sudden headache when having bowel movement

I too have been suffering this condition for years.  It does seem that as I age the intensity increases and the head pain/ ill feeling linger longer.  I have seen it mentioned on this post, as well as others, that the culprit may be dehydration and / or increased salt intake.  For me, this was like a light bulb going on.  When I think about what I ate for dinner last night I know that there was definitely a lot of salt in that meal.  As I sit here, still with a headache, I have decided to keep a journal of what I eat on a daily basis to see if I can make a connection to dehydration, salt intake or food allergies.  Hoping it is as simple as making healthier choices about what I eat.  Will keep you posted.  Would love to know if any of you have any other good theories. 

Hi I don't know if anyone will see this because of the dates of the responses but I felt I should share my story in the hope it might help. About 10 years ago I started getting intense headache which would always be followed by an upset stomach with pains and diarrhoea, I would also feel dizzy, tired and have irregular heart beats. After many many visits to the doctors and test after test nothing could be found. Until a friend of a friend who sufferers from ibs told me about some of the foods that set him off, I was surprised to hear such a long list. So I started to keep a diary of the food I was eating, I found pastry or yoghurt would give me the worst symptoms so I started to avoid them and to my amazement the episodes stopped, I still get the odd one now and then as its hard to keep track of everything that's in the food we eat but its definitely worth trying. Good luck to you all.

Hi I'm a newbie on here. I'm so pleased I came across this thread as I thought I was the only person with this problem and thought I was going to die.

I have long term health problems. I have degenerative discs in lower spine and have also had a fractured vertebrae at L4/5 in spine. I have been in acute phase for a few weeks now. I also have Ibs. and migraine.

I got the most intense headache ever when I went for a BM. The pain and pressure increased to an almost unbearable pain from the back of my head to the side. It was not a migraine. I thought they where bad but this is something else. This happened for a few days. So every BM was agony to my head. Then I got the runs on and off for a few days. The head pain just sort of settled to a chronic head ache lasting over a week.

The only other time I have experienced head pain like it was during sex. I have read that the vagus nerve can cause this but can't find out much about it. Don't know if my spinal problems could be causing this.

 

Hi there, my husband is also now going through this as well. 3episodes of thunderclap headaches while having a bowel movement with no pushing. With this last headache he vomitted and had blurred vision, so to the ER we went. In 24 hours, he's had 2 CTs, and MRI and a cerebral angiograph. His first CT showed some bleeding......a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Were now waiting for the neurologist, but that seems hopeless with all the other posts on here. If we get anywhere we'll be sure to share the info.

I had two episodes last week of the intense pain in the back of the head during non-straining bowel movements .... after a couple of hours the pain gradually lessened while spreading a bit on the back of my head .... after a couple of hours, it moved to the forehead as a migraine - not nearly as painful as the initial jolt.  I went to the doctor the day after the second occurrance.  He ordered a head mri & neck xray, expecting the mri to be normal and the neck xray abnormal - haven't heard back yet about the neck, but the MRI was normal.  The dr. prescribed the anti-inflammatory drug Indomethacin and said to be 'very relaxed' on the toilet, leaning forward a bit while keeping the chin pressed on the chest - keeping the neck straight .... and shoulders very relaxed.  So far, so good - it hasn't happened again and never again is fine with me!   The pain was extreme but I had only head pain - no problems with vision or nausea.

The doctor also thought the pain sequence very similar to a 'sex headache' ... and he said Indomethacin has had good success helping folks - hoping for the same here.  Hoping this info might help someone else with a similar experience.

Thank you, but I'm sorry... we dont all have llergies to food! And i, for one, Haven't eated chicken since it begaan 3 weeks ago for me!!

I do this too and it has been going on this week everytime I need to have a BM...I get nauseated and so far I have not thrown up but, I have in the past...got so I take a trash can in bathroom area in case I need to vomit at the same time!!! I wonder what the heck is going on. We all have the same symptoms. Really scary. My mother bled in the brain twice and had the bleed snipped and cauterized. She is a survivor. So I wonder if maybe this is sort of how the anuerisms in the brain begins. I am no expert by any means but, an anuerism happens in 1 of every 5 women. Plus the fact that anuerisms are more common in women. I been doing this the last 13 to 15 years too! Maybe the chemtrails are affecting some of the population differently? Hey just throwing a thought out there. Never know what the government might be up too and that is scary too!!

This has happened to me 2 or 3 times now. The first time my husband and I were on vacation in Paris and I had some delicious food at a Jewish bakery - some things I've never eaten. An hour later my intestines were grumbling and rolling and I knew I was going to have a problem. So, at the top of Montmartre I found a paid, tiny, hot bathroom in a basement. When the loose stool came out, pain shot up the back of my head. Intense, worst pain I've ever had with pressure and throbbing with every heart beat. I thought I was having a stroke. I've never whimpered on the toilet before....

