Has Anyone Else Had ECT

Thank you for being so candid. It's definitely changed my outlook on it.

I've been in the psych ward 8 times in 8 months so the last time I asked for ECT and the attending psychiatrist said he'd adjust my Lexipro which just makes me suicidal so I got really rude and checked out. I need ECT badly.

I never had any screenings, but I can tell you that it's definitely affected my memory. Very frustrating.

Maybe you can find a different psychiatrist?

My mother (I'm 17 and live at home) was wondering, did the people around you notice you improving before you noticed/felt it yourself? And if so, how much sooner? (preferably in time as well as ECT sessions)

According to my psychiatrist, usually the depressed person is the last person to notice his/her improvement and my parents think they might be noticing a few small things, and they are wondering when I might start to notice it myself.

My ECT pdoc said that others will notice improvement before me too. I don't think it really applies in my case because my relief from depression was literally overnight - - after my 13th treatment. My husband said he can definitely tell a difference in me now, and so does one from of mine.

How many treatments have you had now?

Today was my 14th treatment; I have treatments twice a week.
It's a bit depressing how everyone I have ECT "with" (the people I see in the recovery room of the hospital) only need a few treatments before they are gone (= they have improved so much that they don't need the treatments anymore) and I'm still barely improving. I'm generally doing a bit better on the day I have the ECT and my parents are noticing some very miniscule improvements, mostly that I try to get relief from the feelings of guilt by helping around the house a tiny bit (I once cleaned up the bath after having a bath, and last weekend we had people visiting so I helped my mom clean out the dishwasher so she could get back to the visitors) whereas before I didn't have the energy to do things like that. But some of my other symptoms have actually worsened in the last few weeks.

Maybe you just need more treatments. Hang in there!

My T and I were considering ECT and I was ready to take the plunge. Then T "forgets" our conversation. I asked him again and he said he doesn't know who to contact. That doesn't sound normal. I feel that without something like ECT, my life is over...the depression IS that severe. I am not the person I was a few years ago. I am almost totally dependent on my H and never leave the house along any more.

Good luck finding a pdoc who does ECT. Maybe you could contact your local psychiatric hospital (if there is one) or even your local NAMI or DBSA chapter to find one. Are you near a fairly large town?

I know that ECT took me from very deep depths and gave me my life back. I hope in time the same happens for you.

I am currently undergoing a round of ECT. This is my fourth treatment and it doesn't seem to have helped so far. Does it usually take a good number of treatments before results occur? Is it possible that ECT may not work for me?

My T and I have a place in mind and he has called them to arrange a consult. I do live near the city so there's not a lack of places. Now the issue is my ever changing mind....
I had them years ago...bilateral... and the memory I did lose, I don't miss.

Teresa, ECT didn't work for me until after my 13th treatment. I'm not sure how many treatments it takes for the average person. My understanding is that it doesn't work for everyone. I really hope it works for you.

Oh, so you did have some permanent memory loss. That I'm not looking forward to (I know it doesn't happen to everyone.) I'm having bifrontal, so maybe that increases my chances of permanent loss, not sure.

Next Wednesday we'll evaluate whether or not to continue. By then I'll have had 19 treatments.

Just got back from my twentieth treatment (I was mistaken in my last post). Still no real improvement.

Sorry to hear that Breadfish. Have you considered (or maybe tried?) TMS?

I haven't tried it. I think the psychiatrist had a reason why it wasn't a good idea, but I have forgotten what the reason was. But I'll certainly ask about it tomorrow.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

We decided not to continue ECT and instead continue with drugs (unless my symptoms worsen as a result of quitting).
I was wrong when I said I had seen no improvement at all from the ECT - before starting ECT I'd quit drinking, mostly quit eating, and I was more than a little psychotic (I believed there was an invisible hole in my chest). Nowadays I eat, drink, and though I still sense the hole in my chest, I know it isn't really there.
But no improvement in mood or activity levels, which sucks. The pdoc hopes that upon quitting the ECT some of the ECT's side effects will disappear and make me less zombie-like. (My dad is the one who compared me to a zombie, not me) And thereby improve my mood or something. I don't have all the facts straight in my head.

Glad that you've seen some improvement with ECT. Sorry it didn't seem to help your mood or activity levels. I wish the initial huge improvement in my depression that I saw after ECT remained. I've been struggling with increased depression lately, mainly a change in my mood/attitude.

That's too bad. The triweekly treatments, are those intended as maintenance treatments? And is it possible to increase their frequency?

We have actually reduced it now to once a month now. The increased depression has just been over the past few days so I'm going to wait a bit before asking to increase the frequency.

My depression has been pretty bad over the past week, so I decided to ask my ECT pdoc if I can have a treatment ASAP and however often he then recommends to get me back to feeling good. As I've posted before, I really hate having the treatments but I'll bite the bullet since they seem to help me.

I hope they'll get you back to feeling good. (hug)

I'm also starting ECT again, next Tuesday. My chest is gone - there's a big hole where it's supposed to be, I can see part of my lungs and stomach when I look down, my heart is gone in its entirety (it's rather disgusting to look at so I don't look down much) - and my mom conferred with the pdoc who conferred with the ECT-pdoc who conferred with his colleagues and they say the hole is there because we quit ECT too soon. I don't really understand how THAT works, but I don't need to, just as long as the hole goes away and I get my bodyparts back.