Posted by LostBoyinNC1 on July 29, 2002, at 11:12:30
In reply to Re: MAOI Wowie!, posted by cybercafe on July 29, 2002, at 1:19:09
> My psychiatrist DID order me! ... and i'm glad he did... okay it also helped that you thought it was a good idea as well. I remember asking to try moclobemide etc first, but he thought they just weren't powerful enough....
Psychiatrists in the USA cant "order" patients to take any drug. Thats illegal here. In Canada, I suppose it might be different. If so, thats sad.> ....it's not just the sedation... klonopin has affinity for serotonin receptors... and that definately helps with withdrawal... (i got off 225 effexor in less than 2 weeks)
Klonopin has affinity for serotonin receptors? HUH? Where did you hear that? I always understood Klonopin, like all benzos worked more on GABA. Klonopin is a depressant drug and therefore would be more likely to decrease serotonin levels than increase serotonin levels.
>
> ... you didn't need the klonopin the first time you went on parnate right? ... was it that one h-crisis that really scared you? (i've never had one)
LOL I could have used some klonopin the first time I tried Parnate. But didnt think about asking for it.>
>
> ... what was it that finally convinced you ECT was safe? ... i can't help but be afraid of the risks associated with the unknown, especially since you rarely ever hear people talking about ECT on the boards...
> .. can't ECT cause some minor cognitive problems?What convinced me it was safe was talking to others offline who have actually had ECT. And talking to my psychiatrists about it. And even my family doctor strongly recommended it. My family doctor raves about ECT and thinks its the best thing for severe depression since sliced bread. And he has absolutely nothing to financially gain from ECT and is not in the mental health field. Also, I read stuff on the Internet (credible stuff, not crap anti-ECT websites) and realized there are some very basic differences between "old" style ECT and the modern, current version of it.
IN the old version of ECT, when it developed its evil reputation, patients were not artificially oxygenated and tended to hold their breath for minutes at a time during the seizure. Many of them their face would turn blue from oxygen deprivation. Anyone who has had Red Cross first aid and CPR training or has taken an EMT course knows that brain damage begins to occur after youve stopped breathing for two minutes or more. Four minutes without breathing and you die. Well with ECT, many patients didnt breath during the seizure for two minutes or more. No wonder so many of them complained of severe memory problems and claimed they were "never the same." I dont dispute their claims.
However with the modern form of ECT, all of your bodily functions are closely monitored via machines and you are artificially oxygenated. Unlike the old form of ECT. The anesthesiologist makes sure your blood oxygen levels do not drop too low, thus ensuring there is a constant supply of oxygen to your brain even during the grand mal seizure. This prevents the oxygen deprivation induced brain damage which occurred in the primitive forms of ECT used in the forties, fifties and sixties and prevents excessively severe memory loss.
Reading about ECT convinced me the modern form of it, providing it is done correctly and you are properly oxygenated is safe. Definitely safer than MAOIs. Even though Im on Parnate, I still view ECT as medically safer than MAOI therapy.
poster:LostBoyinNC1
thread:114046
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020725/msgs/114156.html