A case of Compulsive Masturbation Treated with Fluoxetine and Psychoeducation, Ayder Hospital, North Ethiopia

Abstract

Background:  Compulsive masturbation iscompulsive sexual behavior defined as a clinical syndrome characterized by the experience of sexual urges, fantasies, and behaviors that are recurrent, intense, and cause a distressful interference in one’s daily functioning and sexual obsessions is also expressed as recurrent and repetitive sexual thoughts, impulses or images that come into the mind and cause significant distress into an individual; despite the person’s effort to avoid them. These are characteristics compulsive masturbation. Though, Masturbation does not have a distinct code in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition (D.S.M.-V).

Case presentation:A 17 years old male, visited Psychiatry outpatient department, Ayder comprehensive specialized hospital, Mekelle University with a compliant of three years history of masturbation and frequent masturbation for the past one year. The increased masturbation comes with different problems such as poor sleep pattern, irritability feeling, guilt feeling, repeated suicidal ideation, afraid of talking sexual issues with any person including his intimate friends, functional impairment in his interpersonal communications, and decreasing educational performance. The patient was treated with Fluoxetine for six months with a dose of 20-40 mg daily together with a strong follow up on psycho education, concerned on each exacerbating factors, by convincing masturbation as a normal sexual behavior of adolescents and promotion of free talks rather than avoiding about sexual issues with his friends.

Conclusion:A combined pharmacological and psych education intervention was successful in treating a case of compulsive masturbation.