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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Peter S on November 16, 2000, at 15:55:29
HI All
I'm curious if anyone out there has had ect and whether they found it effective. Was it unilateral or bilateral? Side effects? memory loss? Best sources of info about it?
My pdoc mentioned it in passing- it seems really extreme to me but I've done everything else (I think). Thanks for any feedback!
Peter
Posted by shar on November 16, 2000, at 18:37:46
In reply to Poll on ect, posted by Peter S on November 16, 2000, at 15:55:29
>it seems really extreme to me but I've done everything else (I think).
A suggestion: be sure that you Have tried everything (including different classes of anti-depressants), had thyroid test, and all of that kind of stuff before ECT.
Shar
Posted by Bradley on November 16, 2000, at 21:55:06
In reply to Re: Poll on ect--Never done it but..... » Peter S, posted by shar on November 16, 2000, at 18:37:46
One can never try everything. When you consider all the combo's and doses it probably approaches infinity. I tried bilateral ECT. Had 10 treatments with a little short term memory loss and no improvement on my depression. After it was all over I found information that leads me to believe my atypical type of depression is unlikely to respond to ECT.
> >it seems really extreme to me but I've done everything else (I think).
>
> A suggestion: be sure that you Have tried everything (including different classes of anti-depressants), had thyroid test, and all of that kind of stuff before ECT.
>
> Shar
Posted by Ted on November 17, 2000, at 10:15:01
In reply to Re: Poll on ect--Never done it but..... » Peter S, posted by shar on November 16, 2000, at 18:37:46
I never tried it, but....
1. Do exactly as shar suggested. Try EVERYTHING and try med combinations before ECT.
2. I have a friend who had something like 19 ECT treatments, both unilateral and bilateral, when she was about 20, so that was roughly 1968 +/-. She has terrible memories of the ECT treatments themselves, but she credits them with curing her depression and saving her life.
I wish you the best of luck. Please keep us posted.
Ted
> A suggestion: be sure that you Have tried everything (including different classes of anti-depressants), had thyroid test, and all of that kind of stuff before ECT.
>
> Shar
Posted by DLW on November 28, 2000, at 21:35:00
In reply to Re: Poll on ect--Never done it but....., posted by Ted on November 17, 2000, at 10:15:01
Please think and research this topic carefully before doing it. I was desperate and had 7 ECT treatments. I could not remember my home phone number or friends' numbers for a time. I was sick and had a headache between each treatment and it did not work.
There is a lot of research stating the problems and damage that ECT can do to you and many consumer groups are working to get the procedure banned.
Posted by Peter S on November 29, 2000, at 21:20:14
In reply to Re: Poll on ect--Have done it, posted by DLW on November 28, 2000, at 21:35:00
Thanks for all the feedback- definitely food for thought and it is obviously something that should be approached with caution. I was especially sorry to hear about your experience DLW.
I have heard though of many cases where people with extreme psychotic depressions who did not respond to anything else only came out of it through the use of ECT.
I'm not sure that banning a procedure that may be life saving for some patients is a good idea. ECT seems barbaric and risky but the fact is we are still in the dark ages in many ways about our knowledge about depression. If it really is a matter of life and death and there is a chance that it will work then why not? The main issue it seems is to evaluate all the risks and balance these against the potential gains. Maybe there should be clear guidelines about when and when not to use ECT.> Please think and research this topic carefully before doing it. I was desperate and had 7 ECT treatments. I could not remember my home phone number or friends' numbers for a time. I was sick and had a headache between each treatment and it did not work.
>
> There is a lot of research stating the problems and damage that ECT can do to you and many consumer groups are working to get the procedure banned.
Posted by DLW on November 30, 2000, at 15:41:38
In reply to Re: Poll on ect, posted by Peter S on November 29, 2000, at 21:20:14
> Thanks for all the feedback- definitely food for thought and it is obviously something that should be approached with caution. I was especially sorry to hear about your experience DLW.
>
> I have heard though of many cases where people with extreme psychotic depressions who did not respond to anything else only came out of it through the use of ECT.
> I'm not sure that banning a procedure that may be life saving for some patients is a good idea. ECT seems barbaric and risky but the fact is we are still in the dark ages in many ways about our knowledge about depression. If it really is a matter of life and death and there is a chance that it will work then why not? The main issue it seems is to evaluate all the risks and balance these against the potential gains. Maybe there should be clear guidelines about when and when not to use ECT.
I think that there are many options before chosing ECT and that they all should be investigated first. I have seen one person who was so depressed that she could not get out of bed or recognize her children and the 30 treatments that she had seemed to help.I understand that they are now doing research with magnetic stimulation that is more effective than ECT without the side effects.
There are so many avenues that one can pursue both with medication and alternative therapies that ECT should be a last resort.
I have to admit, when I had the ECT I thought it was the last resort.
Peace
This is the end of the thread.
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