Wikipedia says;
"Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), also known as electroshock, is a controversial psychiatric treatment in which seizures are induced with electricity for therapeutic effect. Today, ECT is most often used as a treatment for severe major depression which has not responded to other treatment, and is also used in the treatment of mania, catatonia, schizophrenia and other disorders. It first gained widespread use as a form of treatment in the 1940s and 50s; today, an estimated 1 million people worldwide receive ECT every year,[1] usually in a course of 6-12 treatments administered 2 or 3 times a week. "
Source en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elec...ve_therapy

Anyone had it ?

Results ?

I ask because a family member has consented and is currently undergoing ECT...
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    Re: Anyyone had, or know anything of, Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) ?

    Thu, January 3, 2008 - 8:25 PM
    My mother did and lost her short term memory, and she was more suicidal afterwards than before. I don't recommend it.

    Fucking brutal western medicine.
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    • Re: Anyyone had, or know anything of, Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) ?

      Thu, January 3, 2008 - 8:45 PM
      MMm... she has been warned to expect short term memory loss. She says its it okay - but her jaw is sore. Not like you see in the movies - now you have a general amnestic (bad in themselves - but worth it not to be awake). There was a discussion over how invasive it was - but this was dismissed based on the fact that medication is invasive - and she lives with that every day and it messes her around. A lot !

      I had never heard of it being used for BP...
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      • Re: Anyyone had, or know anything of, Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) ?

        Fri, January 4, 2008 - 12:16 AM
        It was very common treatment in the 60's,70's, even in the 80's. I have been told that for people who are majorly depressed, almost to the point of catatonia, and who haven't responded to any kind of anti-depressants etc, it can be useful. It's much safer and less invasive now certainly, but I would still never do it myself.

        I hope she's doing better ... keep us posted.
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        • Re: Anyyone had, or know anything of, Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) ?

          Fri, January 4, 2008 - 3:04 PM
          <<I hope she's doing better ... keep us posted. >>

          I will.

          They recommended this action and she agreed because she has been severely depressed, self harming and suicidal. They mess with her meds and it does all sorts of shit to her. When they put her on strong anti-depressants she has a history of becoming psychotic and/or suicidal when on them. When they don't mess with her meds she becomes manic. Last time she became psychotic, she thought she could fly. It is very disconcerting to have coherently her talking to you and then point to a tree and say "I could fly over that tree". We were terrified she would try to fly off a building or bridge and she was put in a secure unit.

          The good thing is that (unless she is manic or psychotic) she knows she has a problem and wants to do something about it. Still, at least she made it through her year of study before this shit happened. Mind you - same thing last year. Last year I wondered if she reduced her meds herself to induce mania to cope with work and study. This time round - I think it just happened. There weird thing is she had this problem after the stress of end of year was finished - both this year and last..
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          • Re: Anyyone had, or know anything of, Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) ?

            Fri, January 4, 2008 - 3:25 PM
            Well, it's actually rather understandable. Stress is my biggest trigger, esp for mania. It's like when your body holds off getting sick until after you've completed exams etc, and then collapses in upon itself. Stress of course makes it hard to sleep, which is another massive trigger for mania.

            Yeah, it's hard being an onlooker.

            It's harder being bp though ...
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        Re: Anyyone had, or know anything of, Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) ?

        Sat, January 5, 2008 - 11:01 AM
        She's bipolar, eh? Seems like an awfully brutal and expensive treatment. Of course, western medicine loves to make money off the misfortune of others.

        I'm speaking from 30 years of experience of dealing with psychiatry between both myself and my mother.

        My mother "died" as far as I was concerned after her ECTs. If she was "gone" before, any chance of her coming back was gone after her ECTs.

        When I say she lost her "short term memory", she forgot who people she had met in the last 3 months were.

        I remember going to the grocery store with her and running into the mother of a classmate of mine who my mother had befriended on several occasions and my mother didn't remember who she was at all. The woman looked really hurt, because my mother had hung out with her several times before her ECTs.

        She was depressed before the ECTs, but really wanted to kill herself afterwards.

        How is this shit legal?
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        • Re: Anyyone had, or know anything of, Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) ?

          Sat, January 5, 2008 - 5:21 PM
          When did your mum have the ECT?

          I'm so sorry to read of your experiences Lola.
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            Re: Anyyone had, or know anything of, Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) ?

            Sun, January 6, 2008 - 10:08 PM
            It was awhile ago, so maybe they've gotten the procedure down better since then, but I'm not optimistic.

            I feel that the way we treat our "mentally ill" is deplorable. We don't allow people to just BE. I've come to believe that it's easier to teach someone to accept their dysfunctions, rather than drug them up to holy high heaven. There is no pill or ECT that is going to "fix" anyone, and we're dreaming if you think there is. A depressed person needs to find a creative outlet for their emotions, and to learn to distinguish between delusions and reality. No pill is going to do that for anyone. Sure, meds can help alleviate some symptoms, but once you're going for Lithium and ECTs, my opinion is, it's time to practice acceptance.

