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

[trev57]

Hi all,Im 58 yrs old,suffered a "nervous breakdown" about 9 yrs ago which left me with MD and Anx.After several attempts of "s",and a few times in Phyc Hosp.i was convinced by Phy Nurses and Drs to try ECT,Meds were'nt doing anything for me.they told me there was no risk of long term memory loss,maybe some immediately surrounding the actual treatment.and it would help me significantly with the depression.

So I tried and ended up having 20+ treatments of ECT.

Result significant memory loss,both surrounding treatment and ongoing daily memory problems in day to day stuff.

How do i know this,if I dont remember stuff?

,cause my partner is always pointing out stuff we have done,which i dont have any memory for or doing,......i get in car go down to shop thinking of the things i need to get,by the time i get there(15 mins),i've forgotten them....things like that,then i dont remember my mothers death or funeral(furtunately mt sister recorded it and have dvd of it).forget how to get to somewhere,that again my partner tells me ive been to many,many times,and have to ask her the directions.

Thats the memory,as for helping with the depression.No help for me,in fact due to the memory loss,made,make me more depressed.

Anyhow,thats my experience,but not for me to say whether you should or shouldnt try it....I have heard some who say its been a life saviour,other as with me not so

trev

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[Sophie_M]

Hi trev57, thank you for your post and for sharing your journey with us. From what you have you shared with us, it sounds like getting the right help for depression and anxiety has been a rollercoaster for you. We understand that you have been very proactive in getting help to recover and unfortunately ECT has impacted your life dramatically by affecting your day to day memory.

You must feel very alone in this and we feel you would benefit from getting additional support like seeing a psychologist or even thinking about joining a support group for people who have lost there memory such as those run by Alzheimers Australia. Although we understand that you are not suffering from Alzheimers we feel that you have lost your memory and it can be helpful to connect with others who are also find it hard.

The National Dementia Helpline number is 1800 100 500. They also run support groups for carers and it may be helpful to attend some programs with your wife.

Another option is to talk to your psychologist about any groups they can suggest which are for people who have lost their memories due to ECT.

If you are feeling suicidal it is important that you take immediate steps to keep yourself safe. If you are at risk of harming yourself it is important you get help immediately. You can do this by:

-Speaking to your doctor if he or she is available right now
-Calling the Mental Health Team at your nearest hospital

If, however, you feel unable to keep yourself from acting on your thoughts about suicide this is an emergency and you need to call 000 (triple zero).

We encourage you to continue using these forums as a way to connect with others and to share your experiences.

It is important that you take steps to keep yourself safe. We encourage you to call the beyondblue Support Service on 1300 22 4636. We can help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with counselling support, information and referrals. We also have web chat service available from 3pm-midnight 7 days a week, you can access this from our website here.

[transendence]

Please share the name of your new med.

Thank you

[cobham]

I  had six treatments of ECT for an agitated bi-polar depression. I found it WORKED.  The worst part was the general procedure you go through. Very nerve racking. Akin to being executed six times. The worst aspect of it however as far as I'm concerned was the TOTAL LACK of any "debriefing" My memory is ok.

Cheers.

[Chris_B]

Hi transendence, sorry but we can't share medication names here on the forums, it's one of our community rules.

[Rudiga]

Hi

i had my first ect treatment today. Before having the treatment I found this forum and read through the posts. There really isn't much positive about the treatment here and it scared me. My treatment went well, no memory loss and minimal muscle soreness. I did wake up very upset but that passed quickly. Just want to post my experience to add a little more positive news here.

[Hopewaits]

Hi Rudiga, I am going for my first ECT treatment tomorrow. I have been trying to find some positive experiences to ease my mind. Im terrified but also hoping that it works for me. I've tried numerous medications, some giving relief for periods but the depression always reared its ugly head again. The last medications side effects were just too much, and discontinuation symptoms were so bad that I asked for ECT treatment.  I have read lot of negative as well. I just have to know that there will be some relief ... Something has to help. Life is becoming too difficult the way it is. Ian fortunate to have a handful of supportive people in my life but also see the strain that I cause them. I especially feel for my children who watch me struggle on a daily basis. I haven't been able to work since March, my job is really very stressful but when I am well I am successful at it.  I will posts again after my treatment and hope that we can support each other through this. I hope that you find the peace and relief that you are looking for with this treatment. 

[Katie2015]

TMS has been wonderful for me. 

[goblues]

That's awesome! Can you please elaborate

[Lolaandelvis]

I am currently an inpatient undergoing ECT. I starting seeing a psychiatrist about 8 months ago. I had about 5 years of different stressors that I hadn't dealt with, breast cancer, my daughters diagnosis of bipolar, my father with Alzheimer's and terminal lung cancer and then my mother being diagnosed with bowel cancer and needing chemo, something she couldn't obtain in rural NSW. I first relocated with the help of my sister to bring them to live with me in QLD and then found them some independent living attached to a nursing home for my fathers ongoing care, but my mother's chemo saw her struck down twice with infections which required her to be hospitalised and then we needed to be able to care for my father who can't live independently. It just all got too much and even though I had been seeing a psychiatrist for almost 8 months, I just wasn't getting the results I needed to keep going. My husband was in London on business and I needed to ask him to return and kindly my daughter came from Sydney to be with me till he arrived home. At that point I couldn't drive a car, attend my regular exercise classes, in fact when my husband would drive me to my doctors appointment I would need to close my eyes the entire way as the stimulation of the traffic on the freeway was just too much for me to cope with. When my Dr suggested ECT I felt it was just about my last hope. mood stabilising medication together with anti anxiety medication and medication to help sleep patterns return to normal were just not helping, I was treading water so to speak but going under every now and that made it so hard to feel as if I was making progress. My first treatment was 2 days ago. I was very relaxed and in some ways looking forward to getting back on the road to recovery. The only drawback was a swollen and sore jaw on the right hand side of my face which the staff gave me some pain relief for. I was very tired and slept most of the day, but yesterday which was a non treatment day I took a long walk and treated myself to a lovely lunch. Today was treatment 2 and apart from being a bit emotionally sad and tired I can't say I've had any side effects. The staff here are just delightful, caring practitioners and the other patients are a mix of young teens to the elderly. As with any treatment there's no 100% guarantee but ECT does have great rates of recovery with medication resistant depression which is what I have been diagnosed with. I'll keep you posted on results