Electro-convulsive Therapy

[pinkie59]

Please can you tell me, my sister had Electro-convulsive Therapy in the mid-80's she was addicted to Ativan & the doctor put her in hospital, since having this treatment she has suffered with bouts of great weakness in her legs, to the point she cannot walk at time without people supporting her, could the ECT have caused this, can it be reversed?
I am so worried about her!!
Many thanks

[pinkie59]

Hi, thank you for replying, well yes but this is not something that came on recently, it has come on in bouts since having the Electro-convulsive Therapy they gave her this treatment, when she was taken into hospital having bad withdrawals coming off Ativan, all that time back & she was checked out with all sorts if tests i.e neurologic examinations, also she is on blood pressure tablets & has that check regularly!! she has also had her bone density checked & that was fine!! she does take multi vitamins, which she buys herself over the counter!!  so it would appear that her doctors as a lot of GP's blame stress, but I find that hard to believe,I could understand if she had troubles before the bouts, but they are unpredictable when this comes on.
Kindest regards

[PaulMD]

Hi there.

It is very hard to tell if this is really due to the previous electro convulsive treatment which is over 2 decades ago.  It is important at this point to rule out any other organic cause for the problem, especially that of strokes, or transient ischemic attacks.

Spine problems should also be considered and ruled out, possibly through neurologic examination and MRI of the spine.  Metabolic problems such as diabetes or systemic problems such as hypertension should also be considered, as well as nutritional deficiencies (especially the B vitamins and Calcium).

Regards.