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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by clubfitter on August 19, 2007, at 22:13:06
A couple weeks ago I was hospitalized, suicidal, etc...as I have suffered from Bipolar/MDD/SAD/APD for the better part of 15 years. I am feeling noticeably better on Lamictal 200, Geodon 80, Lexapro 20 and Klonopin 2mg per day. I want to do ECT just to "re program" and get rid of it all if at all possible. Is this premature or should I just continue to ride the wave Im on. Keep in mind, "feeling better" is a relative term....Thanks
Posted by linkadge on August 19, 2007, at 22:44:32
In reply to IN THIS SITUATION, CAN ECT HURT?, posted by clubfitter on August 19, 2007, at 22:13:06
>A couple weeks ago I was hospitalized, suicidal, >etc...as I have suffered from >Bipolar/MDD/SAD/APD for the better part of 15 >years. I am feeling noticeably better on >Lamictal 200, Geodon 80, Lexapro 20 and Klonopin >2mg per day. I want to do ECT just to "re >program" and get rid of it all if at all >possible. Is this premature or should I just >continue to ride the wave Im on. Keep in >mind, "feeling better" is a relative >term....Thanks
If you are feeling better on medication it is not a good idea to have ECT. ECT is reserved (for good reason) for those who are failing to gain theraputic effect from several antidepressant drugs, combinations etc.
It has many side effects (I am sure you are aware). While ECT is effective for some, it does not, in any way cure depression. The relapse rate for ECT is very high, more than half recieving it will relapse within a year.
While, ECT is sometimes aluded to as being a "factory reset" for the brain, there is really no proof that it gets to the heart of the disorder any more than do medications.
There are risks to ECT, most notably, the possabiltiy of permanant memory loss.
Also, sometimes it doesn't work.
I would personally reserve ECT for a time where nothing else is working.
Linkadge
Posted by sam123 on August 19, 2007, at 23:48:50
In reply to Re: IN THIS SITUATION, CAN ECT HURT?, posted by linkadge on August 19, 2007, at 22:44:32
>
> If you are feeling better on medication it is not a good idea to have ECT. ECT is reserved (for good reason) for those who are failing to gain the trapeutic effect from several antidepressant drugs, combinations etc.
>Totally. ECT is not a reversible procedure while meds give you a chance to try them out.
Posted by Enigma on August 20, 2007, at 11:26:13
In reply to IN THIS SITUATION, CAN ECT HURT?, posted by clubfitter on August 19, 2007, at 22:13:06
> A couple weeks ago I was hospitalized, suicidal, etc...as I have suffered from Bipolar/MDD/SAD/APD for the better part of 15 years. I am feeling noticeably better on Lamictal 200, Geodon 80, Lexapro 20 and Klonopin 2mg per day. I want to do ECT just to "re program" and get rid of it all if at all possible. Is this premature or should I just continue to ride the wave Im on. Keep in mind, "feeling better" is a relative term....Thanks
I've been through ECT, twice now. Meaning, 8 treatments over a year ago, and 8 which I just finished. I had more scheduled, but I called the doc and told him I'm done.
ECT, for anyone, is a pretty horrible experience. The usually brutal headaches, jaw-pain, memory loss (permanent), nausea (from the anesthesia), the IV anesthesia burn, the muscle aches, anesthesia disorientation (which can last for 8 hours give or take), etc, are ALL side-effects I suffered on each and every treatment.
My doctor said ECT would AT MOST be 30ish% effective for my depression (and depression in general), THAT'S ALL. He, for some reason, failed to mention this, until I asked him a question on my last treatment.
To go through all the pain and suffering of ECT, in my opinion, isn't worth a "possible", and "at most", 30% recovery, that of course, like the others said, is NOT permanent. You WILL relapse without maintenance ECT treatments. I for one, did NOT want the ECT ball-and-chain tied to my ankle for the rest of my life.
After the 8th treatment, I did see SOME MINOR improvement in mood, but, I must stress.. MINOR. Also, before the ECT, my bipolar symptom of irritability was mostly absent, but came back after ECT. Fluke or side-effect? No idea. Either way, I'm done with ECT for good, and am pretty screwed really, as meds (more than I can count) have really failed me.
So, I'm really at a loss as to what to do with my life now. But, that's a story for another time...
Posted by clubfitter on August 21, 2007, at 22:58:46
In reply to Re: IN THIS SITUATION, CAN ECT HURT?, posted by Enigma on August 20, 2007, at 11:26:13
i guess what im saying is if i weigh 500 lbs and lose 200, it wouldnt hurt to lose another 100....i feel like i have "lost the weight" but want to get as this go around as i can....im tired of feeling so bad for so long....im better, but can ECT do me any worse...other than side effects.....thx
Posted by chiron on August 22, 2007, at 0:14:32
In reply to IN THIS SITUATION, CAN ECT HURT?, posted by clubfitter on August 19, 2007, at 22:13:06
My ECT experience hasn't been as bad as Enigma's, but that's the risk (as with meds), you never know how your body is going to react. There were days I would get to work by 10am after I had had a procedure and be fine.
Relapse rates are high, but ect treatments can be helpful (as in my case), if you are in the depths of hell and you need to get out asap.
I don't know if ECT is best to describe as "reprogramming" - I wish it had permanantly reprogrammed my brain. It's more like a "jump-start."
If the meds are already working, I would continue just trying them.
Posted by Enigma on August 22, 2007, at 12:20:12
In reply to Can it hurt analogy....to all, posted by clubfitter on August 21, 2007, at 22:58:46
> i guess what im saying is if i weigh 500 lbs and lose 200, it wouldnt hurt to lose another 100....i feel like i have "lost the weight" but want to get as this go around as i can....im tired of feeling so bad for so long....im better, but can ECT do me any worse...other than side effects.....thx
I know the feeling of being sick and tired of being, sick and tired, no pun intended.
I don't know what the long term effects of ECT are, but I can't imagine there are no negative ones.
Other than side effects, and the many pains you will endure before and after the procedure, I guess, in my opinion, the answer to your question would be no, it couldn't hurt. I still would take that with a grain of salt.
Losing memories.. at first, before you lose them, you think, no big deal if I lose a few "bits" here and there, but, it *really* annoyed me over time, after the procedure, and many months later, as I would "find out", from my wife usually, about something I said or did, that I had 0 memory of, absolutely none. It's not a side-effect to overlook, and it unfortunately is permanent, and creeps up on you over and over again as someone you know reminds you of something that you "lost", ie., forgot.
Posted by linkadge on August 22, 2007, at 16:47:22
In reply to Re: Can it hurt analogy....to all, posted by Enigma on August 22, 2007, at 12:20:12
It is restricted for the worst TR cases on account of its side effect profile.
There are people who have it done and report feeling much worse. There are no guarentees.
Didn't Hemmingway kill himself on account of the devistation he felt about how he believed ECT impacted his memory?
Linkadge
Posted by sam123 on August 27, 2007, at 9:15:41
In reply to Can it hurt analogy....to all, posted by clubfitter on August 21, 2007, at 22:58:46
There are a number of reports on this site of significant, permanent memory loss.
This is the end of the thread.
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