Updated
Updated · Gizmodo · Aug 18
45-Year-Old Resumes Testosterone After Psychosis, 2-Month Follow-Up Shows No Relapse
Updated
Updated · Gizmodo · Aug 18

45-Year-Old Resumes Testosterone After Psychosis, 2-Month Follow-Up Shows No Relapse

3 articles · Updated · Gizmodo · Aug 18

Summary

  • Two months after discharge, the 45-year-old showed no relapse of psychosis, allowing doctors to taper his psychiatric drugs and restart testosterone under close monitoring.
  • A year into monthly testosterone therapy, he developed hallucinations, paranoia and manic behavior; symptoms improved within days after doctors stopped the hormone and started antipsychotics.
  • Doctors later found he had Klinefelter syndrome—an XXY condition linked to low testosterone and higher psychiatric risk—and said injection-driven hormone peaks and troughs likely disrupted dopamine pathways.
  • The case report says psychiatric complications from therapeutic testosterone are underrecognized and urges baseline mental-health screening, vigilant monitoring and prompt discontinuation if symptoms emerge.

Insights

Can a routine hormone injection unlock a hidden genetic vulnerability and trigger sudden, severe psychosis?
Why did a common treatment for low testosterone cause a man to hear the voice of God?