Bipolar 101 -- Answers to basic questions

When I was diagnosed they just asked random daily questions and depending how you answer them they will let you know if you are or aren't.

I too am Bipolar. I am unable to work anymore. I haven't worked in 5 years now. It sure has been a hard adjustment for me because I've worked for 30 years. I am now at this time contemplating doing some volunteer work. I know it helped me in the past. Good luck to you. Take care.

I dont think its safe for your brain personally I thought this was the old school way of treating bipolar. I thought5 they banned this kind of treatment quess I was wrong.
Why1 did your doctor want you to get this done?
It sounds not very safe but I never heard anyone talk about having it done.
Get sound advice on it or research it on google priot to doing it ok.

Raemay18

Hi there,
I went through ECT treatments years ago....I had overlapping diagnosis of bipolar disorder with major depression, PTSD, and a dissociative disorder. I think there was so much going on at once, medications weren't enough. I went through three 6-8 week sessions of ECT over a two year period. The first and second sessions seemed to hlep quite a bit. It wasn't too scarey....you fall asleep with the anesthetics and then wake up and it's over. The third session I had didn't seem to help as much and I had one treatment which affected my short and long term memory some.
I thought that all was lost until I finally hit upon a medication combination that really worked for me. In retrospect, I think meds help some, but what is most important is the therpay and life skills learned over time to live with depression. Find balance in your life to keep your stress levels at bay. Good luck.

I have Bipolar I and have had lot of problems with bp depression. ECT has saved my life on a number of occasions and can be very helpful. Unfortunately (for me) the trade-off was very severe and long-term memory loss. This is unusual--most folks have only brief memory loss for the time surrounding these treatment--particularly if the electrodes are placed unilaterally (this is usually what is a done first) Good luck. It is a treatment thAT frequently works when others do not. It also works pretty quickly (after about 3 treatments).

Hello,

I have bi-polar disorder amonst other mental disorders. I have been doing the ECT treatments for a total of 8 treatments now. Personally, I am going to stop them for various reasons. First of all I am a cancer surviver and when they give these treatments they must of course access a vien and my viens are bad do to all the things I have had to do. In ECT they first of all give you a shot to numb the area they are going to access the vein to put you to sleep. After they do that they put a oxygen mask over your mouth and as you breathe deeply into it they give the shot to put you to sleep. Oh I forgot to mention they also put a mouth guard in to protect you from biting your tongue or hurting your teeth. When you are asleep they start the ECT that causes you to seizure however you won't remember a thing about it. The doctor controls your seizures, they are only a few seconds long. Yes it does effect your memory however they say it is only tempory and after you stop treatments you get it all back with time. I do forget the sillyest things but every one is different. It also makes me a little sore (muscles) from the seizuring. It's not BAD, just a little sore. When you wake up you won't remember a thing, meaning you have no recollection of the seizure. It seems like you are put to sleep and then you they wake you up and allow you to rest for a few minutes. You may feel a little wobbely at first, like sea legs but that to doesn't last very long, a few minutes for me, other have said they feel just fine. Every one is different. Personally my veins are what they call "stripped" meaning they have been through heck so it has become harder and harder for them to find a good vein for me and when they inject the stuff that puts me to sleep it burns like fire and my arms gets all red. Like I said, that is just me. The others that have been doing this on the same days and time as me tell me it does not hurt them very much, a little sting and they are OUT LIKE A LIGHT..

For myself, I do not feel they are helping me feel better. However I talk with this guy a little bit before treatments and he tells me it has helped him, and there are a coupld of ladies that feel the same as he does. There is only one lady that feels the same way as I do, it makes her feel worse because she feels weird forgetting so much. I wish I could forget the bad, but it doesnt work that way. They are designed to help you "cope" with your issues in a more positive way than to be depressed by them. Many swear by these treatments for the better, a few feel such as myself. I am stopping them because my veins are bad, they feel the same on that issue, I don't like the terrible pain I feel as they are injecting me and my memory loss, well I hate that to.

If you are looking for advise here, I suggest ( I am not a doctor, just a patient and this is only MY opinion) that you give it a couple of tries and see how it affects "you". Don't be afraid, you are very well monitored and very well taken care of. They usually do these treatments VERY EARLY. For me I have to be there at 5:45 A.M.and it is all done around 8. That is because there are 6 other people getting treatments as well and they let you sleep for a while before they wake you up and then.....you just go home to rest.

Feel free to contact me if you have any more questions. Like I said I can only speak of my expierence, I am not a doctor or nurse etc.

Good Luck. Let me know if you want what you decide and if it helps you. I will say a prayer for you.

