Posted by bleauberry on June 28, 2008, at 19:55:32
In reply to ECT...I am scared to death, posted by john51 on June 28, 2008, at 6:12:06
I'm one of those with a very negative take on ECT. I had 12 treatments. I've gone over it here in detail several times in other threads, so I won't repeat it.
I did not feel there was any option at the time. I was at the end of hope, the end of med choices. In fact, it was only my twisted perception from being depressed so long that had me feeling that way. There was plenty of hope and medicines to try. A common mistake I think is when docs fail to think outside the box and try medicines that are not necessarily linked directly to the diagnosis. Refractory anxiety cured with lithium, refractory depression/fatigue cured with ritalin+memantine, refractory depression improved by not taking antidepressants (other meds instead), on and on. The STAR*D clinical trials got something like 80+ % of people into remission with only 1 or 2 drugs at any given time.
All I will say about ECT is that the statistics are not supported by fact. I don't know where they get those statistics. ECT is not any more effective than meds if you look at clinical trials. Memory loss can be severe, longlasting, or a lifetime. If someone feels they are at the end of the line, and ECT gives them hope, well, I guess that's a good thing. When I came out of ECT, I was so cognitively dull and had so much memory loss that it was actually a good thing because it was kind of like starting a new chapter. Even though I was no better than before, at least now I had sort of a new start with some new hope because I had forgotten how bad things were that got me there in the first place.
The actual treatments are not bad. You sit in the hospital waiting room, they call you in, lay you down, hook up an IV, and next thing you know you are at home and have no recollection of what happened.
poster:bleauberry
thread:836941
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080626/msgs/837052.html