Headaches after increase in heart rate

[Bollo]

I'm a 22 year old male. My only known medical conditions are mild asthma and hayfever. Over a month ago I stopped smoking and embarked on a new health routine. This involved mainly regular exercise at my local gym with the assistance of a personal trainer. My diet changed to incorporate more protein along with some diet suppliments of protein shakes, vitamin C tablets and fish oil capsules.

Over the past 2 weeks I've been experiencing a recurring intense headache which is only really appearing in the left part of my forehead. It becomes apparent when I am engaging in exercise, from weight lifting, to situps, but also more worryingly even during simple things as become aroused and ejaculating.

It is a very intense pain which seems to throb and with my pulse it is extremely discomforting and only tends to subside slightly, aspirin and a good nights sleep also seem to be unable to fully alleviate it. I've been trying my best to drink as much water as possible even if it means I frequent the toilet more often. Recently I've had a few nose bloods, and sometimes wake up with a congested nose because of it.

I am not sure if it is just my body adjusting to my new lifestyle, or if I'm being a hyperchondriac or perhaps if it could be symptoms of something more serious.

Any feedback would be appreciated

Thank you

[Ball123]

If 30 different people have these exact same symptoms they can still have 30 different causes of them.

Do you have the possibility to see a doctor?

Your primary physician can test your blood pressure, check your neurological status and ask about possible red flag symptoms such as blind spots in your vision field, puking etc. Plus some basic blood tests.

If symptoms persist you may need a MRI to definitely rule the nasty things out.

Otherwise, if the tests are ok and symptoms go away after some days it is most certainly a primary type headache.

[JRudolphAuthor]

I quite like this answer.  I come from a heart background so my thought was his heart is going faster than it can properly perfuse a muscle set causing the migraine go see a doctor. A neuro background person would focus on the idea that a nerve is getting pinched. A stomach background person would probably pick on the diet.

I say start with a visit to the primary care doc, list symptoms and go from there. If extremely concerned stop doing the new changes until medically cleared to do so.

[Jar120170]

I have exactly the same issue and I have an MRI coming up and I found if I press the mid right side of my neck I get an instant headache, so I am thinking nerve issue.

[Imvee1117]

Ok so heres my story. 29yo woman. I had a surgery done last week. Chose to go the epidural route rather than intubation. I was just scared of not waking up. So first attempt I flinched a bit. It hurt. Like he was hitting my bone or something. I was in tears. So the more experienced doc retried at a lower spot which worked. 2hrs after procedure I started to feel a little temple pressure. 3-5hrs after that I felt a headache coming on. They gave me Percocet which took away pain elsewhere but my headache. Took Motrin 600mg that night, no relief. The headache was bad that I couldnt sit up long and had to hold my head. Throbbing at front and back of my head. When I woke up it was so intense I vomited. I couldnt take movement or light. I noticed when I simply sat up from bed, my heart rate increased and made my head pound even harder. The faster the beat the faster the pounding of the headache. I was evaluated and told it was possibly a dural puncture headache. Might have to go do a blood patch. Ive been on Neurontin and caffeine for 5 days now. Going to try two more in case time heals this dural puncture. But def I hear or feel the pounding in my head as my heart rate increases for slightest movements. Like rolling over in bed lol. Help us !

[Maddie_4404]

Ive had something pretty similar happen, im actaully in middle school too. Pretty much anytime my heartbeat picks up a migraine starts almost instantly. I still have no idea why, it doesnt usually happen when I am running or anything but when I get scared or something like that. It usually ends up me wanting to hide in a dark corner. I feel this is really odd and im kinda scared. What should I do?

[Sasquatch13]

I just turned 60 and am healthy, a good weight and take no medications.  This exact thing just started with me and again seems to be related to heart rate. I have no history of headaches. The only medical change is I had a root canal three wees ago that put me on strong Motrin for about a week or two.  Could that be a connection with anyone?

[Brookiegee]

I notice that this thread is all Men, however I'm a 28 year old woman, good physical health, experiencing the same issues. it started happening after intercourse, but only if i climaxed. this happened over and over again and my partner and i were really worried because 1. this doesn't sound normal and 2. way to ruin sex!  It was absolutely head splitting, to the point of tears. Then it stopped for a few weeks. I then went on a pretty vigorous trail run, harder than i usually ever go, and instantly, head ache and super sore left side of my neck, up to the bottom of my skull. the head ache continues to the left side of my head, the whole left side, AND my left ear gets splitting ear aches randomly. I've been suffering from this for about 2 months now and I'm starting to worry its something more serious then just an over exertion headache. It seems like a lot of people have posted but no one has found a solid answer. Can someone please let me know if this has gone away for you?

[J1980h]

I had exact same thing last year had a good mot including head MRI didnt find anything wrong and Saturday just got bang headache again same things starting it again

[Ball123]

Hi Bollo!

First of all you should stop all pills and powders as they might contain something that poisons you.

If you still feel this way after that, you need to go to a doctor. This type of headache can be a sign of elevated pressure inside your skull. Mostly it is not but instead caused by one of the so called primary headaches: migraine, benign exertion headaches etc. This can be treated with migraine preventatives, or indomethacin or naproxen if being exertional headaches.

But still this needs a check up. You need a brain MRI, or at least that someone checks your eye bottoms for signs of high pressure (papill edema) plus testing your neurological status.

