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Mood Disorder Community
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RTZ
Starting Member
1 Posts
Gratitude: 1
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 Posted - 10/06/2010 : 21:34:20
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I was recently gathering ECT information so I could explain it in a scientific way as well as sharing my own experiences of the treatments with a group I attend. I happened upon this site and wanted to add some input for those debating the treatments.I suffer from an extreme case of Major Depressive Disorder. It got absolutely impossible to go on. I had my treatments about a year ago in Northern GA at the largest ECT treatment center in the Southeast. I had transcranial treatments where electrodes are placed on both sides of the brain. First I'll explain the way my procedure was done. I'd arrive in the morning,lay down on a bed, and had an IV put in the top of my hand. I was then taken to a room for the procedure. They would then begin the injections of a muscle relaxant as well as an anesthesia. As I would begin to fade they would put an oxygen mask over my face. After the treatment (40 seconds average per treatment) I'd wake up shortly after the anesthesia had worn off. I never had so much as a headache. After a couple of them,I was wondering if they were doing it right. I wondered this simply because I didn't have one single side effect from it. He told me that a certain amount of people who have them never do. After my 5th treatment I noticed drastic improvement. I quit the treatments at number ten. Over all the treatments were an overwhelming success for me. I think you will find more negative than positive experiences shared in these forums. Those who have had positive and effective treatments have moved on in life and no longer have any reason to sit down and study the subject. As I said earlier,I just happened across this site by accident. Don't get me wrong...there are obviously risks involved with ECT treatments. I'm sure the people who have written on here about their bad experiences with their treatments aren't making them up. I just want everyone who considers having them to know that there are indeed success stories like mine.  |
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| AndreaJ
Starting Member
2 Posts |
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| Houndog
Starting Member
10 Posts
Gratitude: 6
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Posted - 08/13/2011 : 17:16:02
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I guess some of us who have positive experiences still want to share with others because so many have such negative experiences. I have had a great experience. Some memory problems. I won't deny that. Long term memory was wiped clean after 6 bi latteral treatments. However it is coming back now.
I really feel that ECT has helped me. It has allowed me to work full time, rent a house, have a pet, pay bills. All things that I could not do before ECT. I have it once a month now. It only interferes mildly with my life and helps me to function day to day.
Study it out before you have it. Make sure you are willing to have the side effects. THey may appear. For me it is a pro's vs. Con's situation. FOr me I have learned to work around the memory loss.
Take Care
Tara |
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| ECTwife
Starting Member
2 Posts |
Posted - 10/09/2011 : 05:02:20
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ECT saved my husband's life with virtually no side effects. I don't know if this is rare or not, but i felt an obligation to come here and say this especially because since the problem IS behind us and we're back to our normal lives, it would be very easy to forget about this and not bother to write in this forum. however, i feel that it is important to let people know because it can save lives.
My husband is almost 50 and had no history of mental illness. after several months of severe back pain with herniated discs, he started taking all kinds of medications. one thing led to another - no sleep, loss of job etc and before we knew it, he was depressed. we added anti-depressants to his list of meds and then he fell even deeper, becoming suicidal, experiencing constant extreme anxiety and panic attacks, and eventually was diagnosed "major depression with psychotic features." dont ask what hell we went through.
the hardest thing was that the first 6 treatments of ECT he refused. but his psychiatrist whom i trusted fully PROMISED me it would cure him after 8-10 treatments. so we sort of forced him - not physically but we used every scare tactic we could think of and hours of persuasion until he gave in. but THANK GOD we did. after the 8th treatment, JUST LIKE the doc had promised, my husband basically woke up. like a dead man back resurrected it was nothing short of a miracle - and he felt GOOD, ready to take on the world again as a father, back to work, back pain gone etc. since then he had 4 more treatments just to solidify it, and they said that because of his unusual case (no prior mental illness) they took him off all medication. it's been 2 months since his last treatment, he won't be getting more and i dont expect he'll relapse but we're keeping a close eye on it. our circumstances were a bit unique but i had to tell our story if it helps anyone out there. my husband too has thanked all the doctors and me every day for making him do it. |
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| Houndog
Starting Member
10 Posts
Gratitude: 6
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Posted - 10/15/2011 : 16:40:14
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That is a miracle that he just came back to life after ECT. How wonderful. I have a treatment this friday and I am so excited. I always feel better after ECT.
