PSYCHIATRIC MANIFESTATIONS OF POST-ORGASMIC ILLNESS SYNDROME: A CASE REPORT
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55519/JAMC-01-14499Keywords:
Sexual Dysfunction; Ejaculation Disorders; Fatigue; Cognitive Dysfunction; Suicidal IdeationAbstract
Post-orgasmic illness syndrome (POIS) is a rare condition, typically characterized by physical symptoms following ejaculation; however, its psychiatric implications remain underreported. We present a case involving episodic cognitive disturbances, social withdrawal, anhedonia, and persistent suicidal ideation occurring after ejaculation. The patient experienced a significant diagnostic delay, resulting in progressive functional decline. Despite multi-drug therapy and immunotherapy, clinical improvement remained limited. This case highlights the limitations of current diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. There is a pressing need for psychiatric integration in POIS management and the development of culturally informed diagnostic frameworks.
References
1. Waldinger MD, Schweitzer DH. Postorgasmic illness syndrome: two cases. J Sex Marital Ther 2002;28(3):251–5. doi:10.1080/009262302760328280
2. Nguyen HMT, Bala A, Gabrielson AT, Hellstrom WJG. Post-orgasmic illness syndrome: a review. Sex Med Rev 2018;6(1):11–5. doi:10.1016/j.sxmr.2017.08.006
3. Abdessater M, Elias S, Mikhael E, Alhammadi A, Beley S. Post-orgasmic illness syndrome: what do we know till now? Basic Clin Androl 2019;29:13. doi:10.1186/s12610-019-0093-7
4. Alanazi FK, Sawma AI, Harisi M, Albabtain M, Almuzaini A. Post-orgasmic illness syndrome: A case report. Cureus 2024;16(6):e61494. doi:10.7759/cureus.61494
5. Paulos MR, Avelliino GJ. Post-orgasmic illness syndrome: History and current perspectives. Fertil Steril 2020;113(1):13–5. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2019.11.021
6. Rosetti L, Kanani A, Witherspoon L, Flannigan R, Elliott S. Case series: expanding diagnostic markers in postorgasmic illness syndrome. Sex Med 2023;11(2):qfac021. doi:10.1093/sexmed/qfac021
7. Okan K, Kural RF, Demir M, Cot F, Dinckal M, Altay S, Gökmen NM. Postorgasmic illness syndrome benefiting from omalizumab and antidepressant: a case report. J Med Case Rep 2024;18(1):632. doi:10.1186/s13256-024-04986-2
8. Padhye M, Trowbridge P, Rubin D. Flibanserin for post-orgasmic illness syndrome: a case report. J Sex Med 2023;20(Suppl 4):qdad060.222. doi:10.1093/jsxmed/qdad060.222
9. Prakash O, Kar S. Dhat syndrome: a review and update. J Psychosex Health 2019;1:241–5. doi:10.1177/2631831819894769
10. Fisher AJ. Toward a dynamic model of psychological assessment: Implications for personalized care. J Consult Clin Psychol 2015;83(4):825–36. doi:10.1037/ccp0000026
11. Zizzo J, Sávio LF, Ramasamy R, Lima TFN. Postorgasmic illness syndrome: an update. Eur Urol Focus 2023;9(1):22–4. doi:10.1016/j.euf.2022.09.016
12. Okan K, Kural RF, Demir M. Postorgasmic illness syndrome benefiting from omalizumab and antidepressant: a case report. J Med Case Rep 2024;18:632. doi:10.1186/s13256-024-04986-2
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Abdul Wahab Yousafzai, Fatima Saeed Khan
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Journal of Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad is an OPEN ACCESS JOURNAL which means that all content is FREELY available without charge to all users whether registered with the journal or not. The work published by J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad is licensed and distributed under the creative commons License CC BY ND Attribution-NoDerivs. Material printed in this journal is OPEN to access, and are FREE for use in academic and research work with proper citation. J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad accepts only original material for publication with the understanding that except for abstracts, no part of the data has been published or will be submitted for publication elsewhere before appearing in J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad. The Editorial Board of J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad makes every effort to ensure the accuracy and authenticity of material printed in J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad. However, conclusions and statements expressed are views of the authors and do not reflect the opinion/policy of J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad or the Editorial Board.
USERS are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access.
AUTHORS retain the rights of free downloading/unlimited e-print of full text and sharing/disseminating the article without any restriction, by any means including twitter, scholarly collaboration networks such as ResearchGate, Academia.eu, and social media sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Scholar and any other professional or academic networking site.
