[janethayes]

I am considering ECT treatment for major depression and would like to hear from people that have undergone this treatment. I am less concerned with the side effects at this point - I am more interested in hearing if it was effective or not. Maybe I need to worry more about side effects so those posts are absoluty welcome as well. Many thanks in advance...

[VickiesPath]

I have NOT had ECT, Janet. I am responding, tho, so you will receive a response in a timely manner. I'm sure there will be more coming.

I have met many people who have had ECT since my inpatient stay in May. The reaction and success of ECT depends upon the person and number of treatments and a lot of factors. Some people have had wonderful success. They did it in as many as three a week when inpatient, for three weeks in a row, then followed with outpatient once a week for a period of weeks. It just depends upon the doctor.

Everyone had some short term memory loss. That is inevitable. People who had more treatments had more long term memory loss. But they received significant relief from their depression for longer periods of time. They did lose memories from periods of their life. One woman who was my roommate in hospital didn't have the memories of her daughter when she was young. But she gladly traded those for relief from her depression. There were no follow-up medications.

Hope this helps a little.

[janethayes]

Thank you Vickie. I appreciate you taking time to reply. I really need to try something as nothing else has worked and I'm so tired of living like this. Some days life is like trying to walk thru mud up to my neck in a dense fog while other days the depression feels like it is crushing me. And then there are the days when I feel nothing and when I look in the mirror, there is nobody there...

[deliquesce]

i am wondering if you have tried MAOIs yet? a lot of drs are reluctant to prescribe them, because they are so 'old', and also because of the diet you need to follow. but it saved me life and prevented me from having to try ECT.

i haven't had ECT myself, obviously. i am very suspicious of it. i don't like the prospect of losing my memory, when there is no guarantee that it will help. also, it doesn't prevent relapse, so that scares me also. obviously it is a very personal decision to make, but having done as much research as i can, i think it is not something for me to pursue.

[janethayes]

i have never been prescribed an maoi, the excuse being there are newer, better drugs. in the course of many years i have tried so many different meds and have had terrible experiences as a result. there was one exception and it was prescribed during my last hospital stay and it's called fluphenazine. i really felt good for the first time. unfortunately i could not get it refilled and i have yet to find a doctor who will prescribe it. too many side effects is what i'm told...