Life

There's Such A Thing As Too Many Orgasms

by Emma Cueto

In a story that definitely falls into the "be careful what you wish for" genre of cautionary tales, it turns out having multiple orgasms at the drop of a hat could actually be a nightmare. Liz, who lives in Seattle, was experiencing spontaneous orgasms that could happen anywhere at any time, and often lasted for hours. Though the "first four or five minutes" could be fun, she says, the whole thing got so out of control that at one point she was even hospitalized for an orgasm lasting three full hours.

She tried going to specialists, but no one could figure out the problem. Meanwhile, Liz was having up to 12 spontaneous, prolonged orgasms a day, often at very inconvenient times. "I could sometimes hold it off for a short time by holding my breath and I would get out of public situations as quickly as possible," she told the Daily Mail. "I didn't run my life — my body ran my life for me." Which all sounds completely awful.

And yet doctors remained baffled. The specialist couldn't pinpoint a cause. When her boyfriend took her to the hospital for the three-hour-long orgasm, the doctors' asked if she had been drugged. When the orgasm finally ended on its own without medical help, they were just as perplexed.

"Most people who haven't been through something like this think a half hour long orgasm, an hour-long orgasm, would be an awesome experience. Until you actually experience something like this, that is," Liz says.

Eventually, doctors were able to work out the cause of the problem. Liz's bipolar disorder had been misdiagnosed as depression, and she'd been prescribed anti-depressants, which are by definition meant to change brain chemistry. In Liz's case, they just altered things in a way no one was expecting. Doctors told her to stop taking the anti-depressants and instead prescribed valproic acid, which both treats bipolar disorder and supresses the brain chemicals involved in orgasms. Liz went from having up to 12 spontaneous orgasms a day to one a day, then one a week, and after a few months they stopped altogether. Liz says she hasn't experienced one in over a year now — whether that means she hasn't experienced an orgasm of ANY kind or just a spontaneous one, it's unclear.

Liz says she will "probably have to take meds every day for the rest of my life," but she doesn't have to "live in fear" anymore, and says life is going well. "I have a very happy sex life," she adds.

Thank God. And now we can all go back to thinking of orgasms as good things, as they should be.