*Note: if you are overly sensitive to discussions on intimacy issues, STOP reading the following article. *
For decades, I have had severe pain in my feet and headaches while my husband and I are intimate. Pain is preventing an organism from occurring and we must stop the process.
I have spoken to my primary physician about this occurrence, and he had never heard of such a thing and thought I should talk to my therapist. I spoke to my psychiatrist regarding the matter, and she told me it could be a trauma reaction to my childhood; my pedophilic father’s sexual behavior toward my sister and me. So I talked about it in my trauma therapy sessions, still had the pain, and recommended that I speak to my primary care physician. (Around and around it goes).
When I went to my Neurologist for Epilepsy and nerve pain in my neck and head after having an auto-accident with a whiplash injury. We discussed my face feeling tingly and my lips going numb, and severe headaches, before and after seizures and at other times not related to the partial seizures the results after an intensive hospital stay with a battery of tests is Migraines. . We also talked about pseudo seizures’ effects on the body.
I just happened to mention to her that I was having sharp pains in my feet when my husband and I are intimate. After some tests, she diagnosed me with “a nerve pain reaction.” They are in my feet, face, neck, and head, and are all related to each other as Nerve Pain responses to stimuli “it has a scientific medical name.” It was not tension headaches or psychiatric responses to trauma, after all. She put me on medications to try out. I am lucky because a couple of them working with each other worked out for me most of the time. I still get migraine headaches.
If you find that you are having nerve pain, speak to your doctors about it. Maybe you can get relief too. Take charge of your life and be an advocate for yourself. Although we are in our early 60s, I feel we are too young to give up on intimacy because of a health issue.
Thank you for reading my blog post. Kat Challis, July 03, 2022
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Mayo Clinic on Migraine
A migraine is a headache that can cause severe throbbing pain or a pulsing sensation, usually on one side of the head. It’s often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound. Migraine attacks can last for hours to days, and the pain can be so severe that it interferes with your daily activities. For some people, a warning symptom known as an aura occurs before or with the headache. An aura can include visual disturbances, such as flashes of light or blind spots, or other disturbances, such as tingling on one side of the face or in an arm or leg and difficulty speaking.
Migraines, which affect children and teenagers as well as adults, can progress through four stages: prodrome, aura, attack and post-drome. Not everyone who has migraines goes through all stages.
Prodrome
One or two days before a migraine, you might notice subtle changes that warn of an upcoming migraine, including:
Constipation
Mood changes, from depression to euphoria
Food cravings
Neck stiffness
Increased urination
Fluid retention
Frequent yawning
Attack
A migraine usually lasts from 4 to 72 hours if untreated. How often migraines occur varies from person to person. Migraines might occur rarely or strike several times a month.
During a migraine, you might have:
The pain is usually on one side of your head, but often on both sides
Pain that throbs or pulses
Sensitivity to light, sound, and sometimes smell and touch
Nausea and vomiting
Post-drome
After a migraine attack, you might feel drained, confused, and washed out for up to a day. Some people report feeling elated. The sudden head movement might bring on the pain again briefly.
When to see a doctor
Migraines are often undiagnosed and untreated. If you regularly have signs and symptoms of migraine, keep a record of your attacks and how you treated them. Then make an appointment with your doctor to discuss your headaches.
Even if you have a history of headaches, see your doctor if the pattern changes or your headaches suddenly feel different.
See your doctor immediately or go to the emergency room if you have any of the following signs and symptoms, which could indicate a more serious medical problem:
An abrupt, severe headache like a thunderclap
Headache with fever, stiff neck, confusion, seizures, double vision, numbness or weakness in any part of the body, which could be a sign of a stroke
Headache after a head injury
A chronic headache that is worse after coughing, exertion, straining or a sudden movement
New headache pain after age 50
The peripheral nervous system
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/peripheral-neuropathy/
The peripheral nervous system is the network of nerves that lie outside the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord).
It includes different types of nerves with their own specific functions, including:
sensory nerves – responsible for transmitting sensations, such as pain and touch
motor nerves – responsible for controlling muscles
autonomic nerves – responsible for regulating automatic functions of the body, such as blood pressure and bladder function
Symptoms of peripheral neuropathy
The main symptoms of peripheral neuropathy can include:
numbness and tingling in the feet or hands
burning, stabbing or shooting pain in affected areas
loss of balance and co-ordination
muscle weakness, especially in the feet
These symptoms are usually constant, but may come and go.
When to see a GP
It’s important to see your GP if you experience the early symptoms of peripheral neuropathy.
These include:
pain, tingling or loss of sensation in the feet
loss of balance or weakness
a cut or ulcer on your foot that’s not getting better
It’s also recommended that people at highest risk of peripheral neuropathy, such as people with diabetes, have regular check-ups.
A GP will ask about your symptoms and may arrange some tests to help identify the underlying cause.
You may be referred to hospital to see a neurologist, a specialist in health problems affecting the nervous system.
Generally, the sooner peripheral neuropathy is diagnosed, the better the chance of limiting the damage and preventing further complications.
Find out more about diagnosing peripheral neuropathy
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