Tara |
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| CCRYDER
Starting Member
6 Posts
Gratitude: 7
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Posted - 10/18/2011 : 14:41:36
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Thank you all so much for sharing your experiences.
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| aspen47
Starting Member
1 Posts |
Posted - 01/24/2012 : 20:53:55
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| I just got out of the hospital, having two ECTs. I am supposed to go back for four more. After the first one, I was feeling on top of the world, laughing and talking, just feeling GOOD. After the second one yesterday, I feel totally opposite. I get a horrible headache and sore throat from this and feel so out of place today, struggling with memory. How do the doctors KNOW this is going to work out well? I'm feeling more depressed today, (the day after my second ECT) than I have felt most of my life...I'm scared to have any more. Has anyone else experienced this? Thank you. Diana |
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| niccat
Starting Member
1 Posts |
Posted - 12/01/2012 : 10:39:04
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In 2007 at the age of 66 my mother was diagnosed with major depression with psychotic features with no prior history of mental illness. Like ECTwife our family went through hell. She did not seem particularly depressed before her psychotic break, but she was not sleeping and she said she felt like 'the energizer bunny'. After her psychotic break, the doctors immediately recommended ECT. She was incapable of choosing her own treatment so we chose the treatment we thought she would have made. She was on medication and hospitalized for four months, then we took her home and nursed her for another four months. A family member was with her at all day-light times due to her extreme anxiety and paranoia, walking with her to reduce anxiety meds. She went through a number of medication changes. We did everything we could not to give her ECT, despite the fact that every doctor we saw had recommended it for her psychotic depression. We were terrified by the thought.
Finally she began mentioning suicide again. She could not feel love or hope, the anxiety crowded everything else out, and later she said she only clung to family for survival. We told her side of the family we were choosing ECT because she couldn't be left in a psychotic state of mind any longer, and that although she showed some improvement she was nowhere near cured. The decision to have ECT ruined my relationship with my aunt. After one treatment she 'woke up'. Wanted to see her grandchildren for first time in eight months. My brother said 'if it stuck it was a miracle'. It was. She has been healthy and active for five years now - and off all medication as of last year. Doctor said later he gave her three more ECT treatments but was amazed at her response to one. The Dr. said it is not expected that someone will respond after one treatment - that it usually indicates a misdiagnosis, but he knew that the diagnosis had been correct. Then a year after her recovery she fell asleep at the wheel of her car and was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea and a limb movement disorder- tests showed she had been getting no stage 3 and 4 sleep. Looking back, she had exhibited symptoms of sleep apnea for years. The night of her psychotic break she had screamed that she could not go another night without sleep. There has been no official follow-up to this but both primary physician and psychiatrist have wondered if the sleep apnea could have been the cause of her illness. ECT for psychotic depression caused a miracle for us - it gave us our mother back. I know this is not a typical result, but I wanted to leave a record of our positive experience. My heart goes out to anyone who is reading this right now who is experiencing the terror and confusion of this illness.
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| marco_funk
Starting Member
1 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2012 : 20:41:08
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I visited this website about a month ago just to read people's responses to ECT treatment for major depression and anxiety disorder. My mom had been experiencing about 9 months of increasingly severe anxiety and depression, up to the point of a failed suicide attempt. She underwent medication, but to no avail. The psychiatrist at the hospital, where we eventually had to place her, talked to us about ECT. The research I did had me a bit scared, but the reality of her depression was even more frightening. We live in Canada, by the way. My mom ended up deciding in favour of the treatment and we as her family supported her in this decision.
After two treatments she began noticing positive changes in her emotional well being. After her third treatment she joyfully exclaimed that her "circle thinking" was no longer present and she could think through her anxieties. She had real joy in her heart and mind once again. They did a fourth treatment yesterday and she is so excited and has moved back home again. It feels like we have our mother back again.