            No amount of pills or ECTs helped quiet the 'VOICES' in my mother's head. She always did best when she had dance classes and art classes. They didn't stop the voices, but at least she had a quality of life. Once she and eveyone else in my family focused on pills, we lost her forever.

            There is NO FIX! We must learn to accept ourselves and others the way we are.
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          Max
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          Re: Anyyone had, or know anything of, Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) ?

          Sun, January 6, 2008 - 6:50 PM
          Good question. ("How is this shit legal?)

          ECT has never been scrutinized as a therapy by the Food and Drug Administration. I don't know the details but the devices come under a grandfather clause, meaning they were in use before FDA started regulating devices of that type, so they can continue to be in use.

          There are people who, by their own accounts, benefit from ECT. Kitty Dukakis wrote a good piece about her personal experience with ECT in one of the weekly magazines a year or two or three ago. Cases such as your mother's give me cause to regard ECT as a last resort, i.e. if I'm gonna kill myself anyway...
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          • Re: Anyyone had, or know anything of, Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) ?

            Sun, January 6, 2008 - 9:25 PM
            <<There are people who, by their own accounts, benefit from ECT>>

            Yep a friend had it (Schizophrenic) and said it was a "total reboot" and helped him no end.
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            • Re: Anyyone had, or know anything of, Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) ?

              Sun, January 6, 2008 - 9:50 PM
              Yes, I think one of the main things to remember is that in this day and age, both in Australia and America (in my experience), ECT is only *ever* invoked as an absolute last resort. A seriously last last resort. Only in my darkest darkest of days has the treatment of ECT been brought up, and that was usually by me. When you get to a point where you have become the living dead, when cocktails of 10-12 different drugs have done nothing for months and months on end, where you haven't eaten, showered or gotten out of bed for days on end, sometimes not even to go to the loo (you just hold on, i haven't actually peed the bed, though at times i was tempted, because moving meant that i was still alive), that's when etc presents itself as perhaps something to look into. Like I said earlier, I have always decided against it, but I do think that it *can* (and only *can*) help some people. Not all, and I am definitely not at all saying that all people would benefit from it. Just that if it helps someone who is so severely depressed that nothing else has worked, then it can be a good thing.

              And I do believe that bipolar/depression have a great deal to do with the neurons/electrons/neurotransmitters in our brains. Perhaps by addressing that directly, ect can be of use.

              Please understand I do not mean to diminish anyone's negative experiences with this form of treatment. I am just trying to offer my opinion.

              Peace ...
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  • Update after 3 treatments..

    Tue, January 8, 2008 - 5:42 PM
    Update.

    Three treatments in. (Fourth later Today).

    I saw her last night and in my opinion she is much calmer and coherent. She has lost her shakes (lithium induced I presume) but she often has shaky hands.

    She says that she feels heaps better. She thinks that she will have a total of six treatments but that this might be extended to nine. I asked her what she thought of the this and she said she had been given lots of literature prior to treatment and knew it was possible - indeed sometimes they do 12 and she is more than willing to continue.

    She says she has not lost any significant memories but the general anaesthetic is a bit weird. She wakes up asking if they have done it yet and surprised the nurse who told her they would have a smoke later in the day as she was going under - she woke up and remembered and organised it.

    She said on the day after the first treatment she was a bit sore - but felt no real pain and after the first her "body must have got used to it" and she felt no ill effects.

    She seems much better and it is tempting to say it is the ECT (she is no longer self harming btw) but as you will all know this might also be due to medication adjustments or simply time

    I will report in if anything unusual happens or when treatment is concluded.
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  • Re: Anyyone had, or know anything of, Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) ?

    Sun, May 11, 2008 - 3:36 AM
    Right. About 4 weeks ago she had a relapse and was psychotic and considered herself "invincible" talking of how she could cross roads without looking and how other dangerous things could not hurt her. God and Angles were also talking to her.

    She knew she was on the slide before it all went to shit and spoke to me about visual hallucinations - which she knew were not real and were freaking her out. She actively tried to seek help and better manage her BP - especially when she started sliding. She was having trouble sleeping and was socially withdrawn - but I would not describe her as "manic" at any time since she was last admitted. However, even though we now live together - I don't spend as much time in her company as you might expect. She asked her doctor about adjusting her meds and also her problems and ended up in a half way house. Then became psychotic and was admitted to hospital. She was committed upon arrival and got out on Friday and went back to the half-way house. (she must have been an involuntary patient for 3-4 weeks)

    She again underwent ECT. She had 3 treatments. And the change was immediate. They waited for 3 weeks after hospitalisation. She was getting better - but still appeared a risk to herself.

    The whole idea of it is repulsive - but when you see the results - they are amazing.

    I have met three psychiatric nurses since the last time and asked them their opinions. All say it is extreme but works. Two said "If it was me in those circumstances I would demand ECT".

    It certained effected her short term memory this time. But from being committed she is now calm, rational and out of hospital.
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