A 37-year-old man experienced a psychotic episode after consuming psilocybin mushrooms, leading to self-inflicted penile amputation with an axe. The penis was partially replanted.

In an unprecedented case report, doctors in Austria have documented the first known instance of psilocybin-induced penile amputation. After consuming a large quantity of magic mushrooms, a 37-year-old man suffering from depression and alcohol abuse severed his penis with an axe. Fortunately, doctors were able to reattach part of the amputated organ. The unique case is detailed in the Mega Journal of Surgery.

…

The case report published by doctors at Hospital Feldkirch in Austria outlines the shocking details of a 37-year-old man who consumed a large dose of psilocybin and, during a severe psychotic episode, amputated his penis using an axe. The man, who had a history of depression and alcohol abuse, ingested four or five dried psilocybin mushrooms while staying alone in a secluded vacation home.

Not long after consuming the mushrooms, the man began to experience a terrifying hallucination or delusion, which led him to take an axe and sever his penis into multiple pieces. The details of the event are unclear to the patient, as he did not fully remember what had occurred.

The man reportedly tied a piece of cloth around his genital area to control the bleeding and placed the severed parts of his penis in a jar filled with snow. He then left the house, bleeding profusely, in search of help. A passerby found him in a confused state and called for emergency services. The man was transported to a nearby village and later to a hospital, arriving approximately five hours after the amputation.

Upon arrival, the patient was in a critical condition, having lost a significant amount of blood. He was immediately taken into surgery, where doctors worked to stabilize him and control the bleeding. His penis was contaminated with soil and snow, and parts of the organ were severely damaged. Surgeons were able to save the glans (the tip of the penis) and about two centimeters of the penile shaft, but the other sections were too damaged to be repaired.

Remarkably, the replantation was successful, despite the significant challenges posed by the extent of the injury and contamination. Despite initial difficulties, the patient’s condition improved after the surgery, although he continued to suffer from severe psychotic symptoms, including auditory hallucinations and religious delusions. He was placed under psychiatric care, and his treatment included antipsychotic medications to help control the hallucinations. His mental state gradually stabilized, and after a week, he was moved back to the urology department to continue his recovery.

In the weeks following the surgery, the patient experienced some complications. Superficial necrosis (death of skin tissue) developed on the glans of his penis, likely due to the loss of blood flow during the period of ischemia, but this healed over time. Remarkably, the patient was able to regain some erectile function within three months of the surgery, though the overall length of his penis was significantly reduced due to the damage. At his last follow-up visit, he was able to urinate normally while seated, though a minor complication called hypospadias developed, where the urethral opening is located further down the shaft than normal.

While this case is the first documented instance of psilocybin-induced self-amputation, it brings attention to a broader phenomenon of self-mutilation during psychotic episodes, particularly among individuals with underlying mental health conditions. Known as Klingsor syndrome, these rare but extreme events often involve self-inflicted injury to the genitals and can be associated with a range of psychiatric conditions, from schizophrenia to substance-induced psychosis.

    • Blazingtransfem98@discuss.online
      1·
      2 months ago

      No but I’ve wanted to real bad from gender dysphoria, didn’t have it in me to get through to do more than a surface level cut before the blood and pain got to me. For not having one myself I am a pussy when it comes to blood and pain ☹️

      • shplane@lemmy.worldEnglish
        5·
        2 months ago

        It’s just annoying to see articles like this because it scares people into thinking mushrooms should remain illegal. That’s despite the fact that mushrooms are infinitely less harmful than alcohol and this penis chopping guy is an outlier of outliers

    • stoly@lemmy.world
      3·
      2 months ago

      People care. You’re forgetting that there’s money to made on that. Capitalism!

  • SplashJackson@lemmy.ca
    26·
    2 months ago

    Hey everyone, now we can point to this article and say Magic Mushrooms are soooo dangerous that we need to call everyone that uses them terrorists and organized crime and throw them all in prison for enjoying a natural theraputic vision quest

  • Dasus@lemmy.world
    21·
    2 months ago

    Not to say that psychedelics can’t cause psychotic states. I’m not going to say that, because it’s not true. I’m writing this at the start so no-one gets the wrong idea.