I thought this was a not time thing with a lot of outstanding unusual circumstances --- until it happened again 2 weeks ago, 11 months after the first incident. Same thing, severely upset bowels, very loose stool, worst headache I've ever had, thought my head would explode.

Again today, but not as bad - I think because I knew it was happening and calmed myself and relaxed my head neck and shoulders.

My history/medical c**p. I'm 37, female, no biological kids. I'm definitely allergic to eggs -severe diarrhea. I have had migraines since age 8. Triggers are hormones, food (beer,red wine,lunch meat and others), and even smells. I also have occipital neuralgia (nerve in back of head). And I have disc problems - a herniated c6/c7 and a ruptured L5/si. I've always had digestive issues but pit them off as being part of my family on my moms side - they all have issues.

This feels like it could be a more severe slightly different migraine. I just want to know what's wrong and make it stop. I too am worried a out the pressure on the blood vessels - feels scary! As you can see I've had a LOT of pain to deal with but this might be the most intense of them all!!!

Keep the thread going - updates from previous posters please and thank you!!

Well, people, I THINK I KNOW THE ANSWERS, and it's more than one.

First, I saw an article on Discovery Health a few years ago about increased intracranial pressure. A girl came to the ER because everytime she bent to tie her shoes she'd get a headache. The doctor asked about it to another veteran doctor and he asked back if the girl was overweight. The answer was yes, so he explained that there is a relation to idiophatic increased intracranial pressure for overweight YOUNG people, and more so if it's a woman. The ER doctor proceded to do a lumbar puncture, and that was it. MY thinking is that for these people, the pressure sharply increases because of the bowel movement. Also, some people have what is called a Chiari Malformation. It's one of the causes for ICP. I think I have it, because bending or looking up causes a slight headache.

ANOTHER thing is: I'm a migraine sufferer, so I know migraines. In Asia, the migraine is NOT separated from the vomiting or loose stools, in fact, it's considered a side effect of having digestive problems. So, you're having a migraine attack, that likely started because of the diarrhrea, and diarrhea because you ate something that you're allergic to. For these people, staying away of anything that can give loose stools is the key (however, it's not going to work 100% always, you'll likely have one or two episodes of "dry" migraine attacks).

THINGS TO DO:

1) Check if you have increased intracranial pressure (will have to find an open minded doctor) and get a lumbar puncture.

2) If something gives you loose stools, stop it, of course (Even if it's not food. Like, I have it when I take an Iron Supplement)

3) Notice if you are NOT hungry when you're suppose to be, or a bit cold (cold feet). Usually, my migraines start like that, only to explode when I'm in the loo. Then, don't eat that day, specially don't eat meat! (terrible to digest, likely you'll throw up )

4)When you're already in the toilet, I noticed that bending my neck to one side (like ear to shoulder) helped.

5) This tip probably nobody will do: cupping. Once I stopped a full blown migraine (the type that starts at the back, hardening the muscles, and goes up to the top of the head) by cupping the central part of the shoulders. Cupping is not comfortable, but ANYTHING is better than a full blown migraine.

6) Try to drink something warm with your medicine, and (asian tip), do not drink or eat anything cold, and no meat or anything heavy for a few days afterwards. I sometimes drink ginger tea, I feel it helps.

Well, those are my tips. I'm a 20 yrs migraine sufferer, and started havingmigraines after going to the movies, and now on the toilet too. I'm managing it. Take heart, people, because my Mom is also a migraine sufferer, and it seems that it gets better in old age!

Hope it helped!

"packs" of oatmeal every day is not real oatmeal. Try the kind you have to cook with brown sugar or honey. Sometimes I put in a handful of sliced almonds or some dries cherries. But I digress. My headaches started a week ago. At first with
coughing followed by hugging the toilet. Last episode, all I had to do is wake up. Fine for a few seconds and boom. Scary

Thanks for the tips, I'll try them

I have this but m sure coz I don't move and I drink very little water

Look up subarachnoid hemorage....its a bleeding of the tissue of the brain wall essentially...a precursor to a stroke...I've suffered for years just looked up and being epileptic I'm terrified at how cavileir I have been about going to the er. We must have a death wish.

Look up vasovagal reaction

I've had the same problems I've gotten better but still have it slightly several or neither helped me I've gotten blood work done MRI of the brain all came back normal but got some pills to help sleep more symptoms are cause constipation so I don't have loose stools as much that's one got full body massage that's another and lots of water cut back on soda one of theses or all helped me a lot but next thing I'm gonna do is have my stomach check cause I also notice I have a lot of gas when it hurts.