As for side effects, my mother has always been somewhat forgetful and has also always had a lower than average IQ. We notice only slight, barely noticeable amounts of short term memory loss. She is still taking some anti-depressants, and she does not intend on going off of them like the first time, the result of which was her slow decline into major depression. She feels as though she has a new lease on life. We are so thankful to God and to all the people who have helped us on this. |
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| nard_dog_nate
Starting Member
3 Posts |
Posted - 01/28/2013 : 21:26:29
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I would suggest not worrying about the memory loss. I've suffered from severe depression since I was 14(I'm 30), and any short term memories I lose to get rid of that neverending, crushing feeling of hopelessness and sadness are worth it, in my opinion.
I've been through ECT twice as well. The first time I had 6 zaps, and then my mind felt freer and I could think clearer. It didn't last very long, and I had 3 more about 6 months later. I realize now that I needed more than just 6. I saw a video of a girl who didn't feel better until she had 16!!! Now I understand that: You don't stop til it works! Cuz it will work. I would rather be zapped than have the horrible side effects of medication.
Medication did not work for me and I've never met anyone it worked for. They test these medications for a few months then release them to the public. How many anti-depressants have they realized 10-15 years later "Oops! They actually increase suicidal thoughts, and make depression worse!"
Before medication I was eccentric and talented. I wrote 5 novels by the time I was 17. I taught myself to play 3 instruments. I studied foreign languages. Then I started getting progressively depressed until I lost interest in everything. Medication made it worse and then the psychotic thoughts started happening. And then the suicide attempts started. My mind became foggy and I was constantly talking to myself in my own head telling myself how much of a loser I was. This went on for 12 years until I finally found out about ECT.
It's been almost a year since my last ECT treatment, and it's getting to the point where I really need it again. I'm on the waiting list and it should be very soon. I can't wait. I love ECT. I find being knocked out an adventure, and I don't mind it.
So many people's reaction when they hear about ECT is, "Oh my God! That's barbaric!" But no, it actually works and it's painless. I'll give up a few memories from a time when I felt hopeless to get rid of depression any day.
Depression steals your will to live. You live day by day doing just enough to survive. Like you're dragging tremendous stone weights everywhere you go. You watch everyone else in your life living normally and wish more than anything you could do the 'normal' things they do. But you can't! Only someone who's lived with it knows what I'm talking about.
It's like being in a big family of birds, watching all of your family flying around on a nice sunny day enjoying themselves. And they keep calling to you, "Come fly with us!" But you can't! You don't know why, you just can't fly even though you want to more than anything. The other birds say things like, "It's all in your head, just get out and fly, then you won't be so depressed!"
I'm so tired of being a flightless bird watching everyone else having fun flying in the sun. ECT gave me my hope back that one day I can fly again. |
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| Archana
Starting Member
1 Posts |
Posted - 09/12/2013 : 15:01:16
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quote:
Originally posted by aspen47
I just got out of the hospital, having two ECTs. I am supposed to go back for four more. After the first one, I was feeling on top of the world, laughing and talking, just feeling GOOD. After the second one yesterday, I feel totally opposite. I get a horrible headache and sore throat from this and feel so out of place today, struggling with memory. How do the doctors KNOW this is going to work out well? I'm feeling more depressed today, (the day after my second ECT) than I have felt most of my life...I'm scared to have any more. Has anyone else experienced this? Thank you. Diana
Hi, Diana!
I'm struggling with a similar situation; I stopped getting ECT when the bilateral treatments produced really magical results. From that point on, for five weeks, I worked hard and with great success to rebuild my Self, including healthy eating, exercise, hygiene, getting out and being social, etc. I was so damn happy.
On the advice of my ECT doctor, I decided to start continuation ECT. Shortly after that first continuation treatment, I felt like my brain got scrambled, the personality I had been rebuilding was stolen from me, and that all of the gains in good habits I had built got shot to ****. It's the seventh day after this continuation ECT treatment, and I'm still only slowly rebuilding my capabilities. And I'm STILL eating like a pig - craving junk food like mad. I'm pretty sure the weight loss I achieved during my good spell must be all but gone at this point.
