Sigh. So ECT?

Has anyone tried this? I have been through Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, over 25 meds, many different therapists and therapies for a long period of time, and 12 years of daily, moderate to severe depression with agoraphobia and social anxiety disorder. I guess I would just like to hear anyone's stories. I'm terrified of it affecting my memory, and also just terrified of being sedated, to be honest.

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Originally Posted by LittleEarthquakes Has anyone tried this? I have been through Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, over 25 meds, many different therapists and therapies for a long period of time, and 12 years of daily, moderate to severe depression with agoraphobia and social anxiety disorder. I guess I would just like to hear anyone's stories. I'm terrified of it affecting my memory, and also just terrified of being sedated, to be honest.

Hi @LittleEarthquakes - a friend has had many ECT treatments because they are apparently med resistant. The results have been that after a number of ECT treatments over a period of weeks or months, they resumed a normal life style that had been diminished by depression. They have gone for years without ECT or a short refresher ECT but when they got stubborn and sometimes quit too early because feeling better, their depression returns. They do best with regular ECT and then taper off ECT by extending treatments to a couple weeks or a month according to doctor's advice.

Memory can be affected. In their case they forget traumatic episodes which seems to be a benefit. There are also other variables that you might discuss with your doctor. There are articles too, you can Google Psych Central and ECT and the articles are archived there.

All the best to you. @CANDC

I tried ECT once but didn't feel any improvement.

ECT can take 6-12 treatments with some people to show improvement. Asking others if they notice a difference can be a good way to tell if there has been change since they see things that we may not see.

Talking to your medical team is the best way to know if ECT is right for you.

Depending on your circumstances it may be worth having more than one treatment. Usually people have between 6 and 12 before they start feeling better. Up to you and your docs though obviously.

You sound a little like me in the sense that you have tried over 20 meds, different therapists, co-morbid conditions. I first felt depressed at 7 years old and had ECT when I was about 31.

There is nothing to be afraid of with the procedure; everyone will be totally used to doing the procedure and put you at ease completely. The sedation is an absolute cinch, you breathe some oxygen, some stuff goes into your arm and then you wake up after the procedure.

You Psychiatrist will choose whether you have unilateral or bilateral ECT which means you either have one or two pads applied to your forehead. Unilateral can be tried first if you are worried about memory. No joke I have seen people CURED from ECT. People who couldn’t even mumble and look you in the eye at the same time and wanted to die. Complete turnarounds. I have also seen people getting temporary relief and then regress and people who have it to good effect and come back for maintenance doses.
You’re the one who has to sign the consent form at the end of the day so it’s your call but wouldn’t you always be wondering whether it would have helped you or not? I’m not sorry I had it even though I was only cured for two weeks because now I know I have given it a really good go.
Good luck! Xx

I have not tried it. I have had... severe side effects.. from many meds. My best to you!

The US National Institute of Mental Health says ECT is the most effective treatment for major depression. I agree. My illness would be defined as neuro-psychiatric. Every neurological illness has a psych component, and vice versa. I tend to think my illness became serious when the neurological component reared its ugly head at age 17 when I had a powerful temporal lobe seizure with a couple dozen epileptic discharges that fried my temporal lobe and left me without positive emotions, libido and numerous other acute and chronic deficits. I was also agoraphobic. But I can't say that seizure wasn't precipitated by feelings of worthlessness, suicidal ideation and depression. I suffered major episodes on intervals of 8 years and each was an epic struggle for survival. Long story short (is it too late for that?) I had ECT in 2014. I was hospitalized for 2 weeks and had a grand mal induced every other day. It was a game changer and a life saver. I haven't had a panic attack since. I lost so many symptoms I can't remember them all. I didn't need any meds for over 6 years, and now take a maintenance dose of Escitalopram and that's it. I am a retired electronics technician and I like to say that ECT set all my firmware switches back to factory default.

I've had quite a few treatments. The first series was a miracle! It lasted a good long time, too.. I've had some since with not as drastic improvement. I worry about memory. My problem is "word finding" when I'm speaking to someone. That can be so embarrassing. If you can, read the book Shocked by Kitty Dukakis. ,(The former governor of Massachusetts wife,) Its very informative. After I read it I asked the publisher how to contact Kitty. I was so surprised when she called me and answered my questions. I suppose it depends o where you get it and the strength.( Unilateral ultra brief for example. Going under anesthesia isn't bad at all. The staff of wherever you get it can make a big difference.

I should add that I don't recall not remembering anything that was worth remembering, following my 7 ECT treatments.

I tried it, had 20 some odd rounds, but I have some kind of bipolar disorder. I can't really tell if it helped or not because of the cyclical design of my episodes. I did recover and later did have severe depressive/mixed/manic states. I did like being put under though.

The only side effect was I was foggy the days of treatments and memory loss (I had to use GPS to places I've been going to for years) which was temporary. It was overall much better than the side effects of meds, and if I were desperate in a never-ending depression I'd try it again. (I do kinda like going under though, but I might be a bit of a weirdo in that way)