Orgasm headache - A&E?!

[Lilyloolock]

Sorry for the TMI but I'll get it over with quickly.

90 mins or so ago my Saturday morning lie in ended in the way it often does, with a masturbation induced orgasm.

TMI over 😀

immediately afterwards,.for the first time in my life, a thunderclap headache.

I have read about these before (including on here). I now feel fine, and have since got up, had some toast, had a shower etc. exactly as normal. But I have googled it and it said that if it's the first time I should go to A&E immediately! This seems to go against the advice on here, and I feel absolutely fine now as if nothing happened.

I really don't want to spend the day in a&e but I also really don't want to die! AIBU to ignore Dr Google (who also told me I had skin cancer when I was actually just wearing the wrong clothes in hot weather) or do I really need to have the world's most embarrassing trip to a&e?

Oh and I work in general practice and in 111. Don’t bother with those and just go straight to A and E not a utc/miu.

There’s a lot of appalling advice in this thread. You need to go to A and E.

Hope you are ok now. Did you go?

I get this (or similar) frequently and always have done. It's an intense pain at the base of my skull, sort of in the bones rather than in my head if that makes sense. Always goes within a few minutes. I think mine is linked to head position, as I sometimes get it at other times too.

Same ive never had a thunderclap headache as far as im aware and I had a subdural hematoma. I however do have icepick headaches multiple times a day

So what is a thunderclap headache?

the risk with a sudden headache in this scenario is the very small chance of a 'sentinel' bleed, ie. a small warning bleed before a subarachnoid haemorrhage. A severe but short-lived headache shortly after orgasm ticks the box for that being a possibility. There are other, less worrying causes of post-orgasm headaches, but a sentinel bleed is the one you don't want to miss. It is worth at least speaking to a real life HCP today to get their advice (which may well be that a trip to ED is sensible if it's the first time it's ever happened). Giving an accurate history of what happened may not be the most comfortable experience, but actually it is quite important in this scenario. Most people with a headache after orgasm don't have major pathology, but a significant chunk of people who have a 'proper' subarachnoid bleed have sentinel headaches before the event - it would be daft to miss the opportunity to intervene early.

Perhaps it was a mind blowing one.

Thanks for posting this - I get cough headaches- thankfully they seem more icepick than thunderclap!

How do you know it's not a medical emergency.
How does anyone without expert consultation and use of electronic monitoring and lab services.
Do you really understand what a medical emergency is or might be.
These kind of dismissive comments can be dangerous in deterring people from seeking relevant medical input.

Going onto Mumsnet to ask if they are being unreasonable. I rest my case. And of course I know what a medical emergency is, how ignorant to presume I can't based on an opinion written online.

I went through a period of about 4 months where I had a sudden excruciating headache almost every time I orgasmed. It stopped just as suddenly and a few months later I was telling the story on a girls weekend as a funny anecdote blaming Brigerton-induced wanking.
One of my friends is a GP and said if I'd come to her as a patient she would have had me straight in for a brain scan and made me promise to see my GP if it started again.
Probably best not to risk it really. Chance is small but the possibility catastrophic consequences are real.

And some people are lying.

I’m a neurologist and think she get emergency treatment. Except I’m not.

Or they’re just confidently wrong. It’s definitely a sign you’re going to have a stroke in the next month, make sure you don’t orgasm again in that period of time.

And as a medical professional, I’m sure you’d confidently say Google is not a reliable diagnostic tool.

The OP has no way of discerning the credibility of any post. At least with 111 you know they are following an approved, reviewed and authorised script and have been at least trained to do that job.

I get ice pick headache a lot, I’m also prone to migraines - it might be that?

It’s like a short, sharp shooting pain in my head.

111 for this.

Given the description of thunderclap headaches online (sudden, worst of your life, etc.) it’s very difficult to know whether you’ve had one or not.

Something like this happened to me. In my case I contacted 111 who made a GP appointment for me the next day - but I had left it over a week (still had a headache) by that point. I would not leave it next time.

You know that this could indicate a bleed on the brain or a haemorrhage or a stroke?

The OP should have gone straight to A&E.

As for the poster saying her local A&E waiting time is 23 hours if whatever, not for someone with this symptom it’s not 🙄

I don’t think anyone should be embarrassed and I think it’s important to be as factually accurate as possible.

Working out is strenuous exercise - depending on OP was doing/using then female masturbation can be relatively low impact.

Even if you’re embarrassed saying it, which we all would be, it’s not something we should be embarrassed to actually say.

These are the people who help men who ‘fall on objects’ (but happen to have their trousers down, lubed up and sometimes with a condom on.
They’ve heard and seen it all before.

Yeah, I had a partner who got this during/after an orgasm. He went to his GP who took it very seriously. I think he had a lumbar puncture too.
Everything was fine, though.

Of course. But it’s crowd wisdom. It’s not gospel truth but it gives a good big picture of what other people think, and occasionally some specialist knowledge that resonates, from someone who’s been in your position.

Individuals have to weigh up what they hear against what they know and what they feel and what options are open to them. This is just one extra source of data.

I get this. I’ve got csvd.

Yeah extractions of some strange things at times too 🙈

I had one of these, the GP sent me straight to A & E to check it wasn't a Subdural Haematoma, get it checked to be on the safe side x

ok So 111 did suggest going to A&E as a precaution. So I am there now. Still feel absolutely fine, and the more I read the more relaxed I feel. But as others have said, better safe than sorry.
Well it's never made me go blind but this is clearly what I get for enjoying myself!

Subarachnoid hemorrhage rather.

Roll your eyes as you like, but it's not my data for a start, they even give the number of ambulances queuing waiting to be seen, they don't report how many people are just dumped on a bed in the corridor because there's literally not enough staff

I know about triage and emergency, thanks.

Your comments about "should have gone straight to A&E" are completely made up but well done you.