Electroconvulsive Therapy

NB: I do not want any virtual 'hugs', sympathy, empathy, attention, or anything even remotely related from anyone who responds to this post. I am desperate, and I just need people who know more about, have known someone who had it, or just balanced information on Electroconvulsive Therapy.

Simple fact is that I have come to a place where I can no longer feel or see hope, find it hard to leave the house, sometimes feel numb, other times like I'm going crazy, and then others when I just cry and beg for a way out. I have been fighting the Depression, Anxiety, and PTSD for so very many years, and I am completely exhasted. I am under the care of a Psychiatrist, who is aware of this hole I'm in, and also that it is getting worse. So, I am seriously considering asking for Electroconvulsive Therapy, and would like any advice, information, etc. that can help me make an informed decision. Yes, I have googled and have downloaded some medical information, but hoped that others here might be more 'personally' informed, if that makes sense.

TIA.

Tikva wrote: Yes, I have googled and have downloaded some medical information, but hoped that others here might be more 'personally' informed, if that makes sense.

TIA.

I would think your doctors and 'google' would be a better source of info than this small forum. I may be wrong , but I don't think many here have had shock therapy and as such couldn't really give you a personal view.

I agree with Allan tikva but probably better to ask here than at SC. I can tell you that I had a neighbor who received ECT on a regular basis. She said it was the only thing that brought her relief.

Having read Janet Frame and other horrific accounts of early applications of the treatment I was shocked when she told me. At the time I was working for a community agency that endeavored to support people with psychiatric disorders. I had never heard anyone there talk about ECT, only about the ineffectiveness or side effects of their medications.

My neighbor told me that the treatment was painless and that afterward she always felt very calm for a few days. I have to honestly say that I found her very difficult to converse with. Although obviously interesting and intelligent, she was lacking any kind of spark and enthusiasm even when she said she wasn't feeling depressed. As I didn't know her before the treatment, I can't say if this lack of zeal was a side effect or not.

That's all I know about the treatment, I hope it's of some use to you? Even though you don't want hollow sympathy and virtual hugs, may I at least offer my genuine commiseration for what you're experiencing. I can't claim to know what it feels like but it sounds very shitty and I hope you can find a solution.

You strike me as such a strong ,intelligent woman Tikva and I get a sense from Wizzs' post that this treatment is not a one off and may only relieve symptoms for a wee while?.

From personal experience with ptsd and anxiety I know it can be so darn hard to see a way through, and when I get this way I say to myself ...DONT LET THE BASTARDS WIN!.

Whether that is my mind sabotaging myself or at other times thoughts of the people initially responsible for the onset of this condition I will not, will not, let them win.

When you feel like you have hit rock bottom then on the positive side you can only move up!

Look at how very far you have come in your life Tikva (I get this from posts over the years in sc etc) and be fucking proud of all the healing you have already done.....

bullseye wrote:If your psychiatrist has not suggested it yet, you are not likely to benefit from it.

Certainly, bring it up at your next session. But I bet I know what they'll say. ECT (even the modern version) can be as damaging as it can be beneficial.

Perhaps it is considered something you can only volunteer for because so many people see it as negative?

I would be open to the idea of ECT for one reason. A few years ago I tried this cool foot reflexology thing... It basically sends an electric current up your heel and causes all your calves etc. to tighten.

I looked at the contraption and the people who bought it, and for the reasons they bought it with some strong skepticism. They thought it could help heal cancer... Which I can tell you it quite clearly didn't... Fastest bowel cancer death I know of. But, excuse my waffling today, the thing is that the device felt very nice.

It was not painful and had a range of different strengths. IF this is what ECT is like all over I could imagine this being beneficial... While the merits of it helping heal cancer are preposterous, I can believe it may help with psychological issues. It certainly left me feeling refreshed and buoyant with out being able to describe it any other way.

I do know someone who has had ECT over a period of years, and has recently gone for another session...I know that ECT is only used as a last resort, and with this lady that I know, her memory is crap, actually what Wizz wrote, sums up this lady as well, but her family say they would rather they have her alive and forgetful, rather then dead...

I hope you find a way through this...Also, for now, don't smoke the ganja if you still are, and see if that can give you some clarity forward...All the best..

Anjewel wrote:
I hope you find a way through this...Also, for now, don't smoke the ganja if you still are, and see if that can give you some clarity forward...All the best..

can't believe I am going to write this for you all to read - but I'm with Anj on that one. Lose the herb - it definitely won't help if you aren't in a happy place...

My apologies for the lack of replies lately ~ when I get very low, my ability to communicate with others is very much diminished.

After discussing this with my Psychiatrist, I have decided that ECT is not for me. What you posted Wizz has also helped me in making that decision ~ I have already lost enough memories (a factor in the PTSD), and going by what I have learned, repeated ECT will certainly be damaging.

My Doctors has added another Medication, which seems to have stopped the extreme mood swings (although they are swings, there are no 'highs' to them), and he has recommended that I go to a Day Programme run by the Psych Team here in Dunedin. So, I have been referred to that, and am just waiting to hear back. It's gonna be a hard one though, as when I am this low, leaving the house becomes as hard as climbing Mount Everest, in my mind at least. But, I'm gonna have to push through that and anything thing else that I need to! I've been cursed with this crap since I was 15, and at 46, I want at least a few 'normal' years before I die!

Many thanks to all for your responses, encouragement and support, and I am cutting down on the ganja, as it does tend to make me worse at times. Working towards smoking it only on the odd occasion..........

Hope the new med helps you out some, and good for you cutting down on the ganja...I am glad you aren't going to do the ECT...