Don't ever do ECT for bipolar disorder. Ect is where a doctor forces a seizure upon you with electro shock. It has never ever been proven that ECT benefits any psychiatric disorder. The psychiatric profession says they don't even know why or how it works they just believe it works. I had electro shock and have permanent memory and cognitive damage. I will never get back what ECT and the doctor took from me. It ruined my life. I used to have a photographic memory and remembered everything. Now I can't remember things and my brain literally freezes up where I can't even think. I warn everyone to not do this to themselves. I wll forever regret giving a doctor the ability to destroy me again. More and more hospitals are promoting ECT as a way to treat depression and bipolar disorder. I guarantee the doctors and nurses that promote would never do ECT themselves. Don't trust any doctor that uses this barbaric method to treat depression. It will destroy your life like it did mine.
Hi I know where you are coming from but where I go in hospital people are up in the tens of time they have tried to suicide......for these people it is a God send.....some times you have to loose something to gain something.
Having said that I have told my doctor he would have to get the government guardianship board to approve it before hed zap me.....but in my particular illness its not neccesary....I already have fits.
Count what you do have......I pray in some areas of your life you are feeling bettet.
Thank you for speaking out. There is too much positive press for ECT which is put out by those who make their money from it - both psychiatrists and patients.
Here are some handy links
ECT causes permanent brain damage and should be banned.
A few years ago I had 3 months of intensive ECT 2-3 times a week and had to be inpatient for most of that time. It didnt make me better and I still have memory problems. BUT I would still encourage others to consider it as a treatment option. Why?
Firstly, its nothing like most people imagine. Right away, before wires are attached to you or anything else, you are put to sleep. You do not experience any part of the procedure AT ALL. There is no pain or discomfort before, during, or after! Once I woke up I was promptly taken to the recovery room where I sat in a big comfy lounge chair and was brought my choice of breakfast. :-)
Secondly,even though I still have memory problems they have slowly gotten better with time. And the intensity and number of treatments I got was way more than most people. Its also important to remember that memory problems are a symptom of mood disorders and are often one of the last to go away.
But the bottom line for me is this: ECT is a "last resort" treatment. Right before I started it Id been in the hospital 6 times in a year and a half. In the preceding 2 months Id made 2 suicide attempts. Both put me in a coma for several days and the doctors barely managed to pull me through. It was obvious that I would be dead in a very short time if something different wasnt tried. It didnt make me better but it did give me a small improvement and that was enough to keep me going. Ultimately it saved my life. I still get angry every day over what I lost. But what ECT helped me hang onto is a much bigger thing. I dont always feel like thats true but logically I know it is and thats why I never regret it.
Above all, everyone should remember that its ridiculously hard to find a good doctor these days, especially for psych issues. An ECT doctor is the same. Whatever you decide in the end, don't let other people's experiences keep you from finding out what the facts are in your particular case. Because it really is a matter of life and death.
ECT destroys lives
Posted - 06/01/2012 : 21:43:09
