Posted by Bob on October 3, 2006, at 1:38:20
In reply to ECT Update, posted by blueberry on October 2, 2006, at 16:48:11
> Continuing with 10mg prozac and 2.5mg zypexa.
>
> The third ECT session was today. I swear I feel decidedly worse after each session. I asked the people at the hospital if anyone ever gets worse with ECT and they said no. I do feel worse.
>
> Confusion and memory problems are kicking in. I'm even momentarily blanking out on things you take for granted, like which cabinet the cups or plates are in, stuff like that. I don't mind these side effects. It's the worsened depression...whether it is perceived or real...that has me worried.
>
> And my idiot psychiatrist fired me today. I had to cancel an appointment because they won't let me drive during ECT and because I am without a paycheck at the moment. The pdoc didn't like that and I think he was probably looking for any excuse to get rid of this tough case.
>
> Anyway, I think I'll do one more ECT before making any decisions. I really do feel worse though.
I had 21 sessions of ECT, and looking back, I'd have to say that I never should have had so many. I was always expecting it to "kick in" and really start to provide undeniable benefits, but things got dangerous after awhile. When I hear your descriptions, it brings back some memories, although I fortunately don't have a lot of them from that time period. I guess there is just such a desire for something to work that people stick with it. I can remember asking the doc all kinds of questions about side effects, weird responses, unpleasant feelings etc., and they would basically not have any good answers. It's like you might expect: they give you a course of treatments and you either feel better, or you don't.
poster:Bob
thread:690342
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060927/msgs/691385.html