How post-orgasm pain left British woman paralysed since 2012

Lucinda Allen, a 38-year-old British woman, has been paralysed since 2012 after having an orgasm during sexual intercourse with her husband.

Allen, who was pregnant at the time, said that she felt a sharp pain above her right eye after climaxing twice.

The pain would result in a brain haemorrhage which left her paralysed down her left side and consigned to a wheelchair.

“It was the August Bank Holiday weekend 2012 and I had taken a couple of days leave either side of the weekend due to the exhaustion of being 26 weeks pregnant. My pregnancy had been overshadowed by gestational diabetes, which I was managing through diet and exercise. I checked my blood pressure most days,” Allen told Daily Mail.

“On this particular Saturday morning, I checked my blood pressure – which was low – so decided to get back into bed with my husband.’

“I’ve experienced what’s known as post-orgasm ‘thunderclap’ head-pain all through my adult life. I really wasn’t worried. The pain I usually have after orgasm is a bit like brain-freeze – quite painful but never lasts long.

However, the pain she felt that day did not go away as it always did in the past.

“I was writhing on the bed in agony and crying when Tony phoned my mum. That’s when I started to panic. That’s when I thought I might be having a brain haemorrhage. After that, it was a blur,” she said.

Scans conducted by doctors at the Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital in Birmingham showed that she had suffered a brain haemorrhage.

The doctors then decided to put her into an induced coma to let her brain rest. She was in that state for six days during when she had a brain surgery.

“Waking after a coma is nothing like it is in the movies. It’s a slow and confusing process,” she said. “I was to believe that it was still August right until the winter. I was extremely distressed – suicidal at times – and I refused to acknowledge that I’d survived a stroke.”

Allen was said to have subsequently learnt that she suffered a series of strokes – five in number.

Her daughter was born in November 2012 via a C-section.

Despite being in a wheelchair ever since, Allen feels lucky to be alive and has made it her objective to create awareness about the issue.

“Nobody talks about post-orgasm head-pain and that’s understandable. But, because of what’s happened to me, I am now on a mission to raise awareness of how this pain can be a warning sign of impending brain haemorrhage,” she said.

“All I want now is to make other people aware of this terrifying condition. I think if people are aware, they’ll know to deal with it quickly when it strikes.”