You will get a wide variety of responses about people's experiences with ECT.

I have had ECT treatment twice. My husband has had it once. Two very good friends of mine have also had ECT. Each of our experiences was a bit different.

For me, ECT was life-saving. Both times I was in the hospital, extremely suicidal, not responding to meds, and facing long-term hospitalization. ECT turned things around for me pretty quickly actually, allowing me to go home to my family within a few days as opposed to the prospect of being sent away to a long-term facility for perhaps a few months. It was well worth it for me. I did experience the pretty typical short-term memory loss during the course of treatment. Much of what occurred just prior to and during treatment is pretty much not in my memory, but it probably wasn't pleasant to remember anyway so I don't particularly consider that a loss. I had no long-term memory loss. Never forgot my personal history, never lost skills for work, etc. No cognitive problems. My pdoc was very protective of my memory, honoring my request for unilateral treatments only, and he prescribed meds to help perhaps lessen any memory loss I might experience. I was able to return to work as scheduled and saw no problems returning to my usual work abilities. I still needed to take medications, although I would say the number of meds was reduced somewhat and they were more effective after ECT.

My husband had bilateral ECT. His memory loss was a bit more pronounced, particularly his level of disorientation during the time of treatments was greater. We had to watch him pretty carefully during treatment because he would not have been safe driving or going off on his own. But the treatments were effective. His depression, which also was extremely severe, did lift. His confusion and memory problems took a bit longer to recover from, but only by a few weeks. He also was soon able to return to work at full functioning and has had no long-term residual effects from the ECT.

One of my friends has ECT way back in the 1970's. Things were different then. She did have long-term memory loss and some cognitive problems, but she would have told you she had no regrets. ECT kept her alive and able to be with her family well into her 80's.

My other friend had ECT shortly after I did. We are in the same profession. She was also able to return to work at full functioning with no residual memory problems.

Some people do, however, experience more severe memory and cognitive problems. Unfortunately there is no way to predict who will and who won't, so you have to weigh the options and discuss the possible complications with the doctor who will do the treatments. You can make decisions ahead of time about type of treatment, etc. that can make a difference in the outcome.

Understand that ECT is only a treatment; it is not a cure. The effects are generally temporary, not long-term. Some people opt to have maintenance ECT treatments over a long period of time to maintain their mood level. Personally, I would not do that, but those are all things you need to learn about and discuss with the doctor who will actually be doing the treatments.