Mind-Blowing Sex? Amnesia Could Be Caused By Sex, New Report Suggests

A 54-year-old woman must have had the best sex ever.

In fact, doctors at Georgetown University Hospital believe it resulted in short-term global amnesia. LiveScience states that the case, reported in the September issue of The Journal of Emergency Medicine, actually isn't unheard of, though global amnesia is incredibly rare.

However, it seems scientists don't know if sex truly is at the root of the condition, but it may be an uncomfortable position that is really causing all the fuss.

From The Daily:

Her memory got hazy, she said, just after sex with her husband. Researchers know very little about transient global amnesia and they can only guess at its causes, one of which they suspect is sex. Their best guess is that the amnesia is triggered by Valsalva maneuver, which causes oxygen-poor blood to gather in the neck.

Thankfully, the condition only affects 3 to 5 people per 100,000 each year, according to LiveScience. The scary thing, however, is that scientists have no idea how people seem to remain awake and active while large chunks of memory go missing.

This type of amnesia seems to differ greatly from traumatically induced amnesia, and effects seem to disappear after a few hours. However, this short-term condition also seems much different from dissociative amnesia, a mental condition that erases large periods of time and is often caused by traumatic events, according to WebMD.

This short-term amnesia seems to be in a class of its own.

LiveScience explains more about the Valsalva manuever:

This is called the "Valsalva maneuver," familiar as the "bearing down" people might do when lifting weights, defecating or even having sex. The increased pressure increases the resistance to blood flowing down the jugular veins, and insufficient valves may allow deoxygenated blood to push back up the neck. Oxygen-poor blood then "piles up" in the veins draining the brain, especially in central brain regions that are key to memory formation. The result could be transient amnesia.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story stated that the amnesiac was a patient at George Washington University Hospital; she was treated at Georgetown University Hospital.

Comments

[Frank Gray]

03:16 PM on 10/16/2011

I would test this theory through repetition; you could be one of the 0.005% in the world. It would be a fun study alone or as a couple ;-) But remember make sure you have the right tools on hand: http://www.luvbugtoys.com/home.asp

[DZISU]

01:23 PM on 10/15/2011

I get that also as pleasantly drift off after a well consumated session, all OK in AM

[tottz]

09:11 AM on 10/15/2011

Sorry, I can't get [past the illustrationforf the article. The descrepency in proprtions makes it look like there is child abuse going on.

[abhorson]

06:16 AM on 10/15/2011

Gosh it happens to me almost every time... I always forget everything I promised before ...

[Dede Eagleburger]

12:47 AM on 10/15/2011

i've never had the amnesia thing, but i've definitely passed out from it, and sometimes i can't think straight for awhile...?

[abhorson]

06:15 AM on 10/15/2011

feels great doesn't it ... ? the "not thinking straight for awhile" ....

[Dede Eagleburger]

07:20 AM on 10/15/2011

omg, yes...!!!

[CunningStunts]

02:06 AM on 10/16/2011

Sometimes? ;-)

[cheo]

11:41 PM on 10/14/2011

It's as bizarre as it sounds. It's called Transient Global Amnesia and last year I lost a day. The Doctors at the ER said very little is known about it, so I did as much research as I could find when I got home.

I learned that the Valsalva maneuver can lead to TGA, but mostly in men. More often than sex lifting weights can do it. With women it's generally related to stress.

It mostlyhappens to adults over 50. One simply loses the ability to form new short term memories--temporarily. MRI monitoring has shown that there is actually a physical change in your brain in the hypocampal area, which usually returns to normal within 6 mos or less.

The event lasts for 8 to about 20 hours. People don't usually forget things known before it starts. My husband took me to the ER . He said I was pretty funny, asking the same question every few minutes--totally forgetting I just had. Apparently you are aware that something is wrong, but don't remember that you were. The memories from that day never come back.

It's not related to stroke, but doctors usually prescribe a low-dose aspirin a day anyway (to cover liability maybe). My ER Doc had to look it up online to explain the diagnosis.

It usually just happens once, but can happen more often

I'd like to tell you how it felt to have a day like that, but I can't remember it.

[cheo]

11:55 PM on 10/14/2011

P.S. I just watched video. The article is about TGA, a temporary condition in which you can't form new memories for a while.
But the video is totally unrelated, being about traumatic long-term memory loss. Not sure why they even included the video.

[jtrusl]

09:27 PM on 10/14/2011

I have this almost everytime I pick up a girl at a bar...I wake up and cant remember how I got there, who she is...or later on how to find her again.

[Kat Ingalls]

04:44 PM on 10/13/2011

I wonder how many domestic violence episodes have resulted from the affected party wondering who the hell this naked person they just boinked was.

[abhorson]

06:17 AM on 10/15/2011

why smack her ?? Just do it again, it will feel like the first time again... heck I'd LIKE to forget so many instances

[Kay Nicks]

03:06 PM on 10/13/2011

Oooooooh my gosh, how embarrassing....I totally forgot what I was going to type.......(*wink*)

[quovadiszero]

01:52 PM on 10/13/2011

Great sex is the temporary suspension of the ordinary reality.

[solid]

06:14 PM on 10/16/2011

That is true....I get in the zone with my wife.....all sense of time is forgotten...

[CPAwADD]

11:50 AM on 10/13/2011

I've never had amnesia, but on occasion I've become dyslexic and yelled out, "Oh dog, oh dog!"

[Morrisfactor]

02:35 AM on 10/13/2011

So, in other words, a lot of men are in jail for false rape charges?

The sex was so dynamite that the ladies "blacked out" and when they stumbled through the next day, thought they had been given date rape drugs, so then called the police?

Who would have thought that being a lousy lover might keep one out of jail?

[SeriouslyThink]

09:01 PM on 10/14/2011

Not even clever.....

[SuzDuJour]

11:34 PM on 10/12/2011

My ex had sexually induced amnesia. He had sex and forgot it was supposed to be with me...

[SLOGREPORT DOT COM]

09:15 PM on 10/12/2011

this is one of the best stories of the year. share it with us if you have had a similar experience

[berloi]

08:56 PM on 10/12/2011

A man went to the clinic to lower his sex drive, they said they couldn't do it, the man said you've got it all wrong, I want it lowered from my head to my waist. And the wife says ,where da hell did all these kids come from........