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Posted 2/8/2011 11:57 PM (GMT 0)
It's been a long while since I've been here but now i need help from my friends. I have exausted all the meds for severe depression and rapid cycling of my BP and now it seems like ECT is the nect step. Has anyone ever had it and if so, can you tell me a bit about it? Im desperate.

Thank you,

bp

Posted 2/9/2011 12:29 AM (GMT 0)

HI BUNNY, JAMIE HERE. MALE, 38.

I HAD ECT IN 2004. IT WAS FOR ME A LIFESAVER. I WAS

SOOO DEPRESSED AND CATATONIC, THUS I WAS TAKEN

TO OUR PSYCH FACILITY AND THE SHRINK WAS DISCUSSING

THE BENEFITS OF ECT WITH ME. I HAD A COURSE OF TREATMENT

WICH IS SIX TREATMENTS. THESE WERE BROKEN UP OVER

A PERIOD OF A WEEK AND A HALF. YOU ARE GIVEN A

SEDATIVE-FALL ASLEEP THEN OVER 1.5 SECONDS RECEIVE A VERY

MINOR CONVULSION-HENCE THE NAME ELECTRO-CONVULSIVE

THERAPY. IT IS LIKE RE-BOOTING A COMPUTER.

S/E YES, FOGGY HEAD, HEADACHE AND MINOR SHORT TERM

MEMORY LOSS. IT CAN BE DONE ON ONE SIDE OF THE BRAIN-

UNIPOLOAR, OR BOTH POLARS. ECT CAN BE GIVEN AS MAINTENANCE 

THERAPY AS WELL. ECT BROUGHT ME BACK FROM THE BRINK.

HOPING THIS HELPS. LET ME KNOW IF I CAN BE OF FURTHER HELP.

JAMIE.

Posted 2/9/2011 1:14 AM (GMT 0)
thanks, i really hope i get as good as results as you, my life is crap. i'm just scared. i think it's my only hope....

bp

Posted 2/9/2011 2:16 AM (GMT 0)
I WISH YOU WELL, WITH COMPASSION, JAMIE.
Posted 2/10/2011 7:39 PM (GMT 0)
were you scared to get it? did you have any memory issues after getting it, like immediately after and then any that were lasting? did you get it inpatient or out and which do you reccommend? did you have yours unipolar or bipolar and why did your doc pic that particular one?

sorry for the barrage of questions, im just trying to find some firsthand info. i really appreciate it. im still so scared although i have pretty much decided to go thru with it. shakehead

thank you

bunny

Posted 2/10/2011 11:59 PM (GMT 0)
memory issues, yes during and after. mine about a month, but minor. was not scared, you see and feel nothing, except foggy and a sore head for a bit afterwards, and a tad drained. i was an inpatient, better for monitoring, but this depends on how many treatments. -less than a course maybe done as an outpatient, but you will need someone to pick you up and watch ya for a bit.

had both polars done, this is dependent on the severity of your depression. alike any treatment it takes time to kick in, ECT is the same, benefits noticed within a few weeks, some get better quicker, some longer, some need further treatments. hoping this helps, with compassion, jamie.

Posted 2/17/2011 3:38 AM (GMT 0)
JUST POPPING IN TO SEE HOW YOUR DOING BUNNY? KEEP SAFE AND STRONG. WITH COMPASSION, JAMIE
Posted 2/19/2011 5:20 AM (GMT 0)
I've had so many misses with my meds and still feel like a basket-case. I've looked the procedure up before but my family thinks its going too far. If you go in for the treatment please let me know how it goes.

Good luck
Posted 2/19/2011 9:13 PM (GMT 0)
 Hi

I've been diagnosed as Major Depressive and PTSD. Since we lost everything in Katrina (Mississippi) I have become a recluse.MANY hospitilizations and med changes but I always end up back on the downward spiral. Everybody tells you to count yr blessings-I have a nice home nd a healthy sassy 14 yo daughter...they do not understand that depression is NOT situational, but a physiological function of chemistry.

In Jan 2010, I approached my regular doc about ECT, expecting him to nix it. But he studied medicine in Europe where ECT is done before medications because it is effective and inexpensive. So, I did 18 treatments outpatient. It is true that you feel nothing and afterwards a little headachy. My memory of that time is a little blurry but not worrisome.  March April May and June were fantastic, my daughter got her Mom back.

US has a stigma about ECTs and we have no reason to fear this treatment. If you are like me, you will try just about anything to have a shot at a "normal" life. Go for it, God bless you.

Posted 2/20/2011 2:43 AM (GMT 0)
Tks bayboub2....I discussed ect with my husband last night after asking my question here. He's completely against it :(
his reasoning is that if something goes wrong then we're not just living with bp but also with whatever outcome it leaves us with....I'm the one whose sick but he's the one in it with me. He doesn't know what its like to take almost a dozen pills every day. To feel like half the person I used to be. To be afraid to speak because Im choked up trying not to cry. I'm willing to try almost anything and I've only been at this a year. He only see's what's on the outside.
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