ECT - My experience

[Juliet]

Hi guys,

I just wanted to come back on the forum and let you know what my experience has been with getting ECT. I know that there were a few people considering the option after talks with their different doctors. Personally I have found ECT to be amazing. It has been nothing but positive for me and I am feeling GREAT!! It took until the ninth treatment to notice a change, and also a change to bilateral ECT, but now that I have, wow, I am very happy with the result. Basically I currently feel 100% better. I don't know if this is going to drop off and I have heard that it can, but I would have no hesitation in undergoing more treatments in the future if so. I am now up to my twelfth treatment. 

There are some side effects that I need to mention. I have noticed some difficulty with my memory. I try to keep in mind that my memory was pretty bad just with the depression but I have noticed sometimes I am trying to find an answer to something that I am sure I would know and I just can't get to the answer. For example I was asked the question where I have travelled in my lifetime and I found it difficult to know for sure that I was giving the whole answer! I was thinking, "I know I've been to the UK and Bali and Singapore but is there anywhere else major I have been?" and even though I was Reasonably sure, I wasn't Entirely sure that there wasn't. I know this probably sounds pretty bad but it was one of the few times with problems with my memory and honestly I don't care at all... it is very much worth some memory and maybe some concentration problems to be feeling better than what I was. 

Anyway I just wanted to come on and share my story. I know it is not a small decision to go ahead with ECT and I don't want to pretend it is. If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask.

xxxxxx TJ

[JessF]

Hello Juliet, I am so glad you have found something that works for you. I am interested to hear more, when you say it took untilt he ninth treatment till you noticed a change, did that put you off at all?  Did you get scared that it wasn't working but you were still having the memory side effects?  Did the doctors explain things well to you and help you through the process?  Sorry about all the questions but I have only ever read things second hand about this and am keen to hear how you kept yourself going through such a big process. it's very inspiring.

[Neil_1]

Hi Juliet

🙂  so, doing a smiley DOES take up character space!  🙂

I'm interested in this too.

Along with what Jess said, but also, were you in hospital for the entire time?  Were they daily treatments?  Were you allowed out of the hospital at all?  Um, and I guess, this might be silly, but, did it hurt?

Oh and how long did each treatment last for?

Sorry for the amount of questions, but it was something late last year that my psychiatrist was toying with for me.

Cheers

Neil

[Neil_1]

By the way Juliet ... well done and mega kudos to you for posting about your experiences with this.

[Beetle]

HI

Wow thanks for posting your experience. I watched it done once....

Beetle

[Juliet]

Hi JessF,

I had a very nice psychiatrist who has also at times been one of the doctors in the room to administer the ECT. In the room there is a psychiatrist, the anaesthetist and a nurse. I wasn't put off by the fact that it wasn't working up to my ninth treatment I was more just starting to worry a little bit that it might not work for me. My doctor wasn't concerned though and I think it is pretty normal that it might take a while to start working. Pretty much as soon as he changed it from unilateral to bilateral it started to work. I didn't start to have any memory problems until the change to bilateral and even then hardly any and they weren't particularly disturbing to me. 

Everything was well explained to me by my doctor and since I stayed the first nine treatments in the hospital it was a rather drawn out process so there was plenty of time if I had any questions and always a nurse around to help.

On the day of the treatment a nurse would come in and wake me up at 5:30am and give me some panadeine forte to take for the headache that would probably come later. Then she would put some numbing cream and tape on the back of my hand ready for the anaesthetic. Usually I would be scheduled for ECT at 6:30 so she would come back and take me upstairs where I would wait in a room with a few chairs and tv until it was time to go in. Once in the room I would lie on my back on the bed while the anaesthetist put in the needle and then they would get me to turn on my side while they put the oxygen mask on and I would go under. The doctors and nurse were always really sweet to me and made me feel comfortable. The next thing I would wake up in the room next door with another nurse who would then take me in a wheelchair back to my room. Now that I am doing outpatient ECT they take me into another room to sit in a recliner and watch tv for a few hours until the anaesthetic has worn off a bit and someone comes to pick me up and take me home.