No, but from what I have read it may be underutilized due to stigma and time/resourse limitations of the psych docs. I have sometimes wondered if it would be good for me and I asked a doc about it once but he said it was only for serious depression cases. But my whole darn life/illness has been serious and sometimes i think one of my greatest problems has been appearing so damn "capable" or "together" desipte all the serious problems and difficulties providing evidence to the contrary.

Anyhow,,, I am seriously interested in hearing about your experience and results.

Take care,

Greg T.

I had the procedure twice. Please research it before doing it,it's an individual choice. I really believe I wouldn't be here without it. I had some short term and long term memory loss the first time but it was worth it. The second time no memory loss. I think it depends on which kind of ECT is being done.

Hi yes, I have been diagnosed with BPII about three years ago. Never been through electric-convulsive therapy though. I do struggle with memory loss (short term) but thatcould be too, because Ijustgenerally forget things.

I am curious to know how thaty goes for you??

Psychotech9,

I don't know if this will help you....but my mom back in the 60's had undergone this (or similar) shock treamtments, I don't know that it helped her....she still suffered terribly (she was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, I believe these days she would be diagnosed with Bipolar 1) in any case, she did tell me she had short-term memory loss.....again, I am only recalling what she confided in me approx ten years after her treatment.....and .....wouldn't they be doing these procedures differently/ better now? She was horrified at what they had done, but then she was recalling it from a parnoid's perspective.....
have you gotten, possibly a second opinion or, and I'm guessing you have...done a lot of research on this? All my best to you, keep us posted...

This is my first time to post a reply and what I have to say is scary. ECT did not work for me. I had 24 treatments in 2000 and was significantly depressed for 6 months afterwards. I permanently lost 60% of my memory for events that occurred during the year prior to, and the year following the treatments. I developed psychotic symptoms towards the end of my treatment; that's why it was terminated. I was also unable to work for a year after, and lost my job as a result. No one told me not to drive and I accidentally hit a pedestrian. When I returned to moderate functioning, I proceeded to make a lot of huge life mistakes that I am still paying for.

In my opinion, ECT is like invasive surgery. The risks are very serious. I was living in a big city and had no one to look after me. My recommendation is that you make arrangements beforehand for someone to oversee your affairs during your treatments and for at least 6 months afterwards. That would include transportation, financial matters, medical care, important career decisions, etc., because your thinking might be impaired like mine was.

I am currently having ECT for maintenance. I have minimal memory loss. I go to and back from ECT in a taxi. By afternoon I can drive again as the anesthesia has worn off by then. I don't need anyone to take care of me. I live alone with my dogs and take care of myself. I have never heard of some needing such drastic care for weeks or months. I will continue to have ECT as long as I need it.

I had ECT 20 years ago. I still don't remember so much of my past. Also I had just finished Real Estate School and I have no memory of any of the studies or even walking in to the building. Beleive me finding the right meds are hard, but it is much better than losing memories of even raising my daughter. Stop and think this out first

People react in different ways and have different degrees of memory loss. My brother had it done three times and had seemed like a zombie for a very short time...couple days....then he was suicidal for a short time ...he ended up in the hosp for about 60 days. I hope it goes well for you. Don't let the above experience effect your docs decision to do it. Ask your doc what to expect.

I had a full (12 sessions) course of ECT for a major depressive episode and it had no effect on my depression, if anything it worsened. It's touted as a reset for mania too, but I have seen with that it just knocks you on your *** mentally, but you can still be hyperactive, and with these side effects. I only came out of depression when I shot into mania 6 months later and I was offered it again! I suffered the side effects, mainly memory loss, and confusion, it also effected my verbal skills and there was some definite cognitive impairment (reading) for three months and I didn't feel I fully recovered for 3 years. It changed the effectiveness of my mood stabilizers and antipsychotics. It works for some and I had no other options, as I couldn't shake the suicidal ideation and I do recommend it only as a last resort. I have been treated 7 times at a hospital that champions it's use and many improve drastically while many find it another hurtle. You will need support because you can't drive and it's not even a good idea to use a stove. . .For some it can be a faster and safer road than meds, and certainly better than hospitalization. The process is modernized and painless, but with my mind at it's end to have the burden's of it's side effects shocked me, butted me out of school for a semester, and I would not mark it as improvement. Good luck, but proceed with caution. Watch the research numbers as with people with mood disorders tend to change no matter what gets thrown at you.

I am not sure I am replying correctly, but how did your ECT therapy go?

i had 13 did not help but it does help some people good luck

I would strongly discourage it. Watch Psychiatry: Industry of death on youtube.

I did have ECT and it was very helpfull

Ok. A couple of days i got officialy diagnosed Bipolar Disorder and got prescribed 100mg Loquen and 0.5mg Rivotril.
Anyone else have any experiences with these ? Been taking Loquen for a while but dosen't seem to be helping !?