    The syndrome is known, “Klingsor syndrome”. Usually (read: “always”) those self-injury inflicting patients have a long history of mental illness.

    This man had a history of depression and alcohol abuse. Alcohol abuse and delirium tremens are more likely to induce violent psychotic episodes than mushrooms.

    I mean, granted dude took a heroic dose. I’m not saying the mushrooms had nothing to do with it, obviously they did.

    I’m just saying the title very much reads in a “don’t do shrooms you’ll cut your dick off” kind of way, which is very much not the case here. If any substance had most to do with this, it’s probably alcohol, which is known to cause a lot of mental issues, especially depression and psychosis. As in dudes probably been drinking his whole life, or years at least, which probably had more influence on the person than one (heroic) dose if shrooms.

  • southsamurai@sh.itjust.works
    20·
    2 months ago

    Man, this is why I’ve always been willing to trip sit anyone I care about that wants to try a new-to-them substance. You can’t always tell how someone is going to react to something new. If that something is hallucinogenic, if something does go wrong with the trip, you really want a sober buddy to keep things from going wrong outside the trip.

    Hell, I’ve been known to sit with someone that’s used hallucinogens before, just to be safe, if I can.

    It isn’t just hallucinogens though. I’ve known people that had bad reactions to not just heavier shit, but stuff that’s as mild as weed. Somebody gets hit by the weed fairy wrong, they can get into a panic and end up doing stuff that could hurt them, especially if it’s their first few times trying it.

    Mind you, if it’s something smokable, I won’t be present for the smoking because fuck that shit. But I’ve done it for meth and crack too. Tried my damndest to talk him out of it, and it was only one person with those two. But he was one of those folks that wants to try everything mind altering at least once. I would not likely repeat that for anyone else tbh.

    But damn, folks; if you aren’t already familiar with a substance, find someone you can trust to keep you safe. Even the mildest things out there can cause problems, and you can’t always be sure it’s unadulterated. Accidents happen, allergic reactions can happen, dosing can go wrong. So be safe. Find a buddy.

  • wick@lemm.ee
    15·
    2 months ago

    Penile amputations while on mushrooms: 1

    Penile amputations while Austrian: probably more than 1

    I think we know what the real cause was here.

  • HowManyNimons@lemmy.world
    13·
    2 months ago

    This is why they need to fucking legalise it for psychiatric treatment. Otherwise people with depression are just going to medicate themselves and fuck up.

  • Noxy@yiffit.netEnglish
    10·
    2 months ago

    That sucks, and folks should do their research and have trip sitters.

    It’s the first known instance, though - this is not worth changing your behavior over, something that’s never been known to happen after humans have been tripping on the things forever.

  • Dharma Curious (he/him)@slrpnk.net
    10·
    2 months ago

    This shit is why I haven’t tried shrooms. I know it’s incredibly unlikely, but it’s just enough to scare the shit out me. I didn’t need my egg cracking during a trip and I try to do an at home, diy surgical transition.

    It’s mainly the length of time. It lasts so long, tons of time for me to do something crazy. DMT seems safer from a totally underinformed position, just because it doesn’t last as long, and I think my buddy can restrain me for 15 minutes better than he can for 8 hours. Lol

    • Chuymatt@beehaw.org
      6·
      2 months ago

      I REALLY don’t think it was the shrooms that were the main issue. It sounds like he was self medicating for something and didn’t have a sitter.

    • frezik@midwest.social
      3·
      2 months ago

      It’s mainly an issue for people already predisposed to psychosis. If you don’t have that in your family history, then start with a low dose and have a trip sitter. It can be an incredibly positive experience if done safely.

      And do research. Psyconaut Wiki is pretty good.

      https://m.psychonautwiki.org/wiki/Main_Page

    • Blazingtransfem98@discuss.online
      1·
      2 months ago

      This shit is why I haven’t tried shrooms. I know it’s incredibly unlikely, but it’s just enough to scare the shit out me. I didn’t need my egg cracking during a trip and I try to do an at home, diy surgical transition.

      I don’t think it’s likely unless you have really bad penis dysphoria already, believe me, you’ll know if you do. Though your egg cracking on a trip is still possible even if you don’t hate your penis, and that can be scary and uncomfortable. IMO best to do it while not tripping.

