[bblb]

just posting it second time cos i dont think the last one got through. i have clinical depression. i've seen psychiatrist(s) taken medication, i've done everything and it doesnt ever go away or get better. i've been looking into ect recently. do you know whether this might help or how it might help? because the usual info. on it doesnt seem to tell me how it actually works. or whether it definately works

[Belle1979]

Hi there,

there is a another post similar about ECT in the depression section.. try seaching for it as I can't remember what it was titled.

I only have a small amount of knowledge in regards to ECT and only because my step dad was a psych nurse for 30 odd years and used be the one that did the ECT to chorinc patients. I know that he fully believes in it and that it works wonders - seeing chronic patients who had been in his locked ward for many years have ECT and be able to become out patients. The way he explained it to me when I asked many many years ago is that it is like re-booting a computer.. it re-boots you mind.

http://www.sane.org/factsheets/elect...apy_(ect).html

[ErinBear]

Hi bblb,

I thought I'd post and present a different perspective. I also have ongoing trouble with depression. I tried quite a number of anti-depressants, even multiple medications at the same time, without success. I was hospitalized for depression, and the doctors strongly suggested ECT. I ultimately agreed.

I am sorry to say that unfortunately, ECT did not help me. I know that it does help some people, but I was not one of them. It also left me with permanent cognitive damage, which apparently is fairly common. This is one of the things I regret the most about the whole episode, because prior to the ECT treatments, my cognitive functions were quite good. I miss having a brain that works as well as it used to! I would never recommend ECT to anyone, ever, because of that.

For me, the best treatment for depression has been talking therapy. It hasn't made it go away, but I have had the most improvement that way, and there are no side effects! It seems to be the best thing I can do for myself, although each person is different and it may not be the right decision for everyone.

Take care,
ErinBear

[Belle1979]

I had a talk with my step dad about ECT - just to get more information and perspective...
How I understand it now it that it causes a seizure (spelling??) similar to an epileptic fit. They apply an amount of elec. current (depending on the 'threshold' of your body/mind which is determinded prior). I guess if you think about the heart and brain as having electric currents - when your heart stops working they apply a current to get it started again.. well the ECT is similar.
From my step dad's experience it works best with Major Depression (when the underlying cause is not clear rather than depression with a reason such as a relationship break up) and usually requires a course of up to 12 treatments. The memory loss etc is supposedly a tempory side effect!!??
The success rate that he had (working at the largest hospital for the mentally ill in Perth Australia) was around 80% - so yes it works for some and not for others.

I believe that in japan businessmen and corporate workers actually use it to re-boot when they are stressed - not that it's recommended for that!!
The history behind it goes back to the Greeks/Romans/Egyptions.
In Italy they once used insulin to produce the seziures to re-boot the brain.. but that was a long long long time ago and it's come very far since then.

Hope this hasn't been a total babble.. wanted to express what I had learnt in hopes it will help someone!

[IndigoRose]

This is a very sensitive subject for me because it was done to my Grandmother when she was a teenager, and it was right up there along the lines of torture. It is my understanding that, like me, her depression was treatment and chemical resistant. It completely wiped out her personality, a lot of her memory, and a lot of other things as well that were not the kinds of things one ever gets back. That carried over until she passed away somewhere in her 70's or early 80's.

I'm sure if done correctly, it does help a lot of people, but most of the people I know that have had it done have regretted it. Many have also needed to repeatedly have it done. I've never had a doctor bring it up to me and the ones I have discussed it with still feel it's kind of barbaric.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/tre...6/METHOD=print
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/ele...9/METHOD=print
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/ele...herapy/MM00606
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/tra...5/METHOD=print
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vag...3/METHOD=print