Now There is Help for Those Who Suffer Headaches After Sex

Geezer is surprised to learn that some women (and men) experience intense headaches during and after sex, not before it starts. But yes, the Scientific American is a reliable source. The magazine reports that about 1 percent of people have headaches associated with sexual activity at some point in their lives, and that there are two types of sex-associated headaches: pre-orgasmic, dull headaches that increase with sexual excitement, and orgasmic headaches, which are sudden, severe headaches that occur upon orgasm and can last for hours.
The good news, according to the report, is that there is now help for sufferers of both kinds of headaches.  The standard preventive treatment for orgasmic headaches has been indomethacin taken 30 to 60 minutes before sex, but many patients can't tolerate the drug's intestinal side effects, Another drug, propranolol, can be helpful as preventive treatment. One or the other drug is effective in 80 percent of patients. For the rest of us, Sciam advises, triptans can be effective preventive treatment if taken about a half-hour before sex. Triptans can also be used to shorten orgasmic headaches after they have begun. Sciam warns that triptans should only be used if standard treatments aren't effective or tolerable.