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#1
I have been having electroconvulsive therapy treatments since November and am curious to know if anyone else is having them and if they have helped.
I would have to say that they definitely helped my depression. They haven't eliminated the depression completely but have definitely made a considerable improvement. |
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vital
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Elder
Member Since Feb 2014
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#2
I haven't. I don't know why it has never been mentioned to me.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk __________________ The "paradox" is only a conflict between reality and your feeling of what reality "ought to be." -- Richard Feynman Major Depressive Disorder Anxiety Disorder with some paranoid delusions thrown in for fun. Recovering Alcoholic and Addict Possibly on low end of bi polar spectrum...trying to decide. Male, 50 Fetzima 80mg Lamictal 100mg Remeron 30mg for sleep Klonopin .5mg twice a day, cutting this back |
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Out of Order
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#3
Glad to hear you've felt the benefit. It does seem to be a helpful last resort for many people. It picked me up from rock bottom, enough to get functioning again.
Do you still get anxious about the treatments or have you got over that? |
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Grand Poohbah
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#4
I am glad the treatments helped you.
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#5
Yeah, and I'll never do it again. It destroyed my memory.
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Little Jay, Solace2010
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#6
Yes, I definitely still get anxious about the treatments. It's very nervous-making for me. If I didn't feel like I absolutely had to have them, I'd never do it.
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#7
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Solace2010
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#8
yeah, I am still taking it. It's been a year and now I am spread out to four weeks. I only get the "single pole" for depression-its not supposed to be bad for memory; ane I've found that to be the case,although I am still trying to decide how much it has effected my cognitive overall. I take it for
severe depression and that is what it has helped with. I also have some general anxiety, OCD, and maybe some ADHD thrown in for good luck. I am trying to decide on the ECT. Works better than any medicine i've been on for depression, and i've been on quite a few, but the cost can be prohibitive if it doesn't spread out some more. I take pritiq 200 mg, buspar 30 Mg 3 times a day, and ativan 2mg 3x a day also. This is my first real post, so I hope it makes sense. |
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#9
__________________ Shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods . . . |
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Youdontevenknow
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Area25, Hexagram, Youdontevenknow
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#10
I will not have ECT again either. I also have permanent memory loss.
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Youdontevenknow
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#11
My memory loss was only short-term and very temporary.
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#12
I am very sorry to hear of the people who've had permanent memory problems. I sure hope that isn't the case for me, although I've had no choice but to have ECT because my depression was so severe and not responding to medication. I will have to accept what comes my way in terms of memory deficits. I always prided myself on having a sharp mind and good memory so I really hope this isn't compromised.
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New Member
Member Since Dec 2014
Location: Washington
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#13
I am also looking into ECT. Can I ask what kind of memory problems? Is it more like a piece or is it on going memory issues? I feel like I'm at the end of my rope with meds.
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#14
Quote:
Another example is reading. I'm in a couple of book clubs and I have to take notes after reading because I can't remember what I read. It's very frustrating. I'm not working right now but hope to be soon. I hope the memory issues don't pose too much of a problem in the workplace. Best of luck if you decide to have the treatments. They made a big difference for me. P.S. I'm having treatments right now 2 weeks apart. Maybe if someone has them farther apart there aren't memory problems? |
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Member
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#15
It's been a year since I had 23 sessions of ECT. I stopped because I couldn't tolerate having anesthesia three times a week coupled with the long drive there and back and the pressure to maintain a relationship (my boyfriend drove me but never understood how difficult it was). I have memory problems. I'm sure ECT was a factor however depression itself causes memory issues and so does aging. I have treatment resistant depression. ECT definitely helped me. Having ECT was the right thing for me and I'd have it again if I thought I needed it.
__________________ Female, age 64, on disability Major Depression, Anxiety, Panic Attacks _____________________ Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in. — Leonard Cohen |
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#16
For those of you who have ECT, do you have it really early in the morning or is that just how my pdoc does it? Monday I have to be at the hospital at 5:30 a.m. for my ECT! Considering it's an hour drive, we have to be up mighty early for it. I sure appreciate that my husband drives me there so early without complaint.
Last edited by Anonymous37807; Dec 19, 2014 at 02:28 PM.. |
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Member
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#17
My appointments were always early in the morning but never as early at yours. At my treatment center, inpatients were scheduled first and then outpatients. I assumed the early scheduling was because anesthesia requires fasting. The long ride to and from treatment is rough, so rough that I asked to be hospitalized. They said no and it was just as well. It forced me to make an effort when I wanted to stay in bed until the next treatment. Many caretaker/drivers (our exhausted heroes and heroines) hold full time jobs and the early hours accommodated their work schedules.
__________________ Female, age 64, on disability Major Depression, Anxiety, Panic Attacks _____________________ Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in. — Leonard Cohen |
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Magnate
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#18
I had ECT a few years ago. My depression was awful. It may have helped a little, briefly.
I will NEVER have ect again because it has so dramatically affected both my long and short term memories. I would rather live with the depression or the consequences of the depression than lose my whole life worth of memories. |
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#19
I have two treatments a week. I experience some amnesia, but not much. I feel better after the treatments that day, and I'm eating and drinking again (I had quit doing both), but I haven't noticed much other improvements and in some ways I've even worsened.
I have to be in the hospital at 8:30 (AM) for treatments. To me the whole going-to-the-hospital is more anxiety provoking than the ECT itself, but I have survived medical torture and have PTSD and iatrophobia (doctor phobia) as a result of that, and I had my leg amputated (as a result of damage done by the torture) which was a far scarier procedure. And the nurses and doctors are all very kind. |
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#20
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