Posted by iris2 on September 8, 2004, at 11:50:52
In reply to Can ECT Make Depression worse?, posted by denise528 on September 5, 2004, at 10:10:36
Denise,
> I keep thinking about trying ECT because I feel as though I have nothing to lose apart from my memory but I'd hate to think it could make my depression worse?
>
> I know there are people on this board who've had ECT; did anyone find it made their depression worse?I had ECT twice. Six bilateral ones and several years later 12 lateral. They did not help. The first sessions got me very angry and agitated so they discontinued them. The second time I lost some memory and did become calmer for a short amount of time but they did nothing for my depression.
I have an aunt and grandmother who both had them and from my father's description of the results they both got a lot of relief from their depressions.
I have been in the hospital many times on the psch. ward. I have observed several different people getting ECT I observed dramatic changes in people several times and they were very happy when it was over and very depressed before them. That is why I tried them twice myself. I only remember one person beside myself who did not get some relief form ECT. I never kept in touch with any of these people so I do not know how long the ECT continued to alleviate depression after the treatments were done. I did meet a two people that came in every year or more for ECT on a regular basis. I was never sure I observed any real change in the two people I saw doing this.
My memory is terrible and I am not sure what to attribute it to. Every pdoc I ask tells me it is not likely to be from the ECT but from my depression and the benso's I take. Do not know, wish I did.
My father did say that his mother had memory problems after her ECT, forever. I do not know how reliable his observations were about that as he was quite young at the time and it was over 60 years ago so the ECT is very different now.
These are my experiences and observations. Hope they help some. Everyone here helps me so much I try to do what little I can.
irene
poster:iris2
thread:386637
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040904/msgs/388021.html