Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

Your username paired with your question made me giggle.

That is all. I've never had ECT, so I have nothing to add. Sorry for the highjack.

I won't clutter up the thread with random facts that may or may not help, but I've administered ECT, not had it.

PM me if there's anything helpful I can add.

Craig

Haven't had it, have seen what happens to people who have, therefore won't have it and would prefer to see it outlawed.

You mean "ect" doesn't mean "and so on"? I'm sure it does, because you see ect and alot here alot, ect.

They put people under these days so the experience itself is not as barbaric as it once was. Conditions afterward include, but are not limited to:

• Severe Headaches, in rapid succession for weeks, if not months, after the treatment.

• Memory loss ranging from mild to moderate, especially short term memory (sometimes permanent).

• Loss of sleep or excessive sleeping depending on patient response.

• Paranoia and/or agitation
• Personality changes (sometimes permanent).

Got this data from my best friend who experienced ECT twelve times over a six week period (twice a week) - they don't perform less than six for most patients. She was hospitalized during this time and had an opportunity to speak with several ECT patients, all seeming to share the same experiences.

She asked me to note that her response to the treatment was fairly textbook and included all of the above mentioned. She also noted that, for her, the treatment was not effective at all. Medications are slowly phasing out the use of ECT, except for extreme cases.

Bottom line: it can flip switches that can not be undone, but for a few patients it can do miracles.

Hope this help!!

I was in therapy with a guy who lost ALL his memory because of being electrocuted - excuse me, getting ECT. I also know several people whose short-term memory problems never went away - had to continually write things down. And no, it did not get rid of the depression or even alleviate it long term.

No offense to anyone, but IMO ECT is what doctors use when they don't know what else to do, just so they can say they're doing something.

Couldn't agree more!

After seeing the effects firsthand, I would never opt for something so brutal. It's a dicey crap shoot. No pun intended!

I knew someone who was mistakenly awake until right before they were to administer the shot; they gave her the paralytic but forgot the sedative that day--but when they administered the paralytic they always blocked her right arm so that if something went wrong and she was conscious she could signal by squeezing someone's hand (was supposed to be a nursing student that day) who wasn't at her hand.

They were even bagging her with a bag-valve mask, breathing for her. She began moving her hand frantically, squeezing at air. Someone finally saw her movement just before they were about to shock.

She understandably said after that that she was never going to have another ECT treatment again, after that. I saw her both before and after each treatment, and she did have short-term permanent memory loss that didn't seem to significant to her at the time, btw. I pointed out to her the irony that if they hadn't noticed her hand movement and had given her the shock anyway, there was a good possibility the shock would have erased the memory of it.

Yes, she appreciated the irony and was comforted by that possibility if they'd gone through with it, but was understandably way too terrified to have another one ever again.

Did she feel that they had helped her, at least short-term? Yes, she did. But I lost contact with her a good while ago and can't vouch for her feelings at this point.