ECT

[pdr7686]

My question does not necessarily have anything to do with being Bipolar but I have talked to very some smart people in this forum with great appreciation

I went to see my Psych yesterday and she mentioned I might need to consider ECT shock treatments. Has anyone ever experienced this? I am kind of afraid to go through this because it can cause you to have a grand mal seizure and that can be very devastating to your body causing other problems. My Psych made this statement because she can not find any medication that helps me.

Does anyone have any advice on this subject or experienced it?

[opus88]

hi...its so hard to know what to do isn't it...your in hell and want out!
I have no experience with this treatment.
however a member under the forum community of DEPRESSION has
In fact he is begining the ECT treatments as of this morning....
you can look back on his posts of TREATMENT RESISTANT DEPRESSION
or his profile page and journal MIKE5709
maybe this will help you make some decisions.
good luck

[rBoulet]

My friend had to get these done around 2 years ago for her depression. There's also some books that mention it ('Manic' by Terri Cheney has a chapter on her experience with it, as well as 'Madness' by Marya Hornbacher). From my friend's experience, don't expect to remember much from during your treatment later on, and don't expect to be very useful to other people because you'll be pretty out of it. My friend doesn't remember anything, and she forgot some strange things that she now remembers (like how to use cutlery, or how to brush her teeth). I've heard that sometimes ECT can cause mania or psychosis but so can antidepressants. It's all a matter of do the benefits outweigh the risks for you, as it should be with any sort of treatment you undergo.
You said that ECT can cause you to have tonic-clonic seizures, it's not can, it's will. Those seizures are the whole point to the treatment. Think of it this way, when your heart stops or beats erratically doctors give it a shock to restart it's rhythm. This is kind of the idea behind ECT in my eyes, the seizures are kind of like jump starting your brain and getting it to try and find it's normal balance and rhythm again.
Don't worry so much about the seizures, they put you to sleep and give you a muscle relaxant beforehand (although they did that to me when I ODed and the seizures still left me with a swollen aching wrist for a couple weeks), but at least it's a lot better than the old days right?

[pdr7686]

Thank both of you for your advice
This is  a extremely hard decision on what I want to go through
As you said the seizure is the whole point of this
I will go to Mike5709 to read his profile and journal to see what he is having to go through

[ILADVOCATE]

I believe I had mentioned Trans Cranial Magnetic Stimulation in one post as it is FDA approved and the long term side effect profile is safer. You could ask about that as well:
http://www.nami.org/Content/ContentGroups/Helpline1/Transcranial_Magnetic_Stimulation_(rTMS).htm

[bastet56]

I have had 21 ECT episodes. You are asleep and paralyzed when you seize. The most you feel is sore and they can adjust the dosage of anesthetic to keep this from happening. I have short term memory problems and trouble concentrating for long periods of time now but I am alive which I would not have been if I hadn't had it. The concentration could be because of age and meds  along with the ECT.

[corlenbelspar]

My uncle had to go through ECT I think he said 20 times when he really lost it when my father died.  It must of worked because he's alive and functioning today although with medications.  He doesn't have seizures that I know of but he has Schizoaffective Disorder however.  A lot of people say it worked wonders for them and I hear it's really refined now since it was first introduced.

[corlenbelspar]

I forgot to mention he does have short term memory problems like bastet56.

[pdr7686]

I want to thank everyone that has replied to this

Although I think I have decided not to go through ECT at this point and time.....maybe sometime later. I really do not know about losing my short term memory. Do you remember things that happened years ago?

I wonder why My Psych keeps putting me on the same meds that I have been on in the past which did not work for me. I feel like there  has to be meds out there that she has not tried. Is this the usual thing a Psych does? I have been on alot of them since 1979. Right now, she presently has me on 5 different meds.

[adel_ezz]

This is the result of interviewing pts who have done ECT (extracted from the web)

"While there are certainly patients who perceive the treatment as terrifying & shameful, & some who report distress about persistent memory loss, many speak positively of the benefits. An article entitled "Are Patients Shocked by ECT?" reported on interviews with 72 consecutive patients treated with ECT. The patients were asked whether they were frightened or angered by the experience, how they looked back at the treatment, & whether they would do it again. Of the patients interviewed, 54% considered a trip to the dentist more distressing, many praised the treatment, & 81% said they would agree to have ECT again. Those are comforting statistics about a treatment that has an ugly name & ugly connotations but beautiful & even life-saving results.... . . . . . . . ."

every treatment has it cons and pros, but sure the technique is being altered to be safer than in the 1940 and the time of ernest hemingway