ECT treatment

[kitkatsoppy]

Hi,

 I had 12 rounds of ECT two years ago, and my memory from those days onwards has been horrendous.  I was just wondering if anyone has had any good or bad experiences with the treatment.

[Mod note: we've pinned this thread to the top of the Treatments section, as we have regular inquiries from members about ECT. Other threads detailing members' experiences with ECT are linked to below:

Tired of being depressed now - looking at ECT?

ECT - my experience

My wife has just had ECT - what is the recovery time?

Updated: impending ECT treatment

[kitkatsoppy]

AGrace said:

Hi K,

Have you thought about getting a second opinion? I've found with Psychiatrists they tend to have one area that they specialise in. For instance the Psych who did the ECT specialised in this, and that's why he was all for me getting it done. I now see a Psychiatrist who is more into talking therapy. I feel so much more comfortable with her, and I've come a long way since being under her care.

If you don't feel comfortable with your current Psych then I would suggest getting a referral to someone else. You can even get your current Psych to refer you on.

It's such a shame about the memory. I've found that with some things if someone tells me about something that's happened that I didn't previously remember then the memory comes back to me, even if just vaguely. There's still a lot missing, but I've come to accept that it may never come back and I'm better off focusing on making new memories rather than what memories I've lost.

AGrace

Its now getting close to 3 years since I've had the treatment.  I found out that I was so paranoid and so sick that nothing else was working ( or rather keeping me stable).

I have come to accept that the ECT did do some positive stuff, and maybe its why my memory isnt the best.  I think if i remembered everything about my ward visits, that it would just make me sick again wit PTSD or something like that.

at least i am still functioning pretty good - and i am improving all the time 🙂

[LeeG]

what were the positives that came out of your ECT treatments? i have an appt with my psychiatrist on the 18th. the memory loss scares me a bit but some1 on another forum said it took away part of their bad memories. 4 me this would mean the abuse from parental figures. the only truly good memories i have from my childhood was being at sport n spending time with my grandparents esp my pop who was in a sense a father figure. he's the only man i truly trusted n miss him more than any1 including my mum. the other positives were when i was playing sport. if ECT can rid me of the bad memories i'm totally in.

i look forward to your reply,

Lee

[kitkatsoppy]

Hi - its only really short term memory that gets affected - good luck i guess

[bluesea]

hi kitkatsoppy how are you doing now? I used to have a cat some years ago who I named kitkat and he`d eat vegemite on toast when I did! anyway I just wondered how old you were and how long you`ve battled depression, if you don`t mind me asking, as I`ve battled for over 30yrs and ETC is the only treatment that I haven`t tried     

[kitkatsoppy]

Hiya bluesea - im turning 33 this year, and i have had depression etc etc since i was 20 years old.  i found that ECT treatment blanks your brain for alot of months, even years...then again, nothing else was working at the time, so i just had to have the treatment - oh well 😞

 you cant rely on one treatment to fix anything...i would describe having ECT as somebody shortening your thinking and resetting it like a power point lol

 anyway, if nothing else is working i guess i would give it a shot. otherwise i would probably still be in the psych ward

[eyebrella]

Hi kitkatsoppy,  I am 60 and have had chronic depression since I was 26. Tried every med known to man and then had ect in 2008. While I was having treatment I was told I was happy and my depression seemed to have lifted but as soon as treatment stopped, my depression returned. Whilst I have memories of my time in hospital I have lost memories of many events and times going back years. Sometimes Im not sure if my Grandma has died as I cant remember it happening and other such things. The whole treatment was for me a waste of time but the memory loss has not affected my life really so no harm done I guess. Finally successfully treated my  34 year long battle with depression by going to a new psychiatrist last year who finally found meds that work for me. Dont stay with the same doctor for years as I did if you are not controlling your depression. Second or third opinions are a good idea.

[maeve]

My son had ECT a few years ago, about 9 rounds.  He had no memory loss, unfortunately it was unsuccessful.  There was a program on SBS insight a little over a year ago on ECT treatment that you can get online.

[kitkatsoppy]

hi maeve - i just found the ect program on sbs's website.  i am going to watch it soon.

 i am mostly stable at the moment, but its easy for me to stay going downhill if i am stressed out.

These days, i get stressed sometimes at night time. ..i guess i am going good otherwise.

[Gothgirl87]

I didn't know ECT was still a treatment option! I've never met someone who's had it done.

[kitkatsoppy]

Hi Gothgirl87,

 Yep yep yep - ECT is still out there in the wards - all it did really was reset my brain - it felt like my brain was a hard drive that got corrupted and wiped clean.

 I watched the documentary on ECT, but I wasn't really suprised by anything on the show.

 I am not going to attempt the deep brain stimulation part either.  ECT has also been around for probably 50 years or so (don't quote me on that).

 You would think that they would have a different treatment that works. oh well. 😞