        • Blazingtransfem98@discuss.online
          2·
          2 months ago

          I guess that makes sense, not everyone is ready to face themselves at the present time. Though I know from being a stubborn egg growing up, it does eventually weigh on you. That’s why it’s a good idea to explore sooner. The most important thing is being able to live with yourself and be happy with yourself and your body, I’d suggest revisiting the idea in the future every now and again, eventually one day you might be ready, it can be scary and hard but it can also be rewarding.

            • Blazingtransfem98@discuss.online
              3·
              2 months ago

              I really hope at some point you get to a point where you can feel comfortable expressing yourself in ways that match who you are. I’ll admit it does take some hard work, but the rewards are often worth it, they come in the form of self-acceptance and being happy with who you are.

              would be a 6’3 trans woman with shoulders like an NFL linebacker, and likely in my mid to late 40s at best.

              I know many people who felt that same way and they still pass wonderfully, yes it does take hard work and does take time. But it’s nowhere near as hopeless as it seems.

              My family is never going to disown me, mind, I could burn down an orphanage on Christmas Eve and dance in the ashes and my mom would be livid, but that lady would love me and I’d be still welcome at dinner.

              I’m glad to hear that your family is accepting. That’s more than I can say for my family. I haven’t talked to them in almost 7 years. They wanted nothing to do with me when I came out as trans, and were especially disgusted by the idea of me being on HRT. It’s nice to hear that your family will still accept you even if you choose to make changes.

              I’m never going to feel comfortable in my own skin, so I figure I might as well be uncomfortable and still enjoy the benefits and privilege of cis white guy status. Do I hate my body? Yes. Do I wish I could change in fundamental ways that go far beyond simple weight loss or whatever? God yes. Do I realistically have the resources to make that happen and reach a point where I think I could like my body? No.

              I used to feel a very similar way before my egg broke. I thought I could just push it down and live life as a normal cis boy. I couldn’t. The dysphoria eventually becomes unbearable. It can feel overwelming and hard to take the first steps, hard to make the first changes. I recommend taking things slow and starting with little things. Maybe you might not be ready for HRT but maybe try out some little social things that might make you happy, like makeup or nail polish, just something that feels gender affirming to you. You could even do these things in private. Just little things that can be first steps then take it slowly from there.

              Oh God. I’ve never actually admitted any of this before, and I’m a little scared shitless right now. I seriously may delete this.

              It’s okay if you want to talk to me about it more privately I can do it in DMs . If you want to reach out to others in the community here are some good communities that can help:

              Discussion:

              Memes:

              If you want to speak in a more private place I’d recommend joining the Blahaj.zone group on Matrix, instructions on how to join that here: https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/15256176

  • explodicle@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    8·
    2 months ago

    although he continued to suffer from severe psychotic symptoms, including auditory hallucinations and religious delusions.

    I gotta move to Austria

    • Blazingtransfem98@discuss.online
      2·
      2 months ago

      My thoughts exactly, I’d have to guess they had severe bottom dysphoria, I’ve had friends who did it for the same reason, no mushrooms though, they just did it out of their sheer desire to no longer have a penis attached to them. Gender dysphoria is no joke and really sucks. I probably would’ve done it too if the Estrogen hadn’t shrunken it so much (and the fact that I’m a wuss when it comes to blood and pain).

      • lurch (he/him)@sh.itjust.works
        1·
        2 months ago

        okay, but whoever reads this: DO NOT CUT OF YOUR OWN PENIS! It has lots of blood vessels in it and you can bleed to death quickly. Also, if you survive it, you have your pee hole in a wound and I’d say this is probably in the top 5 of worst places to have a wound in.

        • Blazingtransfem98@discuss.online
          3·
          2 months ago

          Oh definitely, many of my friends who did that did in fact have issues urinating afterwards. It wasn’t great, also reduces the amount of workable tissue for bottom surgery (vaginoplasty uses the existing penile and scrotum tissue to construct the neovagina) though in their case that was never going to happen either due to money, transphobic medical care, or health reasons that got them denied care in the first place.