Posted by medlib on May 16, 2000, at 3:23:51
In reply to Re: What's Wrong with Having a Seizure???, posted by Chris A. on May 16, 2000, at 0:50:21
Chris--
There is a *world* of difference between an uncontrolled seizure disorder and a carefully controlled ECT. That is one of the points I was trying to make. No one *really* wants the former; the latter has many proponents.
I fully support your right to choose whatever treatment you believe may be helpful. It is not an option I would select, but I can understand very easily the desperation that years of illness and multiple failed interventions can bring. There appears to be almost *no* predictability to treatment results; no one can claim successfully that any given treatment will or won't work. That's why I think it's so important to maintain and expand the treatment options we have. (My state is trying to ban ECT.)
I hope your treatments are successful for you--if anyone's patience deserves a break, it's yours!
"Well" wishes--medlib
> At least when I go for ECT they keep me well oxygenated, my muscles relaxed and keep me safe. When brain damage occurs as a result of seizures it is invariably due to the airway becoming obstructed and subsequent lack of oxygen to the brain. Another cause of damage is when a person falls and strikes their head during a siezure. I've witnessed that, and it is sad.
>
> Chris A.
> Please don't shoot me. I am feeling vulnerable and would like to find some support here for my decision to try to treat my refractory Bipolar depression/mixed states with ECT. It's not working as well as I'd like, as we're using low dose RUL, as higher dose and bilateral treatments cause more temporary confusion and temporary memory loss for me, which I don't much care for. Still, I'll go on record saying the ECT is safer than all of the medication treatment I've been through. That's a very long story. My husband says ECT and meds have probably saved my life even though neither of them are perfect. Kay Jamison has given her husband a power of attorney to authorize ECT should she become sick enough. Dr. Manning honestly recounts her experience with ECT and major depression in the book "Undercurrents".
poster:medlib
thread:33497
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000508/msgs/33573.html