ECT (you have to be kidding me!!)

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-14-2005
ECT (you have to be kidding me!!)
6
Thu, 08-17-2006 - 7:47pm

Okay so ECT was recommended to me today. Uhhh brain shocking? Was my doctor serious? I said I would consider it once we had tried every medication available TWICE. Has anyone had this done? Is it really just some simple no big deal procedure that I should just suck it up and do?

Meg

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-27-2006
Thu, 08-17-2006 - 8:08pm

Meg...Do not do this until you have tried meds first. Work on finding the right cocktail of meds, which takes time. ECT, in my opinion, should be the very very last resort. I can't see me ever doing it. I have talked to people in groups for depression and bipolar and I have heard that memory loss is a big side effect. This one man I talked to said he forgot a lot about his dd growing up and he didn't even remember being in the hospital when they did it. ECT scares the crap out of me.


How long have you been on meds?


Tina




     ~ Tina ~

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-15-2006
Fri, 08-18-2006 - 4:04am
Hello,
I dont know much about ECT but when I was in a program they talked about it as a last resort. According to the example they gave us the women who did it was a total different person afterwards and felt great. I dont have any other advise to give but the doctor who told me this story I would trust with my life. Good luck with your decision, but the right answer will come to you.
April
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-23-2004
Fri, 08-18-2006 - 1:43pm

My only experience would be a news show I saw on it once. As I recall the lady had some memory loss and some relief of symptoms. It seems rather extreme to me. I find the idea rather unsettling. I'd definitely get a second opinion.

Hugs,
Morgaine

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-07-2002
Fri, 08-18-2006 - 4:50pm

Meg, I've seen ECT work wonders in people, but it is definitely only for people for whom meds don't work.

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-17-2006
Fri, 08-18-2006 - 6:48pm
Listen to what everyone is saying. ECT is a last resort and is then still only used in people who you cannot control the suicidal thoughts. I recommend changing docs. Zyprexa/Prozac is a good combination to use if you haven't tried that yet.
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-14-2005
Fri, 08-18-2006 - 8:44pm
Okay so I went back to my normal pdoc today and he basically said he totally disagreed with everything this colleague of his said, including ECT. Yay! Not that I would have done it anyway, I think.