Posted by Afraid to give my name on September 6, 1999, at 13:09:02
In reply to Re: ECT?--Breggin, posted by donald on September 6, 1999, at 2:44:57
I'm with the rest: ECT is a last resort. Use it the way you'd use psychosurgery: only when every other option has failed - TWICE!
In the meantime, has your p-doc gone over your physical history? Depression is a fellow-traveler with so many physical conditions, that your body may be contributing to it. Do you crave sugar? Carbohydrates? Get nauseous from the idea of eating solid food? Do you feel logy? Does your mood change predictably at certain times of the day? Do you notice a clicking sound in your joints? Do you get a lot of cramps? All of those symptoms can go along with conditions that can worsen depression. Have you had your thyroid functioning checked? Do it.
It's like a bad joke, but the best thing you can start on your own for depression is to eat regularly and well, exercise regularly, get adequate sleep, basically take better care of yourself than any 'normal' person does! Just a little to ask, since I know when I'm badly depressed I can hardly choke down a glass of water, let alone a meal.
Before you go for the ECT, test your blood sugar for two weeks as though you were a diabetic (meaning: at least 8 times a day, at the same times). Get that thyroid test. Get a complete blood count, and be tested for trace nutrient levels. Get a long glucose tolerance test. If all that comes in normal, and I do mean in the exact center of the range, then go get liver and kidney function tests. Get a bone scan. Make damn sure that this isn't a problem because of something the doctor has overlooked in your body. Remember, you can always have the ECT later, but you can't ever undo it.
And if a shock is all it takes, wait until you see the bills for those tests ;-)
Good luck and God bless
poster:Afraid to give my name
thread:10764
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990829/msgs/11108.html