Posted by Mark H. on May 12, 2000, at 20:08:23
In reply to Re: T Nancy--Re: ECT, posted by quilter on May 11, 2000, at 1:28:30
Dear Nancy,
I started my last response with an unintentional double-entendre and then just got carried away.
I think that in the future, some highly selective form of direct-application electrical therapy will replace ECT, which is outrageously crude in its present application. As with chemo-therapy and other forms of "nineteenth century veterinary medicine" that get applied to people, ECT is akin to driving a finely drawn needle with a fifteen-pound sledge hammer. It may do the job, but at what price?
That said, subjectively, I have always experienced my madness as a storm building in my frontal lobes, longing to arc across the gap in a flash of lightning-like release, leaving me clear and free of the multiple streams of thought that I associate with the "storm" and the slide into deep depression.
When I was in my mid-twenties, I could accomplish that release with alcohol sometimes, believe it or not. I would come home from the University on a hot summer day and quickly drink two icy bottles of cheap champagne on an empty stomach and put myself to bed. In the morning, I would awaken refreshed, renewed, and without 3, 4, or 5 thought-streams all going at once (and no hangover). This salubrious effect would sometimes last for a few weeks. (Kids, don't try this at home.)
I have longed to find a medication that will accomplish the same thing, since I stopped using alcohol altogether more than 18 years ago. I think we'll see an effective pharmaceutical product long before we find an efficient and simple way to apply direct current to the brain.
However, in the not-too-distant future, I suspect that TENS-type units for the brain will exist and be used effectively, rather like pacemakers are used today. I would welcome the ability to give myself a "clearing shock" while waiting at a traffic light, making me a safer driver and a more clear and focused employee.
Mark H.
poster:Mark H.
thread:33082
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000508/msgs/33311.html