Case report, 2018
Can psychotic symptoms happen only during and just after menstruation?
Yes, in this case a woman had psychotic symptoms including hallucinations and paranoia that started with her period and went away about 10 days later. This pattern repeated every menstrual cycle for 7 years. Very few cases like this have been reported.
What they did
A case report of one 42-year-old woman who had psychotic symptoms tied to her menstrual cycle. Doctors gave her risperidone medication and tracked her symptoms. They tested her hormone levels. When she stopped medication after 3 months, they watched what happened next.
What they found
The woman had irritability, aggression, paranoid ideas, hallucinations, disorganized behavior and poor self-care lasting about 20 days starting with menstruation, then 10 days without symptoms until the next period. Her hormone levels were normal despite this pattern. When treated with risperidone, she had no symptoms with her next period. When she stopped medication after 3 months, symptoms came back in the first two weeks of her menstrual cycle.
What it means for you
A very small number of women may have psychotic symptoms tied to their menstrual cycle, possibly because of estrogen changes. This is very rare, and we only know about a handful of cases. It's important because doctors might not recognize it as a menstrual-related condition. The medication risperidone seemed to help, but the woman's symptoms returned when she stopped taking it.
1
woman in case
7 years
cyclical pattern duration
20 days
symptoms per cycle
About the study
- Original title
- Is menstrual Psychosis a Forgotten Entity?
- Authors
- Vengadavaradan A, Sathyanarayanan G, Kuppili PP et al.
- Journal
- Indian journal of psychological medicine
- Year
- 2018
- Study design
- Case report
- Participants
- 30
- What was tested
- Risperidone 4 mg per day
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.4103/ijpsym.ijpsym_205_18
Topics
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