I know this is a late post in this thread and I did not read all the replies, but my husband is receiving ECT and here is what I, as his wife, experienced.


My husband received two treatments a week for 6 weeks. We have insurance, so I don't actually know what the cost is. He is now on ECT once a week for 4 weeks, then we go to once a month (I have a call into his Doc about that right now).


He had an increase in the power of the ECT (bi-lateral) on about the 7th ECT. On the 9-10th ECT, he was telling the Doctor "I don't think it is working, but I will keep going". I was there, in the room when my husband said this, and I was stunned, that my husband said this!


When we started the ECT, it was because my husband was not planning to hurt himself, but had thought about it (he told me and his Doc), he could not go to work because of severe panic/anxiety, his depression was in control of all of his thoughts, and I could not go to work because leaving him home caused a total breakdown. Twice during the early ECT time I almost called/took him to the hospital because he could not stop crying and hyper ventilating.


At about the 7th ECT my husband began to "come back" in small bits and pieces. By the 9-10, he was able to go to work two days a week and spend at least one day home, alone, while I got a chance for some "me" time.


So, when I asked him about why he thought the ECT was NOT working, he said, "I don't feel anything happening". I refreshed his memory about what things were like at the beginning of the ECT, and he absolutely does not remember ANYTHING from that time. So, to him, the ECT was not working.


Either time, ECT, or meds have helped my husband onto the road to recovery. It is not a cure, but a treatment and as such it has the bad side effect of memory loss. As his wife, I don't care what he loses of this year, this treatment was an option we chose and it has helped get him back to me faster.


YOU as the receiver of ECT may not feel much at first, but those around you may. And, you may have to come to terms with not remembering how bad things were before you chose ECT. No, it does not work in all cases and memory can be affected. But, there are side effects to each medication taken for depression and those can last a lifetime as well.