[SylviaPlath]

I'm stuck in a mixed state and it's keeping me from finding joy in anything. My psychiatrist is suggesting ECT. I've had it before and it worked beautifully but for some reason I'm leery of getting it now. Has anyone had ECT and have you ever found yourself becoming afraid of it after you've had a series of treatments? Thanks

I went through 2 rounds of ECT treatments - a total of 17 treatments. Both times it helped me with severe suicidality and depression. I did have some memory loss the first round, but only for the time surrounding the treatments themselves. The 2nd round I had no memory loss. My treatments were unilateral electrode placements.

My husband had one round of ECT - a total of 12 bilateral treatments. He had much more memory loss and confusion than I did probably due to the bilateral placement. But the treatments worked for him and also brought him out of a severe suicidal delusional state. His memory returned fairly quickly once treatments were finished.

Neither of us needed maintenance treatments. I would have ECT again if needed and the timing was correct.

You know what you are facing. Only you can decide whether it is time to go through this again. I've never become afraid of ECT, but I'm not quick to have it done either. There is always a risk involved.

Hi there,

I've been through quite a few ECT treatments which have been very helpful to me mentally. I react badly to the anasthesia though, which causes nausea/vomiting for me, and because of this I'm quite afraid of getting treatment. In fact, if they can't figure out a solution I'll be stopping ECT today.

But if I WASN'T affected by the anasthesia, I'd get ECT done in a second. It's worked wonderfully for me.

Please give this some serious thought. As farmergirl said, there is always some risk, but it can also be a good solution to your mental health problems.

[sugahorse1]

My one pdoc mentioned it to me (But in hindsight, it appears as if she was quite haphazard, as she also used to change my meds rapidly, and I didn't know any better other than to complain when I wasn't seeing results)

I discussed it with my T the other day (I see her weekly, so it's easier to discuss my depression and suicidal thoughts with her, rather than wait a month or more until I see my pdoc) and she also works in a local hospital. She said ECT was used here as a last resort, after 2 years of treatment resistant depression had been experienced. That makes me a bit worried. Why would one need to wait and go through such a long episode?
My moods are all over the place, mostly in a depressed state. And I really battle, especially when they get deep and suicidal.

But she's also concerned about the memory loss, and said that I'd probably not be able to keep a job as demanding as mine is now. So things like that make me a bit anxious

I still do the same job I have always done - teaching. I would have had trouble working during the treatments, but once they were over, going back to my teaching was not a problem. My husband was also able to go back to his job. And I actually teach with another teacher who also went through ECT and returned to work later.

[SylviaPlath]

Thanks for your thoughts everyone. I too had unilateral and it made all the difference in the world. When I had bilateral I had tons of memory loss. With unilateral I can go right back to work.

I called the psychiatrist who gave me ECT the last time and he said he would give my psychiatrist a call and then call me back. He told me to cut down on the tegretol since it's anti-seizure drug. I'm feeling nervous about all of this but I have been in a mixed episode and suicidal for quitel awhile.

Thanks again guys. I'll keep you updated.

Sylvia

Good luck to you. Keep us informed.

[sugahorse1]

All the best and please keep us in the loop. I hope you feel better real soon

[SylviaPlath]

I'm having my first ECT treatment on Friday. I wrote about it on the forum on treatments. I'm really scared which is weird because I'm pretty fearless. I've had ECT before but my fear made me stop it before the doctor thought I should. I hope I make it through all the treatments this time.

[sugahorse1]

I really hope the ECT brings you the relief you are seeking and deserve!

[SylviaPlath]

Originally Posted by sugahorse

I really hope the ECT brings you the relief you are seeking and deserve!

Thanks Jackie. What a sweet thing to say. I'll let you know how the first treatment goes.

[SylviaPlath]

I had my first ECT treatment today. I was very stressed until I went under anesthetic. When I woke up I didn't know where I was but as soon as the recovering nurse told me what I was there for my memory came back. I've had a slight headache this afternoon but no more memory loss. I highly recommend unilateral over bilateral electrode placement. I got back again Monday. I hope this works and that I get out of this terrible bipolar depression.

[Anneinside]

Originally Posted by SylviaPlath

I had my first ECT treatment today. I was very stressed until I went under anesthetic. When I woke up I didn't know where I was but as soon as the recovering nurse told me what I was there for my memory came back. I've had a slight headache this afternoon but no more memory loss. I highly recommend unilateral over bilateral electrode placement. I got back again Monday. I hope this works and that I get out of this terrible bipolar depression.

I have had bilateral ECT at intervals since May of 2009 with my last ECT in October. It did wonders for me and I had very little memory loss. When reminded I usually can then recall the events or things.

[SylviaPlath]

Originally Posted by Anneinside

I have had bilateral ECT at intervals since May of 2009 with my last ECT in October. It did wonders for me and I had very little memory loss. When reminded I usually can then recall the events or things.

I'm really glad to hear that you had no memory loss. When I had bilateral placement I couldn't things for months. It was horrible. Good luck to you and thanks for sharing your experience.

[anjelmarie]

I hope things work out for you as well. I was wondering if anyone can be specific about their experiences with ECT as i am interested in trying it. I had heard about memory loss and confusion and want to know more about it. What kind of memory loss, short term, long term, and what type of confusion, forgetting dates? I don't know at all what to expect. Thanks.