Posted by stephanie l. on August 3, 2000, at 21:06:27
In reply to e..c..t..., posted by mike19 on July 29, 2000, at 18:37:40
> ect onyone hade it , what do yoy think
I had ECT about 4 years ago. My longtime AD -
Nardil - had stopped working, and I tried several new ones, to no avail. By the time I tried ECT, I had been severly depressed for almost two years. I wanted the ECT -- I'm the one who pushed for it, after reading and talking to people about its effectiveness (its success rate is supposed to be 90% or so.)
I had 8 sessions, over the course of 2 1/2 weeks. After the second session, I remember absolutely nothing of the next three weeks.( And I still don't remember it.) My significant other told me that after half of the sessions, I really wanted to stop. I hated "going under." They the docs) talked me into continuing, since we where already half done.I had bilateral ECT, where they put the electrodes on both temples. (jThey usually do only one temple.) Bilateral is supposed to be more effective. Since I had been resistant to so many medications, my doctor felt we should give it all its got.
What do I remember? Not much, except for a
wierd feeling about losing three weeks of time.
My friends had to fill me in. The procedure was not like the barbaric ritual that it's been portrayed as; on the other hand, it's not fun. I carry with me a sense of trauma about that time, and I'm sure it's from the ECT. Unfortunately, it didn't help. Would I do it again? Yes - but only as a last resort. I now know that there are many many drugs and drug combinations to be tried. I'd try that before ECT.
Stephanie L.
poster:stephanie l.
thread:41695
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000729/msgs/42128.html