Originally, the suggested continuation schedule was once a week for four weeks, then once every two weeks four times, then once a month four times. I absolutely can't bear the idea of doing this, I feel so horrible right now. I'm so bloody torn about what the right/most efficacious course of action is. I have been chasing my tail based on advice from all sides, that today I felt like cutting myself, and I've been fighting depression anew.
I'd been planning on/hoping to attend a nightclub Halloween costume event, and to do a four-hour roadtrip by my self to visit old high school friends and get some solitude. Neither of these things would happen if I had the same reductive reaction to continuation ECT treatments and had them at all frequently, which is the advice of my therapist, psychiatrist, and husband (who was a scientist). I haven't had a vacation for many years, and baby, I am desperate to live like a damn human being again.
Struggling,
-A. |
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| Aguilsv
Starting Member
1 Posts |
Posted - 02/10/2014 : 17:55:29
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I want to share my positive experience with any of you. I was suffering with bipolar depression for around 3 years and medication was not working. The doctors recommended me ECT. So I went to this website to gather information. I decided to have ECT and I did 14 sessions. They told me hat it should be 6 months but I have to move to another city and I discontinue the treatment. The procedure is easy. They take your vitals. Then you go to the bed and put an IV in the hand or arm. Hey inject you with anesthesia and muscle relaxant and put you a oxygen mask. You wake up 20 to 30 min later. And you go home. He first ECT I had. I have pain in my jaw and neck but I knew that will happen since the doctors told me. The couple of sessions later were fine. I was able to do my regular work. I didn't develop any side effects until later in the 8 or 9 ECT. I got really anxious and it was hard to sleep. That was a side effect that I found in my research, with medication and talking to the doctor I was able to manage it. It started to fade away so I stop he medication for anxiety. Now six months later I haven't have any depression episodes. I feel stable. I still in medication and I am not thinking in removing it for a while. I think it was the best choose I did. |
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| BostonDan
Starting Member
1 Posts |
Posted - 01/12/2015 : 17:56:15
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Hello, I do want to share what a positive experience I have had with ECT. Between PTSD and Major Depression life has been dark for a number of years.
Earlier in 2014 I did come in contact with Dr. Ducomb - and at first I was a jerk - combative. I knew it all. He was very compassionate. It it would be several months later that I would get to that dark and very cold place - to the point where I was actually willing to not only ask for help but accept it.
That was a blow to my ego.
This late fall and early winter I have spent a total of just over six (6) weeks in hospital. I'm a huge reader (and I know everything there is to know - oy!)
During this time I came to realize that I just no longer wanted to live this way - I would enter into a series of ECT treatments.
Ten (10) to begin. As I said before I am really arrogant and know everything so to speak.
Before I had my first treatment I had a number of in depth conversations with the psychiatrist - I Googled YouTube Videos (and even watched them.)
I knew what I was signing up for.
And I honestly never knew I would be this thankful. NEVER.
I opted for unilateral - the team of two nurses, the physiatrist, and the anesthesiologist were just amazing and comforting.
My treatments happened spaced Monday, Wednesday, Friday 3x a week for a month- and we decided that I would feel most comfortable to do this as an in patient. That was a great decision on my part - there is a stability that comes with being an inpatient - and most important it affords one a grounding - especially that first day (headache afternoon) and the first day after - known as I never thought I could ache so much! Doing this - AKA being a baby this way just helps one.
The inpatient decision comes out to be really amazing - helps me see I made a good choice!
I still have my update treatments (and most call them maintenance!)
I can honestly say that Dr. Andy was/is the best anesthesiologist - in mid December for most of a week we was away on holiday - oy - one of those treatments I woke up/came to with such anxiety - to the point I flipped myself off the bed - full blown panic attack - one knows you are in the correct place when the nurse is able to grab you and calm you down. |
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| Macaulay Maxwell
Starting Member
1 Posts |
Posted - 11/04/2019 : 02:13:57
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| followersaustralia
Starting Member
34 Posts |
Posted - 12/10/2019 : 00:30:30
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| followerscanada
Starting Member
9 Posts |
Posted - 12/10/2019 : 00:35:41
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Positive ECT experiences
