Posted by snapper on May 13, 2005, at 0:23:49
In reply to Re: ECT failure? » jerrympls, posted by Bob on May 12, 2005, at 9:44:51
amount of Clonazepam that I was taking for the first 10 or 11 treatments was slowly withdrawn by the last session. Maybe that precipitated the "breakdown" and the ECT was merely a catalyst? It was a very small amount of Clono, though, like .25mg tid, at the most. There was concern that I was having a reaction to it, with a skin rash and muscle problems.
>
Hey guys , sorry for breaking in, but I would like to say I feel qualified to comment on this thread.... In 2001 and 2002 I had a total of 27 unilateral treatments... I started to respond at about the 10 to 12 range on a Mon,Wed,Fri schedule ...it brought me out of hell and maybe even made me a little better than euthymic ....not hypo-manic, but certainly well enough to take off on a road trip from the midwest to Phoenix to help my sisters boyfriend (at the time) drive his car and a u-haul of thier belongings out there.... I think the Drs. at the time, recc. that I not go, but I was feeling so good that I went anyhow...long story short I got out there and slowly but surely started to decline to the depths of my previous level of chronic depression.... I will be completely honest with you... I got stuck out there because before I left, I had mis-placed my wallet and knew I would be flying home one way, but because of the 9/11 situation I knew for fact that I could'nt board a plane w/o proper Id. Well while I was there waiting for my parents to find my wallet , Id and such, I STUPIDLY started to think that I was well enough that I could handle some alcohol . Mind you I was still taking a combo of FXR and Depakote on the trip and knew I was going to resume the ECT treatments upon going home. An intended week to 10 day trip turned in to a five week stay, physically catching some kind of wierd flu bug (I recall it being a tenacious and persistant sickness that not only was hard to get rid of but also co-insided with my rapid decent back in to The Big "D"- I called it the dessert flu! Sorry for the ramble but my point is this .... Upon finally having my parents find my ID/wallet and Fed-exing it to me so I could fly home....I had spent 5 weeks of light to moderate imbibing on the booze and was not only physically a mess but also mentally 10 steps backward. Got home and resumed the ECT treatment for roughly 3 to 4 months to bring me back from the abyss, (it worked) and by the 27th treatment in March of 2002, my Drs. Informed me that they did not see any reason to continue w/ anymore "Maintanance ECT"! I felt "good" for 1 to 2 months max and then my De-realization, apathy, indifference, and 97.6% of my depressive and anxiety returned like like a "faithful and miserable friend" . I am not telling this to bore you or anyone but I felt complelled to at least share what I experienced, and also let you know that I am AMAZED at the fact the your attending Pdocs even allowed you to remain on any amount of Klonopin while recieving the ECT...because Anti-convulsants and any Benzodizapine totally basically renders the ECT useless, because these drugs raise the siezure threshhold and defeat the purpose of what the ECT is supposed to do....which is create a controlled Grand Mal siezure in the brain and in simple terms, "reset the the brain" ! sure it is much more than that but, thats part of the basic premise and when it works .... it works very well for a very high percentage of sick folks! Even with responce, relapse is very high...hence the concept of maintanence ECT. I will close in saying that I had the start of another courace(sp) of what was supposed to be 12 treatments Last year in Very late May and Early July...unfortunately my anxiety levels were so da*m high because of no meds on board, I barely endured 6 of the scheduled 12 to be and then told my Pdoc forget it and to treat my anxiety and he agreed and while my anxiety is much better now...my overall level of relief is roughly only 60 to 65%. I am seriously thinking of mentioning to him that I would like to go back and give my old friend Parnate another go-even though it pooped out on me after 7 to nine months in 1993, I have to keep pursuing a higher level of wellness and functioning than I am now! I have to leave no stone unturned and I hope all of us here on PB and elsewhere can continue to do the same! Thats part of my 2% (maybe) more but in any case if anyone has any comments or questions I would welcome them!
Snapper
poster:snapper
thread:495223
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050510/msgs/497174.html