Hope that explains a bit. Please let me know any more questions..

Juliet

[Juliet]

Hey guys, 

I wrote a post but I'm not sure if it is being moderated or whether it has been lost in the ether so just waiting on a response from BB 🙂

TJ

[Neil_1]

Hi Juliet

Thank you so much for that response back. 

So it’s more or less like a little mini operation – they put you under and you don’t really know what’s happening and you wake up and it’s all over. Apart from the memory loss are there any other side effects or things that you notice afterwards?  I’m sorry for asking but as you’ve been so wonderful in being able to share your experience, I just thought I’d ask some other things. 

What is the difference now by being administered as an outpatient?  In that you no longer need to be hospitalised and you can be at home … is that because you’ve already had a number of treatments and there is no need to monitor you afterwards?

One last thing, my psych mentioned to me last year that if we were to go ahead and have this procedure, I apparently would have had to go off all my meds that I’m taking and be ‘med free’ for this to be done.  Is that the same as what happened with you?

Again Juliet, thank you so much for sharing your experience with this.

Neil

[Juliet]

Hi Neil, 

Apologies its taken so long for my reply. I didn't want to post it until I knew my first one had gone through. 
  
I stayed at a hospital in Perth called Perth Clinic. Although it was a little 'different' staying in a psychiatric hospital overall it was really a nice place to stay. My own nice room and the food was great! You could do whatever you want there if you want to stay in your room all day thats fine and then they have art classes and relaxation classes and different things you can do as well. 

My doctor decided when would be a good time to start doing outpatient, probably when I seemed I could handle it (around treatment 9). I'm not really sure if you are allowed out of the hospital at all just because I never really thought about doing it. They would do the ECT every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning. The treatment definitely didn't hurt, it was really just going in and being put under and then waking up in the next room - like a mini operation as you say. I'm not really sure how long it takes.. but from what I've read about 5-10 minutes? 

I did go off my meds on entering the hospital. My doctor has since started me back up on some (since the 9th treatment) to ensure that my mood is maintained and isn't able to drop off. 

Apart from the memory loss there is the usual tiredness that you experience from an anaesthetic so you pretty much need to write that day off and not do anything. I can't think of any other side effects at the moment but I'll let you know if I do. 

The only real difference in being an outpatient is that I don't need to spend the rest of the time at the hospital. Other than that it is all pretty much the same. I have to remember to fast after 12am for the anaesthetic, wake up and take some panadeine forte at about 5:30am and arrive at the clinic at 6:30am. Being outpatient, after your treatment (at around 6:30) you then hang out in a recliner and watch tv until someone is allowed to pick you up at 10:30am. During that time I usually have breakfast, have my blood pressure taken and have a chat with my psychiatrist. 

Since changing to bilateral and noticing some memory problems my doctor has been spreading the treatments out a bit more (for that reason). Last week I went in on the Monday and Friday and next week and from now on it will be Thursdays only. This is also because I am feeling totally better now so it is just maintenance treatment from now on. -Not sure how long for yet.

I feel I need to mention also that even since I wrote my message to JessF I have noticed a bit more memory problems. Sometimes when I'm trying to think back on things I can't remember exactly what took place. For example I didn't remember that my dad had come with me to check out a new shop the other day and when he said he did I said "Did you come there too?", but then when I have time to think about what it is I can always remember after a while. It is as though the ECT blanks your mind a bit but the information is all still there. I know this probably sounds quite scary but I have been finding that forgetting a couple of things here and there doesn't really matter that much! To me, anything is worth feeling this good!!

I know I probably shouldn't be selling the treatment but I can't help it. I've felt bad for so long I never thought I would feel this way again. Its amazing how happy a regular brain really is. And I'm sure I'm doubly happy just because of where I have come from. 

Anyway, please let me know if you have any more questions :)

[Juliet]

Wow Beetle that must have been an experience.. Probably put you off having it altogether haha!