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Lumberjack sliced off his own penis and ears after ‘overwhelming urge’ – as doctors issue drug warning
A MAN sliced off his body parts during a terrifying psychotic episode.
The 31-year-old lumberjack said he felt completely "overwhelmed" and acted on a "sudden urge" to hurt himself during what was diagnosed as a drug-triggered episode.
The unnamed man had taken large quantities of kratom, a herbal supplement with opioid-like effects and had also been smoking cannabis.
He had schizophrenia and had stopped taking his antipsychotic medicines just days before the self-inflicted attack in January 2024.
He cut off both of his ears, his penis, and inflicted deep wounds on his neck and chest. He also nearly severed his entire left arm.
"I felt completely overwhelmed and acted on a sudden urge to hurt myself," the man said in a medical report published about his case.
"I ended up severely injuring myself by cutting off parts of my body"
Kratom, which has been linked to dozens of deaths, is legal in some countries, banned in others, and completely unregulated in many.
The man had been brewing kratom leaves into tea for five years, believing it helped his sleep and mood.
Doctors said the combination of drug use, mental illness, and suddenly stopping his medication triggered a psychotic state in which he acted under powerful delusions.
Despite his severe injuries, the man still managed to call the emergency services to come and help him.
When he finally arrived at the A&E, he was awake but confused and weak, doctors from various hospitals in Czechia, wrote in the case report.
He showed no signs of distress about what had happened and was unable to recall some of the details of the horror that had just happened.
Toxicology tests confirmed mitragynine, the active compound in kratom, and cannabis, but no other substances.
The man had stopped taking his schizophrenia medication, quetiapine, just two days before.
Surgeons managed to save his life but could not reattach the amputated organs.
He later underwent skin graft surgery to cover the penile stump.
Doctors warned the case highlights the serious dangers of kratom, especially for people with mental health conditions.
“This case raises awareness of the serious adverse effects of kratom, especially in patients with a history of mental illness,” they wrote in the Frontiers in Psychiatry.
Kratom is also under growing international scrutiny from health bodies.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns it can cause liver damage, seizures and addiction.
And a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report found 91 deaths linked to the substance between 2016 and 2017, though most of those involved other drugs as well.
Although this case report did not specifically focus on the effects of cannabis, studies have linked cannabis use to worse outcomes for mental illness, including schizophrenia.
The man was stabilised in hospital and discharged a week later, with no remaining psychotic symptoms, the report concluded.
Lumberjack sliced off his own penis and ears after ‘overwhelming urge’ – as doctors issue drug warning
A MAN sliced off his body parts during a terrifying psychotic episode.
The 31-year-old lumberjack said he felt completely "overwhelmed" and acted on a "sudden urge" to hurt himself during what was diagnosed as a drug-triggered episode.
The unnamed man had taken large quantities of kratom, a herbal supplement with opioid-like effects and had also been smoking cannabis.
He had schizophrenia and had stopped taking his antipsychotic medicines just days before the self-inflicted attack in January 2024.
He cut off both of his ears, his penis, and inflicted deep wounds on his neck and chest. He also nearly severed his entire left arm.
"I felt completely overwhelmed and acted on a sudden urge to hurt myself," the man said in a medical report published about his case.
"I ended up severely injuring myself by cutting off parts of my body"
Kratom, which has been linked to dozens of deaths, is legal in some countries, banned in others, and completely unregulated in many.
The man had been brewing kratom leaves into tea for five years, believing it helped his sleep and mood.
Doctors said the combination of drug use, mental illness, and suddenly stopping his medication triggered a psychotic state in which he acted under powerful delusions.
Despite his severe injuries, the man still managed to call the emergency services to come and help him.
When he finally arrived at the A&E, he was awake but confused and weak, doctors from various hospitals in Czechia, wrote in the case report.
He showed no signs of distress about what had happened and was unable to recall some of the details of the horror that had just happened.
Toxicology tests confirmed mitragynine, the active compound in kratom, and cannabis, but no other substances.
The man had stopped taking his schizophrenia medication, quetiapine, just two days before.
Surgeons managed to save his life but could not reattach the amputated organs.
He later underwent skin graft surgery to cover the penile stump.
Doctors warned the case highlights the serious dangers of kratom, especially for people with mental health conditions.
“This case raises awareness of the serious adverse effects of kratom, especially in patients with a history of mental illness,” they wrote in the Frontiers in Psychiatry.
Kratom is also under growing international scrutiny from health bodies.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns it can cause liver damage, seizures and addiction.
And a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report found 91 deaths linked to the substance between 2016 and 2017, though most of those involved other drugs as well.
Although this case report did not specifically focus on the effects of cannabis, studies have linked cannabis use to worse outcomes for mental illness, including schizophrenia.
The man was stabilised in hospital and discharged a week later, with no remaining psychotic symptoms, the report concluded.
