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Mental Health (Expert Forum)
what happens now???
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD) , bipolar disorder , dementia , electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) , learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) , panic , personality disorders, phobias , post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) , schizophrenia , stress , transitions, and work problems.
what happens now???
by molayne, Feb 01, 2000 12:00AM
i have been suffering from depression for almost 2 years. i have been in treatment for only part of that time. i am becomming very afraid because the dr. has not found a medication that has been effective and i have had about 10 ect treatments. i feel so much better for a few days after the ect, but then i begin to sink again. i am also on lithium 2 times a day to help boost the effect of the ect. i haven't had a treatment in almost 2 weeks and i am feeling desperate. the dr. is trying to wean me off the treatments and i understand that they can't go on forever but i am afraid of the state my mind goes into when the effects begin to wear off. i am feeling desperate to find a permanent end to this cycle, and it scares me. sometimes i don't feel like i am in control. is there anything else to try? i have been on a volly of antidepressants and combinations of drugs that haven't done any good. please give me any information you can. i am at the end of my rope and i don't have a very good grip. thanks
Doctor's Answer
by HFHS.MD-AJ, Feb 02, 2000 12:00AM
It must be difficult suffering from depression that has not responded to antidepressant medications. You report positive results from Electro-Convulsive Therapy (ECT). ECT may be safely continued on a "maintainance" basis. It is not uncommon for people to respond better to antidepressant medications after ECT. You may also find it helpful to combine ECT and antidepressant medications with cognitive-behavioral therapy or interpersonal therapy. I urge you to discuss your concerns further with your treating physician/psychiatrist.
Member Comments (1)
by desperate, Feb 03, 2000 12:00AM
thank you for your response. i think maintenance treatments are the goal the dr is trying to achieve now. i am in therapy, and also remeron along with the lithium. i just begin to feel so down again after about a week from my last treatment and it seems like such a vicious circle. i begin thinking frightening thoughts and it feels like a no win situation if its just going to keep coming back over and over. i dont want to tell the dr because i dont want to end up back in the hospital. i wish i could just go to sleep and not wake up. do you think the lithium and remeron might eventually work? that would be something to hold on to. thanks again. sorry to be such a cry baby. but i'm desperate!!!
