Posted by OzLand on June 2, 2007, at 2:28:25
In reply to lamotrigine and ECT, posted by iforgotmypassword on May 31, 2007, at 18:17:36
The main problem with lamotrigine is that as an anticonvulsant it raises the seizure threshold level. This means you would need a higher charge to overcome the anticonvulsant effect. The purpose of ECT is to have a grand mal seizure which supposedly changes the chemical receptivity of the brain so one is less depressed and so one is able to better make use of antidepressant medications.The other compounds you speak of such as fish oil do nothing in particular with ECT. I took fish oil, calcium, and a multivitamin during ECT.
The other compounds you mention that are supposed to ameliorate any negative effects from ECT are purely hypothetical. Nothing definitive has been shown to actually ensure that memory deficits do not occur. Depending on a number of factors such as bilateral vs. unilateral, brief pulse vs. ultra-brief pulse, use of seizure threshold level vs. age related calculation, length of pulse charge, etc. all factor in to what will be memory problems. Everyone has retrograde amnesia from ECT. Other problems can include anterograde amnesia (retaining new memories), orientation problems, and other problems as you likely know.
poster:OzLand
thread:760646
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070524/msgs/760855.html