If something would indeed cause your so called intracranial pressure to be elevated, you definitely would want it checked sooner than later as this can have the most serious effects if not treated in time (blindness, possible death etc)

[esimon30]

HI fisty,

I assmue that the chirporactor fixed this for you since you have not posted lately is that correct? I am having the same issued almost word for word. I am currently in great physical shape but I just started crossfit 2 weeks ago which seems to be a little bit more intense than just going to a gym. On Monday I started to get these migranes almost the instant my heart rate starts to rise and it is very concerning. Today it was horrible I could not even complete the workout. I have a chiropractor appt today but I am just curious as to how yours went.

Thanks

[fisty]

I have experienced this pain as well. I am 28, started working out as well. Experience the same pain during sexual climax. I have noticed that the pain is coming from an area around the base of my skull where the spinal cord attaches to it. I have been able to dull or relieve the pain within about 10 minutes of neck stretching and holding my head tilted for a few minutes (in the most relaxed bending you can do on your neck by grabbing the top of your head and pulling left or right).  

This leads me to believe that we may be suffering from a chiropractic issue in the alignment of our shoulder-level and on up to the base of the skull.  I will be meeting my chiropractor within a few days.  If it resolves my issue, I won't post anything else. Otherwise, I'll post if the attempt was unsuccessful at resolving the migraines.

[wdsay]

The following link may also be of use;

http://www.livestrong.com/article/144895-causes-of-exertion-headaches/

Regards
Scott

[wdsay]

Hello All,

I had a CT scan which showed no problems, no bleeds etc. Consultant put it down to exertional headache which should clear.

After a couple weeks, I no longer get any issues. Was concerned but happy all has been checked.

Regards
Scott

[wdsay]

Hello All,

I'm in the same boat here. I'm 28, male, always considered myself to have reasonable health, 6"4' 108kg. Wanted to improve my fitness so embarked on a new exercise plan, I joined the gym and improved diet, 2 weeks in, 40 minutes into a intense CV workout I got a sudden pulsating pain in my head which prompted me to hit the deck as I've never experienced anything like it. I have experienced general headaches and a migraine in the past but this was completely different! It's related to increased heartrate. I even get the pain with lovemaking sessions with the Mrs.

I have private cover with Benenden and have made an appointment to see a consultant at Harley St so will update you on any findings.

[medstudent2011]

I just posted something very simil. I'm a 42yrs 5'11 160lbs in great shape.  But just last night, during a bout of vigorous sex, I exprienced an intense pain on the left side of my head that traveled up to the top of my head. ER did MRI and found nothing.  Later that night after I came home, I increased my HR to see if it would happen again, and it did. The pain is intense but subsides very quickly. I have no other syptoms. It's very alarming. My BP is normal although HR/Pulse was slightly elevated but went down pretty quickly while just resting. I'm in Medschool studing to be a PA-C but none of my Dr. instuctors or fellow students have any clue as to what might be causing this.  The most popular answer i'm getting is that I may have a blockage of my internal corotid artery on the left side.  I have no medical insurance due to getting laid off, and the ensurance that I have through school only covers catastrophic cases like, stuff you get hospitalized for. ie Bad car accident, cancer, so forth, so I don't have the luxury of going to a specialist and paying through the nose for him to do a battery of test on me.  If I do find out something soon I will let you know diana289

[Steveschulte34]

Did you ever solve this problem. I just started experiencing this two days ago . And it has me freaking out

[Steveschulte34]

Did you ever solve this problem. I just started experiencing this two days ago . And it has me freaking out

[diana289]

I too have been getting extreme throbbing headache during my training session.  Last week was the first time and again today it happened.  I am drinking a gallon of water a day and have increased my protein intake.  It seems to happen when I am lifting weights...I had a hard time working thru the pain today.  Not sure what is going on but I just had a physical and all tests are well within the healthy range.  

[K1219]

you should talk to your doctor. it's probably nothing but an exertional headache but there are also more dangerous headaches that are associated with headaches that come on from sexual exertion... like brain bleeds. Especially if this just recently started happening.

[danmass]

I have a similar condition as Bollo. I used to get migraines very frequent when i was younger. Over the past few years this has got a lot better. I have not change my diet or routine in anyway. However, a couple of weeks ago, i started to get bad headaches after sexual activity. This has never happened before! It seems like it only occurs when my heart rate is elevated. A good nights sleeps does not make me feel any better in the morning. I still feel really tiered and "not with it" in the morning. Does anyone know, what could be causing this?

Thanks

Dan

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

There seem to be a combination of different factors responsible for your headach, and the lack of relief.

Firstly, your headache could be due to nicotine withdrawal. I would like to know how heavy was your smoking, and since when ? You could take a course of nicotine chewing gums for some time, and slowly stop.

Secondly, is there any particular reason why you have made the lifestyle change ?  Exercising does increase your blood circulation. If you are not to change the exercise schedule, have you tried Naproxen ?

Regards

DrAbhijeetMD

[noops01]

Hi,
It is not uncommon to have exertional headaches after or during exercise or heavy physical activity. Please drink plenty of water and eletrolytes to prevent dehydration. You can take OTC pain killers for headache. I would say restrict your exercise to light exercises nothing heavy for some time.Hope it helps!