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Grand Member
Member Since Nov 2019
Location: In my head, mostly
Posts: 754
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Aug 12, 2020 at 03:38 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by BethRags
The medication tango gets terribly wearying. At times, intolerable. ECT is certainly an option. I strongly considered it at one point when I was feeling tangled up between mixed and depressed, with plenty of dysphoric mania thrown in, especially a vicious anxiety that never let up. I told my pdoc that I wanted to look into getting ECT, she okayed that, but asked if I'd try one more med (Pristiq). I did, and I got lucky. The Pristiq lifted the depression off my shoulders. Then we added in/took away some meds/adjusted doses and bit by bit, between the meds and therapy, I became more and more stable.
But, despite the scary reputation it has, every person I've known who has received ECT in contemporary times is glad they made that decision. And by "every person", I do mean every person I've communicated with about it. (There's a thread in Bipolar Treatments about ECT.)
Whatever you decide, there is one way or another that you will have relief from your symptoms. I promise you that. I've been deeply involved in the mental health community IRL for decades and online for a long time. I have yet to meet anyone who, if they stick with treatment, doesn't become stable sooner or later. I'm being honest about that.
Also, I want to mention that you're still climbing up there on Lamictal. You have a long way to go before you're at the max dose.
Another thought I have...Lamictal alone...anxiety...I can only speak for myself on the subject, but I definitely have to take a med specifically to lessen my anxiety (in my case, Trilafon).
btw- there might be 2 threads on Bipolar Treatment about ECT. There's a man named Guinness here on PC who could give you a lot of info on ECT. I think he's a mod or a community liason.
Not pushing you toward ECT, but it's a feeling of security to have that option.
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Thank you for that, those stories about ECT are encouraging! I was (am) pretty afraid about memory loss but about cognitive decline in particular. However I feel like a huge mix of meds is not beneficial either because it will ruin the rest of my body.
I'll keep Trilafon in mind for anxiety, though to be honest I would prefer to keep away from antipsychotics in the future because of the side effects and dependence issues that are hard to get away from. It's too bad benzos are so addictive or I would take them way more.
I'm actually not sure if ECT does anything for anxiety? I sometimes tend to think about anxiety as a symptom of depression, but then again it can also be a cause. Another vicious cycle.
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