms like bleeding). Can also happen at the gym-real thing, due to muscles.

I get the same which is so strange! Never last long though

Dying to know how you found this out!

This. I have endometriosis also and same feeling

If it doesn’t settle down, OP, skip the GP and seek out a Women’s Health Physio - they’re very good at assessing and treating pelvic floor issues, which this sounds like. They’re also completely unshockable where things like this are concerned. I’m a GP myself and this would be my advice if a patient came to me with this complaint (it hasn’t happened yet, although the ‘orgasm headache’ is actually a fairly common phenomenon).

I feel there’s a fairly important chapter missing from the story of how you came to know the cause of your neighbours neck injury.” 👀🤣

Conversation over the hedge...

'How are you Betty?'

'Oh Sandra, I've been masturbating like a teenage boy and pulled a muscle in my neck'

'👀 ummm, your hydrangeas are looking great this summer.'

Thanks. I may look one up if this continues to reoccur. Clearly there's nothing wrong with masturbating, I know that, but if I had to mention it to a professional I'd still be more comfortable talking to someone I'm unlikely ever to see again.

I have read a post on here about the headaches before, and obviously a couple of people on this thread have mentioned them. It's very different to what I am experiencing now but God they were terrifying at the time. I thought I'd had a brain haemorrhage or something! I'm surprised they are fairly common given how little discussed they are.

@Queenjames if you're still getting orgasm headaches ever, I'm here for you; I went through years of them. Might be different for men & women but it doesn't sound like it.
Doctors call them benign sexual headaches, but they don't blimmin' well feel very benign. Ok, I know benign means it wasn't a brain tumour causing them, but in my experience it makes the medics curiously nonchalant about it all. Once they've scanned your bonce & found nothing awful, they kinda expect you to waltz off & get on with your life, thanks Doc. Except: you're still getting sickening headaches - like the worst ice-cream headache ever - at the exact moment you come. Good to know I'm not dying, it just feels like it.

Anyway, they do fade. I tried a lot of things, but in the end what helped most was: hydration, remembering to breathe (lots of people hold their breath during orgasm apparently) & learning to recognise the warning signs. I would get characteristic twinges as sex (or banjoing) progressed, and you simply have to stop. Which is a bummer, but a lesser bummer. I'd say they receded to about 1 or 2 in every 10 orgasms (I had to keep a diary!). No drugs helped; I was put on amitriptyline and THAT made me feel I was gonna die. Propranolol is the treatment of choice, I believe, but no neurologist would prescribe it for me. 🤷🏻‍♂️
There used to be a big thread on Naked Scientists about it but it looks like that's gone now, unfortunately.
All the best.

@Queenjames Oh, and I cut out caffeine completely, how did I forget that bit? It was making things much worse. Pretty much the first thing the neurologist said. I'm a decaf guy now, I miss proper coffee but a lot less than the headaches.

Right. This happened again this morning. SO ANNOYING.

I am going to have to get this checked out. I like the idea of a pelvic physio (well, more than I like the idea of the GP) but can I get referred to one without going to the GP in the first place?

Why has this started happening 😭?

Oh, maaan. Quel bummer. So sorry for you. 😕