Posted by chiron on May 12, 2007, at 19:46:15
In reply to Re: Having ECT, posted by jenny80 on May 12, 2007, at 19:19:36
I was pretty severe when I tried it. I've been "medium depressed" ever since I can remember (over 20 years), but some of the drugs I've tried have really made it bad. I was on Adderall and Abilify when I ended up in the hospital. It was a couple weeks after I was out of the hospital when I decided to try ECT. I was nervous, but it helped to hear other peoples' positive experiences.
After my initial ECT series, which was about a year ago, I felt like I had never felt before- it was great. It didn't last at that level, but it definitely got me out of the severity. I have done it on and off since while trying different drugs this past year. I have recently decided to try no meds, because it seems like they just make me worse. In a while I think I'll go through another ECT series and try maintenance. I don't think the maintenance was very successful for me because of the meds (or at least that's what I'm hoping).
There were some days I'd actually go into work after I had had a treatment. It didn't affect my cognitive ability, just some memory issues.
Kitty Dukakis recently wrote a book called "Shocked" that would be worth reading. The chapters alternate between her story and a psychiatrist explaining it.
When do you go in? What has been your experience with drugs?
poster:chiron
thread:758135
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070509/msgs/758217.html