(Foreword: This is the continuation to our response to Myrna of Digos regarding her fears on refusing to make love with her husband because of her migraine.)
DEAR Myrna of Digos,
I understand the impact of migraine on you. I can just imagine those nausea, those vomiting and sensitivity to smell, light, sounds, and even to movement and touch. And now, if you experience those things above and your husband asks to make love with you, how would you feel? I know that migraines may have a direct impact in the bedroom. As a matter of fact, there was one study which showed that women who had migraine claimed that they felt a higher level of pain and distress during sex. But, there was another study which showed that sex actually relieved the symptoms of migraine. Some, however, reported that sex with orgasm actually triggered their migraine. But that is actually rare. You must be one of those unlucky few who got hit with that predicament. hehe.
Another way of preventing migraine is really holding off that headache. This means you need some medicines to prevent it. I remember I have a patient who complained of headache after sex and she was so scared that she called me up so early about this situation. Well, that’s really nothing to worry, I told her, to take Naproxen sodium 30 minutes before sex and she became fine and seemed to forget me after that. Oh well…
Just remember that people with chronic headaches have higher levels of depression and anxiety than those who don’t get them. If you think you have mood disorder, be sure to get it treated because that could decrease your enthusiasm in the bedroom.
It’s a fact that 75 percent of people who have migraine are women. Well, welcome to the club, my dear Myrna. We have these changes in our hormone levels and that actually trigger these headaches before our menstruation. So, because we know this could be cyclical as it flows and goes along with our period, then, you can schedule your lovemaking after your menstruation or during those times that you believe your migraine won’t hit you.
Oh, we are again running out of space, so, let me then continue this in my next issue. Until then!
Dr. Fritz
(Dr. Fritz Legarde Espedilla is an aesthetic dermatologist and surgeon and a clinical sexologist. She is also trained in hypnotherapy and Medical Acupuncture. She has been in the broadcast media for more than a decade and has written a book based on her 15-year stint with her radio program, “Healthy is Sexy Secrets ni Dr. Fritz.” She is also a faculty in a College of Pharmacy. For your questions, you may send them to Dear Dr. Fritz, c/o Sunstar-Davao Publishing Inc., Ebro-Pelayo Building, Jacinto St., Davao City, (former Department of Foreign Affairs office), across Ateneo de Davao University and beside Holy Child School of Davao, or you e-mail them to dokfritz@yahoo.com. If you don’t wish your letter to be published, we regret that we cannot answer them. Thank you for your understanding.)