As you can see from the last response, people either hate or love ECT. I have been on maintenance for 3 years. I have minimal memory loss and usually no loss. Let me clear up a few things for you. It is not a surgical procedure as you are not cut open, it is called a treatment. Some people have more memory impairment than others. Most of the time, the strength of the charge and placement of the electrodes have a lot to do with whether you will have much short term memory loss. With an IV, you are put under a short acting anesthesia and muscle relaxant. Your psychiatrist may also order a pain med that will help with the headache that you are likely to feel without it. The thing that takes the most time in the treatment is placing monitors and electrodes. Your heart beat, oxygen level and heart rate, and brain waves will be monitored by the sensors. After you are completely under anesthesia, the psychiatrist will cause an electrical pulse to go into your head/brain. It will stimulate a brief seizure of about 60 seconds. The only indicators of the presence of the seizure will be the readout of your brain wave pattern and a slight twitching of your toes. The anesthesia will wear off in a few minutes. The anesthesiologist will continue to ventilate your lungs throughout the time you are under the effects of the anesthesia and muscle relaxant. After you respond to questions you will be moved to the recovery room, receive monitoring of your heart and oxygen level in your blood. When you are completely awake you will be able to go home. They usually want you to be accompanied by another person who will drive you to and from the treatment. You definitely can not drive yourself after the treatment. Since I have no one to drive me, and I have no problems with the treatments, my psychiatrist has agreed to let me come to and from treatments in a taxi. My initial treatments were done when I was inpatient. All maintenance treatments have been outpatient. ECT has been very helpful for me.