Posted by SLS on July 7, 2005, at 9:53:49
In reply to ECT Side Affects Versus Medication Side Affects?, posted by Denise1966 on July 7, 2005, at 8:55:20
> Hi,
>
>
>
> I know that this is probably a loaded question but I've taken many different antidepressants over the last four years and the side affects of some of them has been almost worse than the depression itself. For instance Mirtazapine (also known as Zipsin and Remeron) made me feel either zombie like or really agitated and anxious. Nardil (phenelzine), made me feel like I wasn't in this world at all, I got awful start up anxiety on SSRIs and felt very dopey on Effexor.
>
> Does ECT have the same side affects and do they last, I know that there can be memory problems which can be lasting but what about all the other side affects one can get with drugs. Does anyone have any experience of getting these side affects with ECT?
>
>
> Thanks..........Denise
The only side effects suffered from ECT were those that appeared when unilateral treatments were changed to bilateral treatments. Bilateral treatments left me feeling disoriented and not like myself for at least a month after my last treatment. While driving, roads that I had travelled for most of my life became unfamiliar to me. I really did feel weird.If you want my opinion as to whether or not you should try ECT, I would only offer to you a very confident "maybe". Because my personal experience with it was not a horrendous one, and no one I know personally has described a horrendous one, I am less likely than others to condemn the treatment. I have heard some horror stories, though, that are hard to ignore. It is difficult to decide at what point to implement ECT relative to the failure of other treatments. Should one go to it after failing 20 drug treatments? 10? 5? Clearly, this is a judgment to be made by the patient in conjunction with the doctor.
I would really like to see you try Parnate + Lamictal first. How long were you on Nardil? How did lithium affect you?
The grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence. Agreed? It does not seem that you are so horrendously and vegetatively depressed that you must make extreme decisions out of acute need or desparation. Maybe give a few more treatment algorithms a chance? I think I would treat your illness as if you were suffering from bipolar depression without the potential for mania.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:524544
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050702/msgs/524562.html