Certain types of headaches, breathing issues, and mood swings might just be the aftermath of an amazing sexual encounter.
Even if you take smart steps to protect yourself from the biggest and most worrisome sex aftereffects — like getting a sexually transmitted infection or ending up pregnant — others can occur that are far less serious but still annoying. Whether it’s because you and your hot lover couldn’t get enough of each other or you had an insanely intense, shouting-from-the-rooftops orgasm, you may not feel the way you expected to after all the red-hot excitement is over.
Related:7 Reasons Sex Is Good for You
These post-coital hangovers can range from truly rare conditions, such as transient global amnesia after sex (temporary memory loss and confusion, per previous research), which, the Mayo Clinic says, warrants medical attention to rule out more serious conditions; to common ones, such as after-sex leg cramps, according to Planned Parenthood, which can be relieved with some simple stretches or will dissipate on their own.
Here are four other surprising but fairly common after-sex hangovers, with advice on how to handle them:
1. A Sex-Related Headache
You’ve undoubtedly heard the famous excuse, “Not tonight, dear. I have a headache.” But did you know that headaches could be triggered during
How You Might Experience Sex-Related Head Pain
For most people sex-related headaches, as described by the National Migraine Foundation, are a temporary form of discomfort that may not even happen again. For others, “headaches often recur during sexual encounters for a brief period of time and never return again, whereas others experience them at infrequent intervals throughout their lifetime,” says Brian Grosberg, MD, director of the Hartford Healthcare Headache Center and a professor of neurology at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine in Farmington.
Related:9 Sicknesses Triggered by Sex
What to Do When Sex-Related Headaches Happen
If you start to get a headache during sex, “stopping the sexual activity or assuming a more passive role can lessen [its] severity,” Dr. Grosberg says. Or, you can treat it with an anti-inflammatory drug or a migraine-specific treatment if you’re prone to migraines. If these headaches are a regular occurrence, get them checked out by your doctor.
2. Postcoital Asthma Flare-Ups
If your asthma isn’t well controlled, sexual intercourse could trigger an asthma flare-up, just like exercise can — because “sex is like brisk walking,” explains Sandra Gawchik, DO, codirector of Asthma and Allergy Associates in Chester, Pennsylvania. “During intercourse, symptoms such as chest tightness, trouble breathing, coughing, or wheezing can come out of the blue.” In fact, a small study published in February 2019 in BMJ Open Respiratory Research
How to Avoid Sex-Related Asthma Episodes
To prevent an asthma flare-up from happening during sex, make sure your asthma is controlled with medication that works for you, and take steps to reduce anxiety about having sex, through biofeedback or mindfulness training, Dr. Gawchik says. “If you don’t treat the anxiety, you’re already set up to have a problem.” Using an adrenergic bronchodilator inhaler (such as Albuterol) before having sex may be helpful, and altering your position may make a difference. “Being on the bottom can be problematic because you’ll have pressure on your chest; try being on top or on your side,” Gawchik suggests. If you don’t know that you have asthma and you have trouble breathing during or after sex, go to the ER.
3. After-Sex Sorrow and Sadness or Mood Swings
Have you ever felt sad, weepy, or anxious after having sex? If so, you’re no stranger to postcoital dysphoria (aka the post-sex blues, per the International Society for Sexual Medicine). It’s a surprisingly common phenomenon: In research published in December 2015 the journal Sexual Medicine
How to Handle Sex-Related Mood Swings
Fortunately, it’s usually relatively short-lived and you can take steps to ease this emotional discomfort while it lasts by engaging in soothing deep breathing techniques, distracting yourself with a pleasant activity such as listening to music, or talking to your partner about your feelings (assuming you have a close relationship and good communication). The keys to handling the latter the right way are to own your feelings by using statements that begin with “I” (such as “I felt sad when you didn’t hold me after we finished having sex”) and to ask for what you need (by saying, “I don’t need you to cheer me up; I just want you to listen or give me a hug”), Dr. Grill advises. If feelings of post-sex dysphoria persist or recur often, it’s a good idea to talk to a counselor or therapist about why it might be happening — and what you can do to get manage them.
4. Honeymoon Cystitis (Urinary Tract Infections)
If you’ve experienced burning or pain when you pee, an increase in urinary urgency and frequency, or pink-tinged urine after a night of intense sex, you’re familiar with honeymoon cystitis (even if you weren’t on your honeymoon). The symptoms stem from repeated episodes of intercourse, which can cause irritation of the vagina, including microscopic tears in the skin around the vagina and urethra, or inflammation of the lining of the bladder, explains Jill Rabin, MD, vice chair of education and development in obstetrics and gynecology with Northshore University Hospital and LIH Medical Center in New Hyde Park, New York, and author of Mind Over Bladder
No woman is immune to this risk: Research published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine